South Africa begin WTC title defence with target on their back

They have been practising on specially prepared spinning wickets at Pretoria’s High Performance Centre

South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his side can expect to have a target on their back when they begin a new cycle of the World Test Championship as defending champions.

South Africa play a two-Test series in Pakistan, starting on Sunday, and two games in India in November as they bid to retain the trophy they won in June by beat Australia by five wickets at Lord's.

The World Test Championship is decided at the end of a two-year cycle, with the top two teams competing in a one-off five-day match.

"I suppose you create a bit of a target on your back if you’ve won (the WTC), and if that’s the case, it’s fair. We want to chase a place in the final again and lift that trophy once again but realise each team will be coming for us," said Markram, who stands in as skipper for Temba Bavuma who has been ruled out of the tour with a calf strain.

"We, as a team, have to keep getting better and improving and playing well in all different types of conditions. It starts for us in Pakistan, and it’s a challenge the boys will be up for," he told a press conference on Monday.

South Africa have been practising on specially prepared spinning wickets at Pretoria’s High Performance Centre.

"There were a couple of nets prepared where the spin is really exaggerated, and you’d rather err on that side, and maybe then it’s a bit easier when we get to Pakistan," Markram said.

"We’re expecting to face a lot of spin over there, and it’s also, naturally, a lot lower there from a seam point of view. There’s a lot of skiddy, so it’s hard to try and emulate that here in South Africa, but we’ve been looking to put a lot of emphasis on finding a way to train for that."

The first Test against Pakistan is in Lahore and the second begins on Oct 20 in Rawalpindi.