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Temba BavumaSouth Africa became the first team to qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 last year after defeating Pakistan two-nil at Centurion last year. Australia later beat India in a home Test. Series to join South Africa at the WTC final 2025 in London.
Finishing fifth in the first WTC cycle, South Africa made a strong comeback in the 2021-2023 cycles, but their journey ended in third place, failing to make it into the top clash.
South Africa secured the 2025 WTC final spot with 7 straight wins.
However, the Proteas secured a spot in the WTC Final 2025 with seven straight wins. But some fans and cricket experts, especially former England cricketers, have been questioning whether South Africa should really be participating in the finals.
In fact, the South African side played relatively few matches in the WTC 2023-25 cycle – just 11 Tests, others Groups England (22), India (18) and Australia (16) have played more matches.
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Although South Africa made a few attempts, they still managed to top the table with 66.67 percent. But their performance has drawn criticism, with many questioning the Proteas’ place in the WTC finals 2025, with some feeling they played a lower-class team and helped them reach the top clash.
Temba Bavuma is unfazed by criticism of South Africa’s qualification for the WTC 2025 finals.
However, Temba Bavuma is not fazed by the criticism. South African captain Themba Bavuma says their finals place is the only and best answer; They ignored the cruel ones. South Africa have proved their worth by achieving a top position and Bavuma said that this is the only reaction the activists are getting now.
Temba Bavuma told Hindustan Times: “No, I don’t want to respond to that. We are at the end; That’s my only response.”
The South African captain has called for more balance and competition in the World Test Championship (WTC) format. Bavuma wants all teams to play at least three consecutive games. Temba Bavuma said, “Yes, please. We want to play a lot in South Africa. We would love to be able to test our skills further. We want to test our skills a lot.
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Temba Bavuma called it a three-match test series to determine the best team
Reflecting on South Africa’s two-match series against India, he felt it would not decide the true best team. The skipper added, “I think back to the India series we played here at home which ended 1-1. It was only a two-match series, and I think the end of that series was a bit of an anticlimax. You know, you always play to find out who’s the best. And you didn’t know who was out there or who was the best.
Bavuma noted the difference in the number of Tests played by the different teams, with England playing more than South Africa, because he feels everyone deserves a chance to test at their best. He signed off by saying, “So yes, you can probably set up those small-scale tests. I think England played about 22 Tests last year. We played 12; It’s about 50 percent. So, you know, hopefully, you don’t really get those kinds of differences.
