If there is a Proteas bowler who knows how to extract the most assistance out of the Lord's Cricket Ground, it is former fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.
SA take on Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final starting in London on Wednesday, and the former Warriors and Border star knows a thing or two about taking wickets at the “Home of Cricket”.
The inscription “M.Ntini” is engraved with golden ink on the visitors' honours board for his match figures of 10-220 against England in 2003.
The picture of him sporting his mini afro and kissing the Lord's turf that day at the will remain etched in the memories of both English and SA supporters as Ntini was the first and the only bowler from the Rainbow Nation to achieve the 10-wicket haul feat at the historical cricket ground.
New memories are waiting in the wings for Shukri Conrad's men as they attempt to ease the heartbreak of millions who have had to endure umpteen failures over three decades and, more recently, losses in the T20 World Cup final and semifinals of the Champions Trophy and World Cup in the past 24 months.
Standing in the way of them lifting the Test Championship mace, which was last won by Graeme Smith's Proteas in 2012, is a resilient Australian team which knows how to handle big moments.
The Baggy Greens are well-balanced from their top to middle order with the likes of Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, and Cameron Green.
Their bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon is also nothing short of world-class.
The Lord's table is generally considered challenging for batters.
The venue offers significant swing and movement off the pitch for the quicks, especially in the early overs, making it difficult for batsmen to score freely.
However, with proper strategy and patience, batsmen can still score runs.
The Mdingi-born Ntini believes the Proteas bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marc Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, will have to apply the dark of arts of using the Lord's slope as one of their advantages to counter the Aussies.
Because of the angle of the slope, the seam bowlers operate from the Pavilion End and swing bowlers from the Nursery End in trying to exploit the natural variation.
The last time the Proteas visited the ground in the longer format in 2022, Rabada walked away with the player of the match award with match figures of seven for 79.
Jansen, Ngidi and spinner Keshav Maharaj also had a good outing as SA beat England by an innings and 12 runs.
The Dukes ball is going to be used for the final instead of the Kookaburra, which both Australia and the Proteas are accustomed to playing with.
It has a raised seam which helps it to swing, move off the seam and turn for spinners.
“Someone like Ngidi, who bowls from an angle like I did, needs to be excited about bowling at Lord's,” Ntini said.
“He is going to shine because of the slope, especially if he bowls from the Pavilion End. If he is bowling from the media side [Nursery End] that is where the problem is when it comes against the left-handers.
“All they need to do is to bowl the ball in the right areas and the slope with take care of the rest.
“Lord's is sometimes also decent for spinners, especially on days with good weather where the pitch might flatten out and become more conducive to scoring.”
Daily Dispatch
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