Sitting fifth on the World Test Championship table with just 40 percent of points available won, the Proteas still have an outside shot of making the final at Lord’s.
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The Proteas will need India to do them a few favours and string together an unlikely sequence of wins but there are still faint hopes they could reach the very first World Test Championship final.
The championship will conclude this June with a final at Lord’s, the venue chosen by the ICC some time ago.
South Africa had looked dead and buried in the series and would have been were it not for a string of cancellations that has meant the ICC reverted to percentage of points won as the means for determining which two sides contest the first final at the end of a two-year cycle.
After their heroics in Australia, India lead the way and are the only opponent South Africa could face, given that any other side qualifying would see the Proteas miss out.
New Zealand could throw a spanner in the works if they are able to reschedule their home series against Bangladesh as it seems unlikely that a Black Caps side that swept aside the West Indies and Pakistan would falter against the Tigers.
South Africa would need to achieve a clean sweep of their upcoming series in Pakistan and whitewash Australia in the scheduled three-match Test series in March to improve their standing enough to edge past New Zealand.
If Australia win two or all of their Tests against South Africa and prevent the hosts from notching a win, it is they who will slip past New Zealand.
South Africa also need India to sweep their series against England or win by a margin of 3-0, in order for them to get ahead of Joe Root’s men in the pecking order.
The Proteas could also use some help from Sri Lanka, who face England in their second Test in Galle from 22 January.
They may need an unlikely run of results but the hope of reaching that final should serve as a motivator for a team who are desperate to prove they are among the game’s elite.
Written by James Richardson.
