Progress not perfection, is a modern mantra that prioritises the journey and not the destination and sums up South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) campaign. As one of the least-favoured teams and despite a schedule that excluded England and Australia entirely and only had them playing India at home, they've qualified with a game to spare in a testament to the resourcefulness of a system that may not always have a full XI of Mr Rights but has consistently found the Mr Right Nows.
At SuperSport Park, the first of those was Dane Paterson. After Kagiso Rabada produced one of the best wicketless spells by a seamer in recent memory, which clearly marinated in the Pakistan batters minds, Paterson took over as braai master, so to speak. He picked up a second successive career five-for on the back of believing that the stand-in role he played in New Zealand would be his last international appearance. At the other end Corbin Bosch benefitted from some brainless shot selection and on debut, scooped a four-for. Then it was over to Aiden Markram. Under siege for T20 form that has resulted in only one score over 30 in 18 matches this year, his first innings 89 was crucial to South Africa taking a lead.
Even though their bowlers burned through it so quickly that their coach Shukri Conrad called it "the worst bowling performance for the first 40 minutes that I've seen for this side", it provided enough cushioning for Marco Jansen to exploit later on. A target of 148 should have been reached without the rollercoaster of losing four wickets for three runs but when that happened, South Africa's tail took them home. In an ideal, and some would say boring, world, that should not have happened but things in South African sport (and life) are rarely flawless which only makes them more interesting.
"If you look at our campaign, as much as we're in a position where we're in the (WTC) final, we haven't been super dominant in our performances," Temba Bavuma said afterwards. "We definitely haven't been clinical or ruthless when the opportunity or the situation is called upon. But I think what we've done is that we've found ways to make sure that the result is on our side."
And that, folks, is the South African way. Make a plan. Find a way. Call up 30 players across 11 Tests - the most by any team in this WTC cycle. Effectively forfeit a series to prioritise your money-making T20 league, like they did against New Zealand in February. Understand that you only have to beat West Indies and Bangladesh away and Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home. Ignore everything else. Believe. Even when half the cricketing world doesn't and the other half is too preoccupied with everything else going on (read: BGT, Bazball and other Big Three stuff).
Be honest: Did you really think South Africa, the team that has been through a complete administrative overhaul, near bankruptcy and a brutal reckoning with injustices past, could reach the WTC final?
Be honest: Did you really, really think South Africa, in the post Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn era, could reach the WTC final?
Be honest, because not even Conrad or Bavuma were sure. "I think it only got real when we came back after Bangladesh," Conrad said.
There, South Africa won a first series in the subcontinent in a decade and seemed to find some semblance of batting rhythm. After no centuries on their tour of West Indies, and only three in the cycle (Dean Elgar - Boxing Day 2023, Markram - Cape Town 2024 and David Bedingham - New Zealand 2024), they scored four and there were firsts. Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder all scored hundreds in Bangladesh to suggest a corner had been turned. Still, with every match a must-win, South Africa kept their expectations realistic and understood it would take more something special to get to the WTC final. "I didn't think it was possible, but with a little bit of luck, I thought we've got it in us to scare some people."
Conrad acknowledges "people abroad will be shouting, 'easy draw'" and said he is "certainly not going to sit here and apologise for that" while Bavuma recognised the lack of superstars. "If I look at our batting group, we don't have batters that are averaging 45-plus. All of us are mid-30s, late-30s, which shows that at some point guys are going to make some contribution to the team," Bavuma said. "Our bowling line-up has pretty much changed almost every series. And guys have come in and have done the business."
How and why is a question that could be answered with the cold, hard logic of numbers and match situations and who did what, when and there are months between now and the WTC final when we can do that. For now, the answer lies in something far more abstract, alchemical even. It's best summed up by what Rabada told Conrad on that mindset-changing Bangladesh tour.
"KG and I were sitting outside somewhere, and he said to me something that will stick with me for a long time, He said 'Shuks, coach, I played in some great South African sides with legends like Dale and Vernon [Philander] and Morne [Morkel] and Graeme and Faf [du Plessis] but I'm playing with my mates now'. And that for me, like, rings so true because that's what they are.
"They're a bunch of mates together that want to have a hell lot of fun and win. And they're going to be some hiccups along the way, but I think they've got each other's backs. There's a really strong bond that's in that change room and that's probably the biggest thing that we've got right there. Everybody pulls in the same direction, and we just get on with things."
That may sound "windgat" (the Afrikaans word for arrogant) as Conrad sometimes says but it isn't. It just explains how well South Africa have stayed the moment when it mattered most; when they needed 32 runs with two wickets post lunch at SuperSport Park and when Rabada and Jansen took them home. The players did a lap of honour around the field then, which felt a little strange considering the series is alive and the final has not been won, but which told the story of a side that has progressed in search of their perfection.