South Africa return to Lord’s for more post-WTC Final celebrations
London: Two days after they made history by beating Australia, South Africa’s victorious ICC World Test Championship squad returned to the scene of their famous triumph on Monday when they descended on Lord’s for more celebrations
The entire 15-player squad was on hand with the famous mace at the Home of Cricket to celebrate their five-wicket triumph over Australia that clinched the World Test Championship Final. This was South Africa’s first triumph in an ICC tournament in 28 years.
According to a report by the ICC website, the players and support staff were in good spirits as they came together for one last look at the Lord’s before they return to South Africa, and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder said the celebrations had been spirited.
“It’s been a very, very good couple of days. Celebrations like I haven’t had before, so as a team I think we’re super chuffed and no better place to do it than at the Home of Cricket,” Mulder was quoted as saying by ICC Digital at Lord’s.
Mulder admitted he had hardly slept since arriving in London, with nerves leading into the Ultimate Test and the celebrations post-match still taking their toll.
And while Mulder revealed all the players and support staff had joined in the frivolity, he said it was a group of players from Western Province that had led the way.
“I think it’s the Western Province crew, to be honest,” Mulder said when asked who had been the best celebrators. “All of them celebrate victory very, very hard. Kyle Verreynne, Dane Paterson, David Bedingham and (batting coach) Ashwell Prince are kind of the leaders of our vibe team, so they have been the guys that have gone all out.”
Mulder revealed he had been inundated with messages of support from family and friends back home in South Africa, and he had even spoken with Australian batter Travis Head, his teammate along with Pat Cummins at IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad, after the victory.
“I actually spoke to him (Head) last night on the phone,” Mulder said. “He was chuffed for the way it went for us.
“Obviously, he was broken that they didn’t win, but I think overall, the spirit of the game was really as high or as good as it could be.
“You think about the Aussies, you always think about them as being a little bit nasty at times, but I think these guys are true champions.
“And the way they go about it, the consistency that they bring to every single day and every single moment of the game, just shows why they’re arguably the best team, best sporting cricketing team to ever play the game,” Mulder told the ICC.