Temba Bavuma's South Africa became the first team to book a place in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) final with a thrilling two-legged win over Pakistan in Centurion last year. Later, Australia defeated India in the home Test series to join South Africa in the 2025 World Trade Center final in London.
After finishing fifth in the first World Trade Center cycle, South Africa made a strong comeback in the 2021-2023 cycle, but failed to reach the summit clash, as its journey ended in third place.
South Africa have secured their place in the 2025 WTC Finals after 7 straight wins
However, the Proteas have now secured a place in the 2025 WTC Finals with seven straight wins. But some fans and cricket experts, especially former England cricketers, question whether South Africa really deserve to be in the final.
In fact, South Africa played a relatively low number of matches in the 2023-25 WTC tournament – just 11 Tests, while other teams like England (22), India (18) and Australia (16) played more matches.
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Despite playing fewer Tests, South Africa still managed to top the table with a points percentage of 66.67%. But their qualification sparked criticism, with many questioning the Proteas' place in the 2025 WTC final, while some felt they played a lower-ranked side, which helped them reach the summit clash.
Temba Bavuma unfazed by criticism over South Africa's qualification for 2025 World Trade Championship final
However, Temba Bavuma remains unfazed despite the criticism. Their place in the final is the only and best answer, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said, ignoring the naysayers. South Africa proved their worth by finishing first, and Bavuma noted that this is all the response the critics are getting now.
“No, I don't want to answer it. We are in the final. This is the only answer I have,” Hindustan Times quoted Temba Bavuma as saying.
The South African captain called for a more balanced and competitive series in the World Test Championship (WTC) format. Bavuma wants all teams to play a series of at least three matches. “Yes, please,” Temba Bavuma noted. We would like to play more in South Africa. We would like to be able to test our skills much more. We would also like to be able to test our mettle a lot more.
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Temba Bavuma calls for a three-match test series to determine who is the better team
Reflecting on South Africa's recent two-match series with India, he felt it did not determine the true better team. The skipper added: “I think about the India series that we played here at home, which ended 1-1. It was just a two-match series, and I think the end of that series was a bit disappointing. You know, you always play to see who is the best. And there is ,You didn't know who this was or who was the best.
Bavuma also highlighted the disparity in the number of Tests played by different teams, with England playing far more than South Africa, as he feels everyone deserves the chance to test with the best. He signed off by saying: “So, yeah, they could probably do the minimum amount of Tests. I think England played about 22 Tests last year. We played 12; that's almost 50 per cent. So, you know, we hope you don't really get that kind of Tolerances.
