This could be a defining moment for Temba - Prince

"Oh, Temba Bavuma." The singing started coming from the mostly South Africa fans in the Mound Stand at Lord's on Friday, long before Bavuma had reached 50. Sung in the style that people would use to serenade Jeremy Corbyn, it hardly stopped as the day wore on.

Unlike the former UK Labour Party leader, Bavuma is still in the spotlight. He will resume on Saturday needing 35 more runs to score his fifth Test century. But, already, he has delivered the innings of his career.

As has Aiden Markram, whose 102 not out - his eighth Test ton - anchored an unbroken stand of 143 with Bavuma that leaves South Africa requiring 69 more runs, with eight wickets in hand, to beat Australia in the WTC final.

The South Africans are on the brink of glory, but that hasn't happened easily. Having dismissed Australia for 212 in the first innings, they crashed to a reply of 138. Then they conceded 134 runs after reducing the Australians to 73/7. That meant they would have to score 282 to win. Only once have more runs been made in the fourth innings to win a Lord's Test.

Bavuma had scored only eight when he dashed a single to midwicket off Mitchell Starc before tea and hurt a hamstring. He spent the rest of his time at the crease in varying degrees of discomfort, hobbling through many of his runs and walking others. Markram was an immaculate totem at the other end of the pitch, tailoring his game to his ailing partner's diminished abilities but still scoring runs.

"At tea time we had to make a big call about whether Temba continues to bat and how it will affect his strokeplay," Ashwell Prince, South Africa's batting coach, said. "And how it might affect Aiden's rhythm if twos are being turned into ones and if they can't run twos or threes.

"Aiden's tough, Temba is tough, and Aiden has great respect for Temba. Both of them were adamant that Temba was going to continue. He wanted to continue, and Aiden was adamant that the partnership was the key. Aiden was well aware that he would have to curb his intensity in terms of running between the wickets to allow Temba to ease his way through it."

Bavuma's physical condition offered a metaphor for a career that has been built on struggle. He is a perennial target for racism that surfaces at the slightest excuse. Conversely, there is silence in certain quarters when he performs well. What might this innings say about him?

"It says a lot, and it's not done yet," Prince said. "As you say, he's had to fight throughout his career. And this could be a defining moment, I believe. It's the biggest stage in terms of Test cricket..." Prince is no stranger to struggle himself. His voice trailed off before he said, "Maybe I should answer that question after the game."

But he didn't hold back on the positive influence Shukri Conrad has made as head coach since his appointment in January 2023: "The important thing from Shukri's point of view is to make the players aware of how good they are. And that's a big thing because they are good players.

"If opponents take them lightly you might come short. I'm sure Australia wouldn't have approached the game in that manner, but perhaps the rest of the world watching the final or predicting what's going to happen might have had that opinion.

"Shukri's message has been the same throughout - make them believe that they can do it. And then step out of the way and allow them to go and do it."

Another of Conrad's strengths, Prince said, was "making sure everybody stays calm in the dressingroom. So as soon as Aiden and Temba came up the stairs, the first thing he said was, 'You do the same as you do every night, don't change a thing. Tomorrow morning, come and do the same warm-ups that you do every day.' We understand the magnitude of the situation and what's at stake, but you need to stay calm and take it in your stride."

That clarity extended to the task that lay ahead on Saturday: "The game will finish when it finishes. Whether that is tomorrow at lunchtime or whatever, the end of the match will take care of itself. For us, the most important thing is to remain in the moment. From a batting point of view, that means play one ball at a time."

It's an approach founded on togetherness: "This team's greatest strength is unity. They are well aware that South Africa have had much greater individual players. But they've got something special going in that dressingroom, and that helps them to drag each other along."

No South Africa team, male or female, have won a senior world title. They were under-19 men's World Cup champions in 2014 and their last, and only, senior global trophy was the 1998 ICC Knockout, the precursor to the Champions Trophy. Including at under-19 level, they have lost four white-ball finals in the past two years.

Worse yet, the South Africans have earned a reputation for crumbling under pressure, or choking. But they are on the brink of changing that narrative, and they have made it this far despite going into the final as underdogs and with criticism of their presence in the showpiece ringing in their ears. South Africa played only a dozen matches in the 2023/25 WTC cycle, largely because teams like India, England and Australia were more interested in lucrative series against each other.

"I can promise you that we'd love to play against everybody more often, especially if there are some big-money series where we can also make some money," Prince said pointedly.

But, first, score 69 more runs.