South Africa have plotted a World Test Championship final upset over steak and red wine with Australia's arch-nemesis Stuart Broad.
The retired England hero has joined the Proteas as a consultant for the decider at Lord's, starting on Wednesday.
South Africa are looking to win their first ICC trophy since 1998, but will start as rank outsiders against No.1 ranked Australia.
But if there is any player who knows how to inflict pain on Australia in England, it's Broad.
The fast bowler's best, and most controversial, moments of his 167-Test, 604-wicket career inevitably came against Australia.
Broad looked assured and engaged during training, in full South African uniform, at Lord's on Monday.
It came a day after enjoying a ribeye and wine with the Proteas' coaching group."I didn't consume any of the red wine for obvious reasons," South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said of the dinner with Broad on Sunday night.
"It was enlightening.
"If I didn't call time at 10.30(pm) I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us.
"Really enlightening, really casual, and everybody walked away there like, 'that was great'. 'Broady' included."
After getting belted in New Zealand with a decimated squad in February 2024, South Africa won seven matches in a row to qualify for the WTC final.
The Proteas' victories came against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, while Australia downed India 3-1 last summer to secure their spot.
Conrad said he was "tired" of addressing South Africa's less challenging road to the final than their opponents.
"We're here, and that's all that matters," Conrad said.
"We get a chance to to walk away as the World Test champions.
"Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that.
"What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute, and we'll be quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them.
"They're a confident bunch, we play well as a unit, and if there are any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that."
This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
