Proteas Coach Conrad Dismisses ‘Big Three’ Narrative After WTC Triumph: “None of Them Are Champions"

Proteas coach Shukri Conrad further explained his stand on the Big Three - India, Australia and England - highlighting that the three teams created their own reality, dubbing themselves the Big Three and that none of them are World Test Champions. 

None of them are Test Champions 

Heading into last week's World Test Championship final at Lord's, the Proteas Test team could not go anywhere without hearing how their journey to the final was easier because they did not play the Big Three - India, Australia and England - despite having played India in their first Test series of the World Test Championship cycle. 

The Australian media was talking about it, and so was the UK media. Various former Australian Test players and many other former players around the world made their opinions known about the so-called easier path that the Proteas took on their way to the final. 

To an extent, many believed that the Proteas did not deserve to be in the final despite their impressive seven-match win streak heading into the final. 

They questioned the streak and the weight that the streak carried, often asking - 'who did they play in those seven games' and answering their own question saying - 'South Africa played nobodies.' 

Coach Shukri Conrad, upon the Test team's arrival at the OR Tambo International Airport from London on Wednesday, where the side received a champions welcome into the country by fans, gave his last comments on the 'Big Three' conversation. 

"They create their own realities, and unfortunately, none of them are (Test) champions," Conrad told SportsBoom.co.za. 

"We are the Test champions now, so I feel absolutely nothing about the top three. I don't believe that there is a top three," he added. 

The team belief 

Conrad reiterated that leading up to the contest at Lord's, they never saw themselves as underdogs despite the glaring difference in experience between the less experienced Proteas squad and the more experienced Australia side. 

Australia's Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon both have more than 100 Tests each, while none of the active Proteas Test players have reached the 100-match mark yet. 

Though Conrad accepts the difference in experience, the coach emphasised that they always believed they had every chance to beat Australia, and in hindsight, they did beat South Africa. 

"We always felt that we belonged. We never even felt that we were underdogs in any of this. There's never a conversation that happened in any of our team talks. Everybody dubbed Australia as the huge favourites, probably on the back of the experience more than anything else," said Conrad. 

"But to answer your question, I mean we're one of the main cricket teams in the world and like I said also we create our own reality."

"I don't think we ever, ever felt that there is a big three. Only in their own minds is there a big three. We've never felt that there's a big three. We might not have played England or Australia in the build-up to the final, but we managed to play Australia in the final, and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way." 

The celebrations continue in South Africa, and soon, the side will be back in action as they are set to tour Zimbabwe next week.