This year has encapsulated the dual journeys of the Proteas cricket teams — a tale of resilience in the Test format juxtaposed against the heartache of near glory in limited-overs cricket. As fans continue to rally behind their side, Zaahier Adams cannot help but wonder if the elusive trophy awaits just around the corner.
AT TEST LEVEL
If there is a fairytale story of the year it's the Proteas’ Test side.
Having started the year under the most problematic circumstances with Shukri Conrad forced to take an extremely under-strength team to New Zealand, to being top of the ICC World Test Championship log and just one victory away from qualifying for the final at Lord’s next year, is utterly remarkable.
Conrad was faced with the unthinkable when the New Zealand tour clashed with SA2O back home. As a result the Test side was left without not only its regulars but the vast majority of contracted players within the country.
Fortunately, Conrad has always been an out-of-the-box thinker which saw him send out an SOS to former Proteas Test spinner Dane Piedt and also Western Province and Nottinghamshire's veteran seamer Dane Paterson.
Titans opener Neil Brand was named captain of the side for the two-match series, and while the Proteas ultimately lost the series 2-0 – losing out on valuable WTC points – they certainly did not disgrace themselves.
Since then it has only been onwards and upwards for the Proteas Test side. Conrad’s charges currently enjoy a five-match winning streak that includes series victories over the West Indies (1-0 away), Bangladesh (2-0 away) and Sri Lanka (2-0 home).
The Bangladesh series victory was particularly satisfying, as it was the Proteas’ first Test series win on the subcontinent in a decade.
The upturn in the Proteas Test matches has been the remarkable turnaround of the batting unit’s form under Conrad and batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas have had nine different centurions over the last year, which included maiden tons for Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder and Ryan Rickelton.
Despite struggling with an assortment of injuries for the past year, captain Temba Bavuma’s form has also been stupendous.
Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada remains the Proteas’ talisman with the ball, but has received solid support from Marco Jansen and Paterson, while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj continues to toil brilliantly away.
The Proteas have a few injury worries ahead of the upcoming Pakistan series, particularly among the seam bowling unit, but they have shown they have the character and spirit to overcome nearly every challenge.
Grading: A+
Test Player of the Year: Temba Bavuma
Players to Watch in 2025: Tristan Stubbs
Worst Moment: David Bedingham’s 15 minutes of batting madness against Sri Lanka at St George’s Park
My Highlight: Kagiso Rabada claiming his 300th Test wicket in the first Test against Bangladesh.
PROTEAS MEN’S T20 AND ODI TEAMS
The Proteas’ Men’s team hit unprecedented heights in 2024. It was the year the white-ball team finally broke the ICC World Cup semi-final curse that dates back to South Africa’s first appearance at the SCG back in 1992.
Following in the footsteps of the Proteas’ Women’s team, who were the first South African senior cricket team to reach an ICC T20 World Cup final the previous year, Aiden Markram’s side followed suit this year.
Mighty India were the Proteas’ opposition at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. After a quiet tournament Indian legend Virat Kohli rose to the occasion to top-score with 76 to push India up to 176/7.
The Proteas were now required to complete a record chase in a T20 World Cup final if they were to achieve immortality.
Heinrich Klaasen has been the Proteas’ standout white-ball batter for the past 18 months and turned the final on its head when he blasted 24 runs off Axar Patel in the 15th over of the run chase.
This left the Proteas with just 30 runs required of 30 balls.
Unfortunately, an entire new chapter of Proteas’ heartbreak unfolded with Klaasen being dismissed shortly afterwards before Jasprit Bumrah’s death bowling brilliance left David Miller with 16 runs to get off Hardik Pandya’s final over.
A super-human catch by Sky Yadav, who tip-toed along the boundary rope while juggling the ball, sent Miller back to the pavilion whilst crushing the hopes of 60-million people back home.
The Proteas fell seven agonising runs short, causing the entire team to burst out in tears, with the search for an elusive World Cup trophy continuing.
The heartbreak of the T20 World Cup final defeat has unfortunately seen the Proteas’ white-ball teams – both T20 and ODI – spiral into a hangover that seems incurable at the moment.
White-ball coach Rob Walter faces a litany of problems ahead of the next major challenge, the ICC Champions Trophy, in Pakistan next year. With the cricket’s global landscape changing due to the mushrooming of T20 Leagues all over the world, player availability has become a serious issue.
Walter has also had to deal with players opting out of national contracts, such as Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi joining Quinton de Kock as T20 freelancers.
This distressing situation, along with a mounting injury list, has placed Walter’s long-term future in jeopardy with the Proteas winning just one ODI series (Ireland) and one T20I series (Pakistan) the entire year after defeats to Afghanistan (ODI away), India (ODI and T20I home) and Pakistan (ODI home).
Grading: B-
ODI and T20I Player of the Year: Heinrich Klaasen
Players to Watch in 2025: Tristan Stubbs, Kwena Maphaka
Worst Moment: David Miller being caught on the boundary in the T20 World Cup final over
My Highlight: Proteas crushing Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup semi-final