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South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad believes the Proteas' recent Test series triumph over Australia is only the beginning, expressing confidence that his side can continue to improve as they target a second consecutive ICC World Test Championship title.
The Proteas showcased their quality by securing a 2-1 victory over Australia in the recently concluded home Test series. The triumph also propelled South Africa to second place in the World Test Championship standings, strengthening their bid to qualify for next year's final. While Conrad was pleased with his team's performance against the Aussies, he believes there is still considerable room for improvement as South Africa look to build on their recent success during the remainder of the WTC cycle. The Proteas have a busy Test schedule ahead, with two-match home series against Bangladesh and a three-match assignment against England, followed by two fixtures against Sri Lanka as they continue their push for a place in the WTC final. "I still think there are one or two things that will make us the best version. But my gosh, I wouldn't have thought this a couple of days ago that we'd stand here. In the same breath, I'm also not surprised because that lot have it in them to do amazing things," Conrad said as per the ICC website. Conrad indicated that South Africa's best playing XI is still a work in progress, with the head coach keen to continue rotating his squad in search of the ideal balance and combinations suited to winning individual Tests and series. This approach could involve making difficult selection calls, including leaving out players who played key roles in South Africa's maiden World Test Championship triumph at Lord's last year, while providing opportunities to emerging talents. Conrad followed that strategy during the Australia series, handing opportunities to the likes of Marques Ackerman and Matthew Breetzke. "We're getting the best XI on the bus. We've just got to find the right seats for them. The important bit is that very often you need to be quite malleable as a player also. You take Marques, for example, who's come in and taken (to Test cricket) like a duck to water. He's still going to mess things up because of the way he plays, but he is a character that I don't want to stymie in any way," he added. And while Conrad knows his side is well placed to qualify for another World Test Championship decider, the South Africa coach is not taking anything for granted and is only looking at the short-term as his team gets ready to host Bangladesh in two Tests later this month. "Every Test series becomes the biggest Test series and the next Test series is the biggest Test series of the summer," Conrad added. "Bangladesh are going to come here with quicks that can be very effective on the surfaces on the Highveld. Let's not forget that they not so long ago beat Australia. It's critical for us that we take the good from here, look at where we can get better and make sure we hit the ground running against Bangladesh in a few weeks," Conrad concluded. (ANI)
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