Shukri Conrad’s Proteas ‘warriors’ will have entire cricket-mad country backing them at Lord’s final

It is not often that the losing captain walks away with the biggest smile after a World Cup final defeat – especially when inflicted by their arch-rivals. 

But that’s what happens when you’ve captured not just the hearts of a nation, but the entire cricketing globe who have all been transfixed by your chutzpah. 

“We’ve been on an incredible journey,” Brendon McCullum said in the centre of the MCG after the 2015 World Cup final.

“We’ve loved every single minute of it. We’ve created memories and friendships which will last the rest of our lives.”

McCullum, affectionately known as ‘Bazz’, had bellowed the same mantra throughout the six-week-long competition, creating a frenzy around his team back in New Zealand that was previously only reserved for the team wearing all-black uniforms running around with an oval ball. 

Fast forward a decade, and McCullum is now no longer a captain, but the coach of a team he inadvertently shaped in the English summer immediately after the World Cup. 

He no longer clutches the Black Fern on his chest, but proudly wears England’s Three Lions on his bucket hat. 

But intrinsically he remains the same individual, and has now called on the oft-fickle English supporters to get on the bus and take a similar ride with him and his team. 

“We want people to look back and say, ‘Crikey, that team in the mid -2020s was a hell of a team that we loved following, and we felt as if we were a part of that journey’,” McCullum said.

I cannot help but notice the similarities between Bazz and Proteas coach Shukri Conrad.

It goes beyond what meets the eye, but their outlook on how the game should be played is cut from a similar cloth. 

And while McCullum may be more overt in conveying his message, Conrad has rapidly rehabilitated a South African fan-base that had been overfed a buffet of white-ball cricket into red-ball believers once again.

“I’m just thrilled for the group of guys, for everybody that’s been supportive of this side, for all of the South African cricket-mad public,” Conrad said about the Proteas’ qualification for the World Test Championship final.

“I think everybody shares the same goal. We’re all really thrilled with how things have unfolded.”

Like McCullum, who stresses the importance of “It’s how you carry yourself. It’s how you interact with the public. It’s the messaging that you give”, Conrad wants his team to be Rainbow Nation “warriors”.

“When I look back, I always see the faces. You, me, our neighbour Brian Wentzel, Faiek Davids, my mate Randall Christoffels. The families. The aunties on the stoep. That’s the soul of my story. That’s where my fire comes from. 

“I want every kid to know – if I can make it to Lord’s, so can you.

“Why should my son only know Mitchell Starc? He should know Kagiso Rabada. Dewald Brevis. Ryan Rickelton. These are our warriors.”

The fact that he implicitly mentions Rabada tells a story of a thousand words.

Rabada is the poster-boy of South African cricket who fell from grace after testing positive for a banned substance.

But instead of kicking Rabada down when he was at the lowest point of his career, Conrad’s natural paternal instincts took over.

“I often adopt a fatherly role with these players. Your initial reaction is to have him in front of you and smack him over his head, and then ask him, ‘Are you okay?’.

“For me, it’s simple. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

“KG owns his cock-up that he made. He’s dealing with it.

“I’m not scared that this will break down (the team). I think it will galvanise the unit if we need something to galvanise us.”

At that very moment, Conrad connected with every South African.

Mzansi is a nation that has been battered and bruised by the mistakes it has made of its own accord, but is ready to get back up and fight another day. 

Conrad is not going to Lord’s to “admire the paintings. I’m going to win”, and is therefore hoping his World Cup final has a different ending than McCullum’s. 

Well, he can certainly bet his last rand on the fact that every South African will be willing him and his team on to achieve just that at Lord’s in just under a month’s time.