Exclusive: Dr Ali Bacher Lauds Bavuma and Markram but Urges ICC to Support Test Cricket in South Africa

Former captain and veteran administrator Dr Ali Bacher envisioned South Africa as a united cricketing nation with representation from both black and white players. He played a vital role in the country's return to international cricket in 1991, following the end of apartheid.

The 83-year-old was one of the happiest in the Rainbow Nation on Saturday when Temba Bavuma and Co. beat defending champions Australia at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London to lift the ICC World Test Championship title.

Although he lauded Bavuma and Aiden Markram's heroic effort to bat the Australians out of the match, his concern is the future of Test cricket in South Africa, as the nation has been playing fewer matches compared to England, Australia, and India.

South Africa played 13 Tests, including the final, in the WTC 2023-25 cycle. England played 22 Tests, Australia 20, and India 19.

Call for more Tests for SA

The WTC winners will not play a home Test match until October 2026, so there won’t be much change in the new season. The Proteas will play 14 Tests, whereas Australia will play 22, England 21, and India 18.

"We have been trying for decades to win a major international tournament with great players such as AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, and Makhaya Ntini [to name a few]. We were loaded with world-class players, yet we never won a top trophy [after the Champions Trophy in 1998]. You cannot compare this team to the players I mentioned, but there is a special bond of friendship and camaraderie, similar to a top international cricket team."

"If you look at the international cricket calendar out now, it is dominated by England, Australia, and India playing each other for a five-Test series, and South Africa is in the second league. We don't have any international Tests this summer at home. You have to spread the game and not confine it to two or three big countries," Bacher told SportsBoom.com. 

Bacher was the chairman of the ICC Development Committee in the '90s. 

"In those years, when I was the chairman of the ICC development program, our objective was to spread the game. What South Africa has shown now, with the WTC triumph, the authorities need to rethink and start spreading the game, and not confine it to three countries, which was never the objective of the ICC," he added.

There are, of course, multiple factors why South Africa is not able to host a Test series at home this year. Apart from financial constraints, stadiums will undergo renovation as they will host the next ODI World Cup in 2027, with Zimbabwe and Namibia. 

The SA20 league is likely to begin on Boxing Day, a fortnight earlier, as the next T20 World Cup is scheduled for February in India and Sri Lanka.

Bacher hails Markram and Bavuma

Bacher, the main architect of Proteas cricket since their readmission, praised the current team for springing a surprise. 

Markram’s match-winning 136 is already being lauded as one of the finest innings ever played in a title decider, while Bavuma’s composed 66 in a 147-run partnership not only laid the platform for South Africa’s triumph but also marked a defining moment in his rise to greatness.

"The cricket team has brought great joy and happiness to our country. If you had taken an opinion poll of say 100 cricketing people who know the game around the world, I don't think even a small percentage would have given South Africa a chance to win this coveted title. They surprised many to their absolute credit," he said, adding that players such as Markram and Bavuma augur well for the future of red-ball cricket."

"Markram scored two centuries in his first Test series against Australia at home in 2018. He even got a hundred in his debut series against Bangladesh a year earlier. The Aussies gave him a tough time on the field, but he survived and proved that he was mentally strong; getting a match-winning hundred at Lord's is big. I have played one game at Lord's, and I was nervous because of the history associated with the ground. Markram couldn't adjust in the first innings [out for 0], but overcoming that and getting a hundred in the second innings implies his big-match temperament," reasoned Bacher, who played 12 Tests for South Africa between 1965 and 1970.

The WTC final win was Bavuma's ninth victory in 10 Tests as the captain of South Africa. One game ended in a draw. He became the most successful Test captain in his first 10 appearances. 

"The captain has surprised many people by being an astute leader. What I like about him is his batting. Although he is short when he plays a defensive stroke, he does it with the full face of the bat, with no angles, and that's why his defense is so good. He has the support of the team and the management behind him, too," said Bacher, who was the manager of the Clive Rice-led Proteas side that travelled to India on a historic tour in 1991.

Bacher was a talismanic administrator of the United Cricket Board of South Africa. He was also the executive director of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.