South Africa keep WTC final hopes alive with hard-fought victory

South Africa’s Test series success over the West Indies keeps up their outside chance of a place in next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final even if they must win at least five of their next six matches.

The 40-run win over the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown on Saturday was their second success in six Tests in the 2023-25 cycle and moved them up to fifth in the standings with 28 points and a winning percentage of 38.89.

But if they are to stand any chance of challenging the likes of log leaders India (74 points & 68.51 percentage) and second placed Australia (90 points & 62.5 percentage) for a berth in next year’s one-off final, they must win at least five of their next remaining six Tests – two away against Bangladesh in October, which are yet to be confirmed, followed by two home to Sri Lanka and Pakistan each at the end of the year.

Reaching the final of the championship is a goal for South Africa, who kept up their long-standing dominance over the West Indies with their weekend win in Guyana.

It proved a see-saw battle in the second Test as the home side chased a target of 263 run to win but fell short when South Africa bowled them out for 222.

“It was very satisfying because winning away from home is never an easy feat, and you should never take it for granted,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said.

South Africa were in their first Test outing since February when the Twenty20 commitments of most of their players saw them send a second-string side to New Zealand and be easily beaten.

They were back to full strength for their brief Caribbean tour, where they drew the first rain-affected Test in Trinidad and Tobago.

“Our goal was to come to the Caribbean and win the series, and we’re happy that we were able to do so. And I think along the way as well, we've played some good cricket,” Bavuma said.

“We were put under pressure, and we were able to have answers in those periods. I think we can obviously get better and improve, but I think for this young group of players, there's a lot of learnings and confidence that we can take from here,” he told reporters.