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IOL News
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Batting guru Ashwell Prince more than just the 'vibes master' in Proteas dressing room
FILE - Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince has worked his magic with the team's batting unit. Image: AFP Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince dubbed himself 'the vibes master' as he stood at the forefront of the celebrations following their triumphant win over Australia in the World Test Championship final. For three and a half days Prince was sitting on that Lord's balcony looking relaxed behind his orange-tinted sunglasses. But, when Kyle Verreynne struck the winning runs off Mitchell Starc through the point region, he was the man to get the party started. And the celebrations looked epic, as Prince came up with a variety of songs, including one for captain Temba Bavuma to the tune of 'Bella Ciao', the Italian folk song that was made popular again by the hit Netflix 'Money Heist'. Many of the tunes come from the songs belted out by the Anfield faithful when Prince and Proteas coach Shukri Conrad's beloved Liverpool are playing. Hey Viwe His name's Temba Bavuma, He came to score, He came from Langa — Mr Lu (@sirluds) June 15, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Prince has certainly contributed a great deal to that Proteas Test dressing room in terms of the team's culture, which by all accounts looks like it's never been better. Not only because of celebrations videos we have seen, but also because of how the togetherness in the team has contributed to their results. During the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings, which were a series of proceedings held by Cricket South Africa to investigate allegations of racial discrimination within South African cricket, Prince said the Proteas dressing room was 'a lonely place'. He said there never was a unified South African team during his international career, despite the Proteas having some of their most historic success in that period. Prince played 66 Tests in an international career that spanned a decade, and was a pivotal figure in the batting order that saw the Proteas win a Test series in England. He also appeared in 49 ODIs for the Proteas and was part of the World Cup squad in 2007, which he said was amongst the most disjointed groups ever to represent the country at a World Cup. However, 18 years later, it looks like Conrad, with the help of people like Prince, has transformed the culture for the better. And the result? The Proteas won their first final and ICC silverware since 1998. Culture, aside, Prince's biggest contribution has been helping to transform this Test batting line-up into a unit who scores centuries.
Irish Examiner
18-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Read the Gaza poem by a Cork writer that featured on the Irish Examiner's front page
Award-winning Cork writer William Wall wrote a poem for the Irish Examiner, depicting how the city of Gaza has become like a cemetery. Eyeless in Gaza was featured on the front page of Wednesday's paper. It was accompanied by a picture of a dead Palestinian girl who was found in a search and rescue operation carried out by locals after an Israeli attack targeting a house belonging to the Abu Shamal family in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza. Here is Wednesday's front page. You can read the poem in full below. Wednesday's Irish Examiner front page. Eyeless in Gaza by William Wall A city becomes a cemetery A hospital becomes a morgue Becomes a slaughterhouse Becomes an ossuary Dust in the eyes And dust in the mouth A gale of wind blows it all away There will be no stumble-stones For the hundreds of thousands No railway platform memorial From here departed No films of children playing Bella Ciao on a broken guitar No museum of the death camp That was their home Read More Dozens of Palestinians killed while waiting for food trucks in Gaza
Indian Express
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
How South Africa kept the C-word far, far away during WTC run chase
Ashwell Prince had been South Africa's first non-white captain when he led the Proteas in Graeme Smith's absence. After the WTC win, he ensured the world winning first South African captain to win an ICC Test title, also their first Black Test leader, got celebrated through a song, crooning Bella Ciao with Temba Bavuma name looped in. But earlier, he had spoken of the little things and large ones, that helped South Africa keep even the hint of choking at bay. Ironically, it wasn't their former batting giants that loomed on their legend. It was the Aussie Nos 9, 10, 11 that gave them a sign that it could be indeed their day. Prince alongwith head coach Shukri Conrad has cloaked this Proteas team into positivity and viewing situations in the right perspective. absolute vibes 🥳🍾🕺🇿🇦 — Eems (@NaeemahBenjamin) June 15, 2025 When asked if SA were worried when Australia were 'piling on runs' in second innings, as the Kangaroo tail wagged, Prince said, 'Australia on Day 3 morning were going about their business comfortably but I certainly wouldn't say they were piling it on. Because there were a lot of maidens, lot of tight overs. They were comfortable and we tried to take the positives out of that if their Nos 9, 10, 11 can be that comfortable and surely if stats suggest the pitch plays its best on Day 3, perhaps that's what happening. And when you add the sunshine to that that's exactly what happened,' he told the press. Even when things were running away from them, the Saffers saw more than a sliver of silver around the cloud. Prince called it 'signs.' 'There were signs starting Day 2 evening – there are certain signs when you sitting and watching the game that all those type of things might be positive for us,' he countered of an undaunted way of optimistic thinking. 'Obviously in terms of trying to wrap up the Australian tail there's a little bit of frustration in terms of the ball dropping a little bit short of the slip cordon. But if you reverse that…it might happen the same when we bat. So when Ryan Rickleton goes fairly hard at 1 early on and it drops short in the slip cordon…so you know that's a little sign that that might be something in our favour. We were trying to stick to the positives as much as we can,' he said. Prince added that the Proteas literally fed off their opponents' smooth batting stay, to bulk up their own confidence. 