Final, D4: South Africa, 138 & 282-5, bt Australia, 212 & 207, by 5 wktsVerreynne scores winning runs to banish ‘chokers’ barbAs the South Africa balcony erupted in ecstasy, and the green shirts in the crowd sent a roar ringing around St John’s Wood, Temba Bavuma simply sat there with his head in his hands. Relief? Disbelief? Whatever it was, it was the culmination of a journey from the township of Langa to the new pinnacle of Test cricket at Lord’s. South Africa, World Test Championship winners under his calm leadership, had made history.There were a couple of stutters along the way, moments when South African backsides started to twitch like a rabbit’s nose and memories of all those self-inflicted heartaches at International Cricket Council events came flooding back. But in the end, guided by a masterful 136 from Aiden Markram – catharsis after last year’s loss in the T20 World Cup final under his captaincy – they squeezed out the remaining 69 runs to beat Australia by five wickets. Continue reading...