This past weekend, the Mother City found itself treated to a Protea spectacle as some of South Africa’s top cricketers shared the joy of winning their ICC World Test Championship trophy with some of the locals.
On Friday, the streets were electric as fans rushed in numbers to welcome the men in green and gold. This is as they were set to conclude the final leg of an eventful tour in Cape Town.
The event was hosted at the iconic City Hall at the Grande Parade, where fans were greeted with speeches from the stand-in mayor, Alderman JP Smith, Proteas coach Shukri Conrad, and team captain, Temba Bavuma.
Despite the team having won the Mace trophy in June this year, a tight schedule and the availability of players have made it quite difficult for the tour to take place at the initial intended time. However, with the country having celebrated Heritage Day this past week, the time could not have been better.
Young aspiring cricketers stood amazed as captain Temba Bavuma grabbed the mic to address the home crowd.
During his speech, he said: “On behalf of everyone, we would just like to thank you for the warm reception that we have received. I am also a capetonian, so returning to Cape Town is always a good one for me. It has been a long week. It has been tiring but seeing you has just raised our energies once again.”
Coach Shukri added that while it may be three months following their epic victory in June, seeing the support of fans coming to see the players over the past week has made this tour worthwhile.
“Going around the country, we now know that it was the right thing to do by coming out. We often hear the term ‘Better late than never’ and I think this is exactly that,” he added.
Following the formal proceedings, those in attendance were treated to a close contact meet and greet session with their heroes while also getting a closer glimpse of the Mace Trophy.
Later, it was time to head onto the bus where the trophy was paraded in the streets of the city for all to witness.
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Also see: Proteas to parade their Mace Trophy in Cape Town