'And then again in the morning when you watch their tailenders sticking around, there are signs there that suggest that Day 3 might be the best for batting. And they were pretty comfortable, numbers 9, 10 and 11 up against a pretty good bowling attack and with the sun out. You look for positives, the sun's out, the nicks aren't carrying to the slip cordon. So can we feed off those type of things? And obviously big partnerships are important. You know Moldush (Wiaan Mulder) coming in early in a position that he is not really accustomed to having lost an early wicket to settle everything down and Aiden, I think that partnership was quite crucial. And the next partnership (Markram Bavuma) was obviously massive,' he said. The massive Aiden Markram effort had come after what Prince let on was a very minor tweaks. 'We certainly knew Aiden Markram is someone for the big occasion. Of that there's no doubt. He's done a little bit of technical work. Not a lot. I think in the last little while he's had a little tendency of his hands sort of pushing away from his body, cutting across the ball sometimes. But it wasn't a big fix. As soon as he saw a few videos of himself doing that it was quite a simple fix. When I talk about his ability to play, beginning with, be it in losing cause at Newlands, on a very very difficult pitch. He played an unbelievable innings there. When everybody else was really struggling. And he got a 100 on that we know what he's capable of.' When chasing 280+, the message had been consistent to the batting unity: To make them believe that they can do it, bolstering their belief, and then the coaches stepping out of the way 'to allow them to go and do it.' South Africa most crucially, avoided desperation and panic through their chase, second highest at Lord's. 'One of the things we said before the run chase is the game will finish when it finishes whether that is Day 4 lunchtime or whatever the time, the end of the match will take care of itself. For us the most important thing is to stay in the moment and that means play one ball at a time. Whenever the game finishes, that's when it will finish,' he said, of an important mindset that hasn't kicked in seeing former teams make a hash of it. The management hadn't wanted Temba to continue with a snapped hamstring, but the two protagonists had defied them all. 'At tea time on Day 3 was a big call whether Temba will continue. How it will affect his strokeplay. How it might affect Aiden's rhythm. If twos are being turned into one that they can't sort of run twos and threes. And both Bavuma and Markram were adamant that he continues. Aiden was adamant that the partnership is the key. Had Stubbs gone in, we would still have Temba's wicket intact but it would start a new partnership. They were feeling good so they wanted to continue. Aiden was well aware that he will have to curb his intensity just in terms of running between wickets to allow Temba to ease his way through it,' he said. In the end it wasn't the captain's glutes but the glue that holds this team together and which gave them the belief they could achieve what much more vaunted batting units hadn't. 'Innings like Temba's says a lot ('It's not done yet,' on Friday). He's had to fight throughout his career and this would be a defining moment for his career. It's the biggest stage in terms of Test cricket. Temba is tough. Aiden has great respect for Temba. This team's greatest strength is it's unity in this camp. You only have to look at how Stubbs celebrated a wicket to understand that and they are well aware that South Africa have had much greater individual players but they've got something special going in that dressing room and that helps them drag each other along,' Prince said. Perhaps the best thing the Saffers did was not waste energy trying to prove any point, even if the choke word follows them viciously. The team is too chilled to get provoked. 'In terms of the build-up even before we got here there was no talk of proving anyone wrong. There was a lot of talk about our route here, and how we came here and people had their opinions. I can promise you we would love to play against everybody more often. Especially if there's big money series and we can also make some money. It's not about proving anybody wrong but the important thing from Shukri's point of view is to make players aware how good they are. They are good players. If you take them lightly you might come short. Not Australia, but rest of the world watching and predicting what might have had that opinion. But there are some great players in there. KG Rabada took 5b on Day 1 and then again. There's unbelievable players and if you put it together you can achieve great things.' Protea batsmen are now looking at even their low scores objectively, without falling apart because of how had the first innings total looked. Bavuma wasn't fazed that his first run didn't come for 20 balls not were they bothered by talk of their batting being too defensive. It was simply giving respect to Aussie pace pack and conditions. 'What we try to do is always bring perspective. Having read a few things, lots said about our first innings – maybe negativity or too defensive. You had three of the world's best fast bowlers who hardly missed length in that 22-23 over period. On conditions that suited the bowlers on Day 1. Perspective means let's shoot straight. 212 all out could have been 140-150 if one or two decisions had been given or we had taken the right call on the review. So being bundled out for 138 was not far off what they achieved had 1-2 decisions gone out way,' he explained. After all those heartbreaks and star crossed endings, were South Africa superstitious? 'During the partnership there was a bit of sense that everybody got to stay in the same seats. There's no individual that's particularly superstitious in South Africa team but when you have rhythm going you want to maintain it. So everybody got their chance to go to bathroom in the drinks break or when Temba had to get treatment, we could stand up and go to the bathroom. The team is really tight, they were just cheering every ball, loving every shot,' he said. Then they won. The job was done.
