Fighting talk from Philander lights fire under Proteas ahead of Test Championship final

South African cricket legends shared their experiences of Lord's as they bid the Proteas farewell for the Test Championship final clash against Australia at the hallowed home of cricket, with fighting talk from Vernon Philander sure to have fired them up.

The Proteas will take on the defending champions from June 11 to 15. The current crop of players, who will be led into battle by skipper Temba Bavuma, got to hear the inspirational stories, and funny anecdotes, from the likes of former skipper Graham Smith, all-rounder Jaques Kallis and seam bowler Philander.

Philander was asked about the iconic five-fer against England at Lord's during the third Test match of the series in 2012. His performance was crucial to South Africa's series victory and their rise to the No 1 spot in the Test team rankings.

"It's an amazing place to play cricket ... For me as a player there's so much to soak in. But I do feel that is the moment that we all play for, that's the moment that you want to be counted as a player," he said.

"Just going back to that five-wicket haul, very often when I was bowling at my best it was after I'd get myself into a fight. I was batting at the time with JP (Duminy) and we were in a bit of trouble in that first innings and we eventually got to a hundred partnership. Andrew Strauss made mention of something behind me but that got me fired up. And very often it's those little battles within the battle that gets a team across the line.

"At no stage are you going to win a Test on day one, there's going to be ebbs and flows, but when it's your moment, make it count and that will guide the team home."