Thursday 12 / September / 2024
Guyana : South Africa Test coach Shukri Conrad showered praise on "Mr Reliable" Keshav Maharaj, who became their most successful spinner in red-ball cricket in terms of wickets.
Maharaj was the leading wicket-taker in the two Tests against the West Indies, claiming 13 scalps across the series at an average of 16.08.
The 34-year-old weaved magic with the ball in the second Test. He picked up a three-wicket haul in the second innings to seal a 40-run win for the Proteas. In 52 Test matches, Maharaj has used his craft in spin to claim 171 wickets. He broke the record previously held by Hugh Tayfield with 170 wickets.
"Kesh is an absolute workhorse, an absolute professional, and he just keeps going, and I'm thrilled that he nailed that record. It's richly deserved. He's great in the changing room. He's a great sounding board for players and coaches, a really good team guy and someone that you can easily dub Mr. Reliable. When you're transitioning, you need someone like that in your team," Conrad said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
After earning a hard-fought 1-0 win in the series, South Africa leapfrogged from seventh to fifth in the World Test Championship standings.
Conrad expressed that reaching the WTC final at the Lord's is in the back of the team's mind as they continue to go through a transition.
"We've got a big couple of months ahead of us to grow as a Test team. At the end of that, if we do very well and win enough games, we can end up in the World Test Championship final. But that's not the only goal of the team. It's also to grow as a team," Conrad said.
"With young and inexperienced batters, you almost factor in that every now and again you're going to have a few aberrations with the bat. But the vital signs are there, so we can go and become a really good test unit. The skillsets are there. It's really just the experience we need. With experience, you'll find fewer soft dismissals and less of the falling over when bowlers bowl well and we'll be able to put up more of a fight with the bat," he added.
Ahead of the WTC final, South Africa have just six Test matches left. They will play two in Bangladesh (scheduled for October) and two Tests each at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
