'He said, ‘I think we need to bowl' - Shukri Conrad breaks silence on Wiaan Mulder's mysterious declaration at 367* in ZIM vs SA 2025 2nd Test

South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad has broken his silence on all-rounder Wiaan Mulder's mysterious declaration when unbeaten on 367 on Day 2 of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Conrad revealed that he had asked Wulder about the record, and the latter was keen to insert Zimbabwe into bat on July 7.

The 27-year-old was only 33 runs short of equalling the world record of 400* held by Brian Lara and 34 shy of surpassing it. With fans expecting him to make the record his own, the all-rounder inexplicably declared the innings after lunch when the Proteas were 626/5.

After the match, Conrad said declarations are always debatable from the fans' perspective. He said, as quoted by timeslive.co.za:

"When Wessie came to ask for my thoughts, all I asked were his and he said: ‘I think we need to bowl.’ I said ‘what about the record?’ and he said ‘I’m fine.’ let’s keep that for the greats'. I’m thrilled he turned in the performance he did with the bat. The decision to declare is one of those, ‘you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t’ choices."

Mulder, nevertheless, broke Hashim Amla's South Africa record for the highest individual Test score. Amla, one of the greatest batters produced by South Africa, had amassed 311* against England at The Oval in London in 2012.

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"I’m thrilled for Wiaan" - Shukri Conrad

Wiaan Mulder. (Image Credits: Getty)

Conrad remarked that he is ecstatic about how the previous narrative of Mulder not being quite good for No.3 has changed after the all-rounder's recent outings. He added:

"This is all about Wiaan Mulder. What a performance that was for SA. Not too long ago people weren’t sure if he should even be in the side. It’s amazing how the conversations have changed now. I’m thrilled for Wiaan. I’m sure he’s a really happy man now."

Mulder also found himself among the wickets following his heroics with the bat, taking three wickets as the Proteas surged to an innings and 236-run victory. South Africa also won the series 2-0.