South Africa who beat Australia by 5-wickets in the one-off world Test Championship final at Lord’s on Saturday (14), were rewarded with a handsome winners’ purse of $ 3.6 billion by the ICC.
They thus savoured a first-ever major ICC tournament success in almost three decades of trying, when they won the ultimate Test with a day to spare in a game dominated by the ball.
Temba Bavuma’s team also got their monkey off their back while exceeding all expectations, by posting their eighth successive Test victory on their way to the ICC Test Championship mace.
With players such as pacer K.G. Rabada (9-wicket match-bag), opening batter Aiden Markram (Player-of-the-Match) and skipper Bavuma standing out at the ‘home of cricket’, the underdogs denied the defending champions of back-to-back titles.
Pat Cummins’ men had beaten Team India in the previous cycle to lay claim to the title of Test World Champions at the London Oval, but this time they met a different beast who were determined to exorcise the ghosts of previous ICC flops.
The Proteas’ solitary ICC Trophy success before Saturday’s historic triumph, came back in 1998 when they beat West Indies by four wickets, to win the ICC Knockout Trophy under the late Hansie Cronje in Bangladesh.
Australia, who were dethroned as world champions, were offered prize money amounting to $ 2.61 billion, while third-placed India were presented with a cheque to the tune of $ 1.44 billion.
Sixth-placed Sri Lanka were provided with a cheque amounting for $ 840,000 after they too had at one stage flirted with the notion of qualifying for the WTC final.
However, two series sweeps, to eventual champions South Africa (away) and Australia (home) late last year and early this year respectively, saw the wheels of their train coming off.
The prize money distributed by the ICC is as follows:
South Africa ($ 3.6 billion), Australia ($ 2.61 billion), India ($ 1.44 billion), New Zealand ($ 1.2 billion), England ($ 960,000), Sri Lanka ($ 840,000), Bangladesh ($ 720,000), West Indies ($ 600,000) and Pakistan ($ 480,000)
Be the first to comment