It was never going to be straightforward. South Africa’s cricketers in a pressure game? Perhaps only amphetamines are as reliable in spiking the heart rate. After a truly heroic collapse on a wearing Centurion pitch beginning to misbehave like an unruly toddler, number 10 Kagiso Rabada strode to the crease with 49 still required and hopes of smooth progress into the World Test Championship final fading.
A resurgent year for the Proteas meant that a win in either Test of a two-match affair against Pakistan would be enough to book their spot at Lord’s in June; enjoying the comforts of home and a visiting side in the grips of their latest off-field chaos, any other nation might have been counting their chickens. But, alas, this is South Africa, cricket’s chokers, still waiting 30 years on from readmission for their eggs to hatch.
