Exclusive: Shukri Conrad on South Africa’s WTC Final Challenge, Fast Bowling Crisis, and the Future of Test Cricket

As South Africa gears up for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad reflects on the past season, the challenges ahead, and the state of South African cricket.

Wisden Test Coach of the Year

Conrad was named Wisden's Coach of the Year, a recognition of South Africa’s Test resurgence.

"It has been an eventful ride! I am thrilled and honoured to be recognised by Wisden, who is the holy grail of cricket almanacs."  

"If I were to look back at my tenure thus far, it was a rocky start. That New Zealand Test series was not ideal, won a Test match in Centurion [vs India] and lost one against India at Newlands."

"If I were to look back at how we managed to turn things around...and I say we, my management, coaching staff and the players. It has been hugely successful but also a work in progress, there is still lots we need to do with the Test team and there is still lots to strive for."

"The fact we are playing in a World Test Championship in a few months time is special and something that I can only heap praise to my support staff and the players."

Australia’s Dominance & The Lords Test

South Africa will face an in-form Australia at Lords. A side that recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in the subcontinent and won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India 3-1.

"The big series for them was against India, in the Border/Gavaskar Trophy. They obviously had their wood over India, I wouldn't look too much into the Sri Lanka series. The conditions are completely different to those at Lords."

"Both teams will go into the Final, on the back of not having much Test cricket. It's not ideal, I mean look there is the Champions Trophy coming up then the IPL and I think it's a week or 10 days after the Final of the IPL when the [WTC Final] Test starts."

"We know what we're up against, Australia are arguably the top Test team in the world. We are thrilled we will be meeting them."

"A lot has been said about us not facing Australia or England but now we get to play them in the Final. We know what they are about, they play their cricket similar to how we play it."

County Cricket Experience & The Duke Ball Factor

Several South African players have played County Cricket in England, including David Bedingham, Dane Paterson, Wiaan Mulder, and Kyle Verreynne.

"Every bit of experience helps. Our players' exposure to County Cricket reduces acclimatization challenges."

A key challenge will be the Duke ball, which behaves differently from the Kookaburra used in South Africa and Australia.

"The Duke ball stays harder, shinier, and swings longer. Batting against it and bowling with it requires a different skill set. Tapping into that experience will be crucial."

SA20 & South Africa’s Talent Pipeline

"The competition has been great, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It showcased a lot of talent both the experienced guys that we know of and some of the younger guys. Talk of the Lhuandre Pretorious', the Kwena Maphaka's and the relatively unknown Ruben Hermann and those guys coming up putting in performances they have."

"I stick to what I have been saying, South Africa will never be short of talent."

Post-WTC Series Against Zimbabwe

After the WTC Final, South Africa will face Zimbabwe, a low-ranked opponent [SA ranked 2nd, Zimbabwe 12th]. While this could be an opportunity to blood young players, Conrad remains focused on maintaining the best squad.

"I haven’t given it much thought yet. We’ll assess who needs a break, but I will always try to field our strongest Test team."

Test Cricket’s Scheduling Challenges

South Africa will not host any home Test matches this season, breaking a long tradition of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests.

"It is not ideal to not play home Tests. There have been talks regarding the scheduling and us not playing enough Test cricket. It is not ideal in the summer not to have any home Tests. Hopefully this will be the last time we experience this."

"I know there has been a lot of talk about a 'Two-Tier Test System', no one really knows what is going on there with the new [ICC] President Jay Shah and whoever the cricket committee is at ICC level. Hopefully they will come up with an equitable solution."

Relationship with Captain Temba Bavuma

Since taking over, Conrad has maintained a strong relationship with Test captain Temba Bavuma.

"Temba was always going to be my captain. His leadership and form have been outstanding."

Bavuma’s captaincy record speaks for itself, and their working dynamic is built on mutual respect.

"We challenge each other, Temba is measured and vocal about his views. We have a healthy respect and meet each other halfway when needed."

All-Format Coaching Role?

Currently, Rob Walter leads the white-ball side, while Conrad focuses on Test cricket. With Brendon McCullum now England’s all-format coach, could Conrad take on the same role?

"I haven’t thought about coaching the white-ball side, but leading the national team in any capacity is hard to say no to."

When asked directly if he would accept the role, he simply responded: "I will find it difficult to say no."

WTC Final Warm-Up Plans

With only 22 days between the IPL final and the WTC Final, preparation time is tight. South Africa explored a potential warm-up Test against Zimbabwe, but ICC regulations prevented it.

"We can’t have a formal Test match outside the ICC window. But I’m not too concerned. Australia is in the same boat."

"We’ve built success around training camps. We’ll likely leave for the UK 10 days before the final. That’s plenty of prep."

Fast Bowling Crisis

South Africa faces an injury crisis, with a large group of fast bowlers currently injured and the list is growing.

"It is a massive crisis, I have never seen so many fast bowlers down in such a short space of time. We had Anna [Anrich Nortje] break a toe and Wiaan [Mulder] broke a finger...that's completely different. The other injuries are all muscle related, whether it be groins or hamstrings."

"We got a couple of guys with stress fractures, so it is concerning. Of course our medical team is looking at it, in depth. If I had to guess or throw my five cents, I don't think enough bowling is being done. Loads can be too low sometimes, I know a lot of the times people get scared of over-bowling. A lot of the issues are with under-bowling nowadays"

"Guys play in a lot of T20 leagues and they don't do a lot of bowling. Then straight after those leagues they go into a Test series or a First Class competition. They are woefully under-bowled and injuries take place."

"I don't think it helped that our season started off with T20 cricket. Bowlers prepare for T20 cricket then straight after that, there are four rounds of First Class cricket and the guys are nowhere near prepared for that."

"Players need to take responsibility, the ownness isn't on the medical team. Players need to take responsibility for their wellbeing and to ensure they are in the best possible shape. We put Marco Jansen in a conditioning block and he went through that with flying colours. Gerald's was a slightly shorter one, we know the issues we've had there."