Hindustan Times
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Temba Bavuma gets his own rendition of ‘Bella Ciao'; South African dressing room after winning WTC a sight to behold
South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince was on cloud nine after the Proteas won the World Test Championship final against Australia. The 48-year-old celebrated the win in the Proteas dressing room and dedicated a special song to South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma. It was a historic day in South African cricket history as they won an ICC title after 27 years. Prince had skipper Bavuma by his side when Mpumelelo Mbangwa entered the dressing room for an interview post the historic win. When Mbangwa held the mic up to Prince, he broke into a song dedicated to Bavuma — set to the tune of the Italian folk classic 'Bella Ciao'—a song that became widely popular after featuring as the theme song for the hit Spanish series Money Heist. South Africa had faced years of disappointment in both the One-Day International and T20 World Cups. However, their triumph over Australia in the WTC final finally put an end to that long wait for an ICC title—their first since securing the 1998 ICC KnockOut, the event that later evolved into the Champions Trophy. Bavuma's men rose to the challenge, gunning down the 282-run target to complete their fifth-largest chase in Test cricket — with four of those triumphs coming against Australia. It also stands as the second-biggest chase ever recorded at Lord's. South Africa kept their momentum rolling, extending their winning streak to eight — a remarkable run that started against the West Indies last August. This marks their second-longest Test match winning streak, surpassed only by their nine consecutive victories back in 2002–03. Bavuma led his team from the front despite hobbling during the crucial chase, where he suffered a hamstring strain early in his innings. After day 3's play, Prince was all praise for Bavyma's grit and determination in the middle despite his injury. "It was a big call because of how it could affect Temba's stroke-play and Aiden's rhythm, but both were adamant that he must continue," said Prince of the decision to let Bavuma bat on rather than retire hurt. Bavuma has faced more than the usual amount of scrutiny after his 2014 debut meant he become the first black African batsman to represent the Proteas in Test cricket. But Prince said the 35-year-old had shown his leadership qualities by battling on through the pain barrier on Friday. "Temba has had to fight throughout his career but this could be his defining moment," he added.
Mint
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Mint
South Africa team sings 'Bella Ciao' inspired victory song for Temba Bavuma after World Test Championship win
South Africa's cricket team led by captain Temba Bavuma scripted history by clinching their first ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title on Saturday (June 14). They ended a 27-year drought for a major ICC trophy by registering a 5-wicket win in a thrilling 282-run chase against Australia at the Lord's in London. The special victory was a testament to the team's resilience, with Bavuma's 66-run knock despite a hamstring injury and Aiden Markram's match-defining 136 runs powering the side to glory. This title marked South Africa's first senior ICC victory since 1998. South African squad sang a special song for skipper Bavuma after the win. The post-match festivities caught global attention when the Proteas sang a special song inspired by the iconic 'Bella Ciao' tune, famously associated with Money Heist. They honoured Bavuma's leadership by singing the unique version of the anthem in the Lord's dressing room. The video of the players dancing and singing went viral. Temba Bavuma began his Test captaincy for South Africa in the 2022/23 West Indies series, stepping into the role with confidence. He has been a remarkable leader with nine wins and one draw in his first 10 Tests. He holds the best-ever start for a Test captain, surpassing legends like Warwick Armstrong. His 66-run knock played through pain in the WTC final, was a defining moment, earning praise from cricket icons like AB de Villiers and Sachin Tendulkar. Bavuma scored 36 runs off 84 balls and smashed 4 boundaries and a six. He was dismissed by Pat Cummins in the 40th over. Bavuma played a crucial knock for the Proteas in the second innings. He smashed 66 runs off 134 balls including five boundaries. He fell prey to Cummin's delivery again and lost his wicket in the 59th over. This WTC win is more than a trophy; it is a ray of hope for South African cricket. With sights set on the 2027 Cricket World Cup, co-hosted by South Africa, Bavuma's men will be geared up and determined to build a lasting legacy.
