There’s excitement for what lies ahead going into the new year. 2020 looks promising and the positivity surrounding the Proteas at this moment can only mean good things are to come, writes Naeemah Benjamin.

Although there was abit of a divide when the new coaching staff was appointed, one thing remains certain – the team looks like a completely different outfit than the last time they were on the park.

The confidence and belief that the coach aims to instill in the Proteas players is already showing.

The Proteas had a bitter 2019, losing 5 Test matches, and were almost down and out, but with the win against England, they end the year in the best way possible. 2020 can only get better from here on out.

You’re always one good knock or win away from things turning around and having momentum on your side is a good thing.

As much as cricket needed this, the Proteas needed it even more and so did the fans.

Also, they finally off the mark on the World Test Championship log.

The skipper Faf du Plessis in particular looked rejuvenated.

He spoke with confidence and assurance in his press conference and he’s back to jumping on players when celebrating and dishing out his famous embraces on the field.

The body language and positivity was certainly pleasing to see. It’s been a tough year with all the negativity surrounding South African cricket and ultimately getting good results can have a positive impact.

It might not have been as convincing as they’d like with the batting continuing to fail and Quinton de Kock once again being the shining light with his sublime knock of (95).

However, the strength has always been the bowling unit and it’s been good to see them being back to their best bowling with complete control, accuracy and changing plans if it doesn’t work.

South Africa won by a comprehensive 107-run margin in the first Test to go 1-0 up.

In a Test match that was a seasaw with England being in it right up until the 6th wicket fell.

We’ve seen some great cricket matches in 2019, and this one’s right up there.

Over a month ago, no one would’ve given SA any chance at all.

Although England were plagued by illnesses, nothing can take away the sweetness of this victory and what it means.

“I’ve played quite a few Test matches which we won, a couple of good wins, but certainly this is up there. Especially from where we’ve been,” said Mark Boucher during his post-match press conference.

“It’s been a hectic two weeks and we put in a lot of hard work as a coaching staff and management as well.

“So this is just the reward of putting in the  hard work. I’m very happy for the guys, the way that they went about it.

“We said before we trying to instill a bit of confidence back in the players and to see them walk off the field, there’s just a little bit of a sense of belief that we can win Test matches against very good teams and hopefully we can take that momentum moving forward.

“We understand there’s still a long way to go with working with individuals. We got a couple of youngsters who we need to pass knowledge on to and speed up the process of becoming experienced cricketers and we’ll certainly do that.

“We’ll enjoy this win, you don’t take Test match wins for granted but certainly after tonight we’ll get back on the horse and realise there’s a lot of work still to be done for the rest of the series.”