But Conrad's team remains a work in progress.

ut Bosch won't feel as aggrieved as Dane Paterson, who has been left out despite taking 13 wickets in his last two Tests. He will make way for Maphaka.

The leIt was two o'clock on Sunday morning, and suddenly the Centurion Test didn't matter. Shukri Conrad was woken by a message on his phone. Ashwell Prince, South Africa's batting coach, informed Conrad that Prince's wife, Melissa, had died from cancer. She was 40.

Melissa was a warm, generous, beautiful soul. The world was lucky to have her, even for so few years. To Ashwell now falls the challenge of raising their three sons alone. Ashwell's strength and courage have been proven umpteen times. This is another one of those times, no doubt the most challenging of them all.

Of course, the Centurion Test continued to matter. As heartfelt as South Africans' empathy for the Prince family would have been had they learnt of Melissa's death when Conrad did, they would still have wanted the team to complete the victory, over Pakistan, that would confirm them as WTC finalists.

Cricket is a complex game, sometimes too complex for its own good. Or for that of the human condition.

Conrad's team were given the dreadful news. Far rather directly than via some outside whisper, however well-intentioned. In that light, the fact that they were able to hang tough enough to score the 121 runs they needed to beat Pakistan - by a scant two wickets - is exponentially more remarkable than it would have been were this any old game of cricket, even of Test cricket.

Much happened in the 11 hours and 25 minutes between Conrad's phone pinging and Marco Jansen putting Mohammad Abbas through backward point for four to take the ninth-wicket stand he shared with Kagiso Rabada to 51 off 50 balls. And to clinch victory.

Indeed, much had happened in the preceding days - not all of it positive for the South Africans, despite the result.

"We played some really poor cricket, some soft cricket," Conrad told a press conference after the match. "We were bold. We were brave. Some might say we were daft to bowl first, because you generally come here and bat first. But we looked at the weather conditions and we felt we could impact the game in a big way by bowling well up front and putting them under pressure.

"Then we got ourselves into a really good position with the bat, and threw that away only to get a partnership again with Corbin [Bosch] and the two tailenders. But the manner of those dismissals was really soft and allowed the opposition back in.

"And then we start with a 90-run lead, and for the first 40 minutes we put in probably the worst bowling performance I've seen from this team."

Pakistan were dismissed for 211, and South Africa were within 33 runs of parity with six wickets in hand when the innings began to crumble. They lost four wickets for 35 runs, but their last two partnerships were worth 88. The crucial innings was debutant No. 10 Bosch's unbeaten 81.

But some of what had gone right for the home side was undone early in Pakistan's second innings, when ill-disciplined bowling yielded 48 runs in the first 10 overs.

"Pressure does massive things to you," Conrad said. "We're an inexperienced side, and the WTC final weighs on you. You want to get there, and you don't mind how you get there.

"But for the growth of this Test side we need to be a lot more clinical, we need to be a lot more consistent, and we need to be a lot more resilient, especially with the bat. When the opposition are bowling well and the conditions are tough, we need to be able to do tough."

South Africa went into the match after winning 2-0 in Bangladesh in October and November and beating Sri Lanka by the same margin at home in November and December. Sunday's success was their sixth consecutive victory. But Conrad saw room for improvement.

"Not to be blase or wind-gat [arrogant] about it, but even in Bangladesh, on good pitches, we played well but we weren't tested. They folded. There were little signs in Gqeberha where Sri Lanka played really well and we weren't up to the task."

Even so, Conrad had seen something special develop since his appointment last January.

"Egos, leave them at the door. We play for each other. We're trying to find a way, whatever the obstacles are, to get to a solution rather than delve too deeply into things."

To illustrate, Conrad relayed something Rabada had said to him in Bangladesh: "I've played in some great South African sides with legends with Dale [Steyn] and Vernon [Philander] and Morne [Morkel] and Graeme [Smith] and Faf [du Plessis]. But I'm playing with my mates now."

