India, June 19 -- The Test Championship Mace did not exist in cricket's early years before the two World Wars, the golden age in the 1970s and 1980s, and the era of the sport's physical and mental transformation in the 1990s and 2000s. But one can imagine Don Bradman lifting the crown as captain of The Invincibles, or Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards being hailed as champion leaders with West Indies in the 1970s and 1980s, or Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting in the 1990s and 2000s, and perhaps even Imran Khan and Sourav Ganguly briefly in the middle of the Australian and Caribbean domination.

Last week, when South Africa were crowned champions - in a final they weren't expected to be in, against a team they weren't supposed to b...