Proteas deliver loud and clear message at Newlands

Second Test, Day 2, Stumps

Proteas: 615 all out (Rickelton 259, Verreynne 100, Jansen 62, Abbas 3/94)

Pakistan: 64/3 (Babar 31*, Ghulam 12, Rabada 2/9)

Pakistan trail by 551 runs

For all those still wondering whether the Proteas actually deserve a place in the World Test Championship final, Shukri Conrad’s team delivered a loud and clear message on another glorious day at Newlands yesterday.

The opposition might be a lot more menacing than Pakistan’s listless attack come June at Lord’s, but once again the Proteas can only play what’s in front of them - and they are duly taking care of their business.

There was more to that century by Kyle Verreynne 😁

Congratulations are in order for reaching the 1000 Test runs mark. Wishing you many many more! 🏏#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/lbSs3QWUBg

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) January 4, 2025

The home team compiled a mammoth 615 all out - the first time the Proteas have passed 600 since the first Test post the Coronavirus back in 2020.

It was largely built around a masterful 259 from Ryan Rickleton - just short of the all-time Newlands record held by former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming - before Kyle Verreynne joined his captain Temba Bavuma as the third centurion of the Proteas’ innings.

What will always remain in the memory is the manner in which Rickelton realised that this was his time. Having been on the fringes looking on from the outside for so long, Rickelton now wanted to make sure that he left an indelible mark that would ensure he would be the one padding up at Lord’s in the WTC Final.

The end eventually came just when the whispers were growing louder that Rickelton may yet pass Hashim Amla’s all-time Proteas’ record of 311 not out.

He had just drilled his 28th and 29th boundary when, attempting the 30th, he hoisted a high catch to mid-on.

The gracious applause Rickelton received from the Newlands crowd as he made way back to the pavilion could be heard all the way down nearby Campground Road.

“I was there when he (Rickelton) got his maiden Test 100 in PE and obviously saw how much that meant to him. I think, yeah, it's really nice batting with him out there," Verreynne said.

“I thought he'd be so tired. Obviously he batted the whole of yesterday and quite a lot of today. But when I walked out to bat with him, he was just so calm.

“I just felt like he could do this for ages. And I think that sort of put me at ease. I think I wasn't really too sure how to go about it, if I needed to be a bit more aggressive or sort of just bat normally.

“But I think the sort of calmness that he brought about or brought to that partnership was really good. Yeah, we get on quite well off the field, so it's quite nice to batter with someone like that.”

While the spotlight was firmly on Rickelton, and rightfully so, the entertainment Verreynne provided during the morning and into the afternoon session was equally enthralling.

Playing with the freedom of someone that was already on the plane to London, Verreynne tore into the Pakistan with some savage pulls and hook shots that saw him race to a century in just 144 balls.

The innings had extra significance for it was the Proteas wicket-keeper’s first - and fourth overall - Test century on his home ground in front of his nearest and dearest.

“It's the first time my mum's been here to watch me get a Test 100 obviously,” Verreynne said.

“So I started feeling a bit emotional and I think it's probably why I got out after I got 100, because I was just so emotionally drained. But yeah, incredibly special.

“It's probably not one of the more important ones that I've scored from a team perspective because we were scoring so many runs already anyway. But I think from a personal point of view, just having my mum there, my brother was also here, which was really, really special for me. So yeah, really happy with that.”

The Proteas’ decision not to declare may have left some questioning the wisdom of it, but it all seemed irrelevant when Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, who had earlier helped himself to a quickfire 62 too, finally got the ball in their hands.

The new-ball pairing tore through the Pakistan line-up that were already hamstrung by injured opener Saim Ayub with Babar Azam taking his place at the top of order.

Pakistan were left reeling at 64/3 when stumps were called leaving the tourists an almighty task to prevent the Proteas from closing out a 2-0 sweep.