The South African team that won the ICC World Test Championship returned on Monday to the iconic venue of their historic triumph, arriving at Lord’s for further WTC Final festivities.
Just two days after their historic five-wicket win over Australia, all 15 members of the South African squad that clinched the ICC World Test Championship Final were present at the Home of Cricket with the prestigious mace.
The players and support staff gathered at Lord’s for one final visit before heading back to South Africa, and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder said the celebrations were full of energy.
“It’s been a really good few days,” Mulder told ICC Digital at Lord’s.
“I’ve never celebrated like this before, so as a team I think we’re just really happy, and there’s no better place to do it than the Home of Cricket.”
Mulder admitted that he has barely slept since arriving in London — with nerves building up before the Ultimate Test and the celebrations continuing long after the match ended.
And while Mulder revealed that all the players and staff got involved in the fun, he said it was the group of Western Province players who really took things up a notch.
When asked who celebrated the hardest, Mulder said,
“Honestly, I think it was the Western Province guys.
They all celebrated the win very, very passionately. Kyle Verreynne, Dane Paterson, David Bedingham, and (batting coach) Ashwell Prince are the vibe leaders in our team — they’re the ones who went all in.”
Mulder recently played alongside Australia captain Pat Cummins and star batter Travis Head at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, and the 27-year-old said he enjoyed getting to know the pair during his short stint with the franchise.
“Heady is one of the best guys around, and Patty’s a great guy too,” said Mulder.
“I spent a bit of time with them at Sunrisers during the IPL, and we had a lot of laughs.
I trained a lot since I didn’t get much game time in the IPL, and I spent a lot of time facing Pat and Heady in the nets, so there were plenty of jokes flying before we came into the WTC.”
Mulder revealed he was flooded with messages of support from friends and family back home in South Africa and said he even spoke to Head after the match.
“I actually spoke to him (Head) on the phone last night,” said Mulder.
“They were really happy for us.
Obviously, they were gutted not to win, but I think overall the spirit of the game was as high and as good as it could possibly be.
“When you think of the Australian team, sometimes you think they can come across a bit harsh, but I think these guys are true champions.
And the way they go about it — the consistency they bring to every day and every moment of the game — it shows why they’re arguably the best team to have played the sport.”