Conrad backed up Rabada's view: "That rings so true. They're a bunch of mates who want to have a hell of a lot of fun. And win. There are going to be some hiccups along the way, but I think they've got each others' backs. There's a really strong bond in the changeroom. That's probably the biggest thing that we've got. Everybody pulls in the same direction, and we just get on with things."

But Conrad's team remains a work in progress.

"We want this team not to know when they're beaten. And we want the opposition also to know that - that this side doesn't know when they're beaten; that they bat a long way down and they've obviously got bowling strength that can take 20 wickets."

And he's well aware that there is consternation that a team could reach the final without playing England or Australia home or away and not touring India.

"I think people abroad will be shouting about our easy draw, but I'm certainly not going to sit here and apologise for that," Conrad said. "I didn't think it was possible, but I thought we had it in us to scare some people."

In this WTC cycle, 35 batters have scored more runs than any South Africa player and 13 bowlers have taken more wickets. But Joe Root has had 21 more innings to score his 1,968 runs than David Bedingham has had to make his 596. Similarly, while Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 383.4 overs to take 75 wickets, Rabada has had only 256.4 overs for his 41 strikes.

It is equally true that the South Africans haven't settled into stability and steadiness, which Conrad acknowledged.

"Struggling is part of the journey. It was never meant to be easy. Test cricket is brutal. It exposes every bit of you. The cameras are all over, and we've got real experts in the commentary boxes dissecting it all. That gets to the players."

It does, but not nearly as much as news of a death in the cricket family on an already fraught Sunday morning.ast questionable change was forced by Tony de Zorzi's withdrawal with a thigh strain. That means Ryan Rickelton will be promoted to an opening berth.

Pakistan are apparently mulling an unchanged XI, which would be a mistake. It's one thing going in with all pace guns blazing in Centurion, quite another doing so in Newlands' more balanced conditions - the aberration of last year's day-and-a-half Test against India notwithstanding.

Then again, Pakistan almost won in Centurion, where the visitors have prevailed only three times in 27 decided Tests.

"We want to enjoy those performances as wins," Shan Masood said about his team's near miss on the Highveld. "Yes, we talk about the process; controlling what we can control. We can't control the result.

"So while it was heartening to see a lot of good performances, you want to end up on the right side. The best teams do it because they make a habit of it. South Africa are the No. 1 team because they've won six Tests on the trot. You want to not just compete against the best, you want to win against the best."

When: January 3 to 7, 2025; 10.30am Local Time (8.30am GMT, 2pm IST)

Where: Newlands, Cape Town

What to expect: Look down, not up. No rain had been forecast for the duration of the match, but all eyes will be on the pitch considering the most recent Test here - against India last January - was completed in 107 overs. Things can only get better, surely. Although Temba Bavuma didn't inspire confidence at his press conference on Thursday when he said, "I don't think I'm allowed to speak much about the wicket."

Team news:

South Africa:

Ryan Rickelton will be moved up the order to open. Wiaan Mulder will bat at No. 3. Kwena Maphaka will become South Africa's youngest debutant.

Confirmed XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka

Pakistan:

If the visitors don't name an unchanged XI, Noman Ali might come in for Aamer Jamal.

Possible XI: Shan Masood (capt), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Noman Ali, Mohammad Abbas

What they said:

"Selection is always tricky. We can all sit here and select three or four different teams. But what helps the guys is that level of safety and security. They know what their roles are and where they fit in. We all want to win for ourselves, for the team, for the country. And we all understand that whatever decisions are made it's for the betterment of the team." - Temba Bavuma on South Africa's changes.

"I'd like to have one final look at the pitch. It looks a bit different compared to Centurion; less grass cover. South Africa have had the luxury of having a training session earlier than us, so we'd like to take our time to see what the best possible XI is." - Shan Masood on Pakistan's selection thoughts.