'I'm willing to give my blood for the Proteas,' says Kagiso Rabada after Lord's redemption

On the sidelines of the bedlam that exploded at Lord’s after the Proteas’ etched their names into the history books with a maiden World Test Championship title stood Andrew Breetzke.

The South African Cricketers Association chief could not believe what he was witnessing. The outpouring of emotion and joy on every South African’s face within the hallowed ground was a world away from the turmoil he was embroiled in just a couple of months before. 

Kagiso Rabada had tested positive for recreational drug use, and with the WTC Final on the horizon, Breetze needed to act swiftly in piecing together the best team of legal and medical experts that could formulate a plan to ensure Rabada’s participation at Lord’s. 

The fact that in a previous life Breetzke was the Chairperson of the Anti-Doping Tribunal at South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport was a significant bonus. 

“I am just so happy it all worked out,” Breetzke said with a sigh of relief. 

A nation is equally grateful for Rabada’s star shone brighter than ever before during four engrossing days in St John’s Wood.

The Proteas spearhead snared a match-haul of 9/110, which saw his name chiselled on to the Lord’s Honours Board for the second time, prompting his captain Temba Bavuma to earmark the big fast bowler as a future ICC Hall of Fame inductee.

While the personal accolades may one day be reflected upon, Rabada was just grateful to share the moment of breaking a 27-year ICC major trophy curse with his teammates.

“To be honest, I don't see myself as a star. I see myself as someone who's willing to give my blood for this team and continue working hard and improving,” Rabada said.

“That's me as a cricketer. Always wanting to improve and play for the badge with a lot of pride. That's the way I see myself, and that's the way that I'd like to see everyone play.

“You look at the standout performances and you count a number of them throughout the entire season, but not only that, you look at a fairly inexperienced team that got put together about a year ago, haven't even been playing with each other for a long time, and we go on and produce this … I don't think that's normal.

“I'll never forget this in my life, none of the boys will forget this in their lives.”

Despite playing international cricket for a decade, Rabada is still only 30-years-old and recently passed the legendary Allan Donald’s 330 Test wicket mark. 

But unfortunately, due to the limited amount of red-ball matches the Proteas - which will hopefully change now that they are World Test Champions - play, Rabada is unlikely to haul in Dale Steyn (439) and Shaun Pollock (421) with Makhaya Ntini (390) the most realistic next target on the South African all-time wicket-takers list. 

It is for this reason that team accomplishments carry even greater significance for Rabada, as the Proteas can now look forward to the 2027 World Cup set to be staged on home soil with great optimism.

“This has obviously given us confidence that we can do it again,” he said. “I don't know how I would be feeling if the result went the other way around, but let's not think too much about that.

“This gives confidence for the future, moving forward, and confidence comes from doing things.”