In green Arundel, Zimbabwe quietly help neighbours SA tune up for their biggest Test

There's a distinctly Liverpudlian flavour among South Africa's leadership group. So it's hardly surprising they're getting by with a little help from their friends as they prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next week.

Head Coach Shukri Conrad, batting coach Ashwell Prince, and captain Temba Bavuma all support the Reds - and are fresh off celebrating their league title win - and the first people they asked to lend them their ears were Zimbabwe, the guys next door.

South Africa have not played them since October 2022, and haven't hosted them since October 2018 or visited them since August-September 2014. But they convinced Zimbabwe to extend their stay in England to play them in a four-day warm-up game in Arundel. There are worse places to be in than the picturesque town in the South Downs - though both South Africa and Zimbabwe are actually based a 40-minute drive away in Portsmouth - and there's little to be gained for Zimbabwe, apart from some insight into a team they will host later this month. But they've still agreed to play.

So understanding have the not-so-noisy-neighbours been that they happily agreed to let South Africa bat first to give their line-up time in the middle, and then promptly even dropped Ryan Rickelton at second slip in the opening exchanges. Rickelton went on to top score with 62. But Zimbabwe weren't quite as accommodating to Aiden Markram, who flicked 21-year old Alex Falao aerially to Wessly Madhevere at square leg, and departed for 13 off 15 balls.

That meant Conrad was forced to show his tactical hand early when it comes to the least certain spot in the side: No. 3. Conrad had initially handed it to Tristan Stubbs in August last year, then let Wiaan Mulder bat there with a broken finger against Sri Lanka in Durban - seemingly because that was his only way of contributing in that match - and has also used Rickelton there briefly.

Now that Rickelton has secured the opening berth, one of Stubbs, Mulder or Tony de Zorzi could bat at No. 3 at Lord's. At Arundel, Mulder was given the spot, which is either an indication of how South Africa will line-up at the final or a bluff.

On the evidence of the 49 balls he faced, Mulder appeared a serious candidate, and batted with a good measure of circumspection, especially as Rickelton was in full flow at the other end. Though Mulder looked aggrieved when given out lbw to a Tanaka Chivanga delivery that kept low, he made 26 runs, and was generally solid in defence.

Stubbs was in at No. 5, which is a position that seems to suit him. He bedded in, and took 120 balls to score 58, but never appeared to be under pressure. Stubbs may be considered in that spot ahead of de Zorzi, the other batting option in the top five. De Zorzi was initially confused by spin and retired on 28, which indicates his status as a reserve player for the WTC final.

South Africa would have been most satisfied with the performances of Rickelton, in form across formats and playing attackingly, and Bavuma. This was Bavuma's first competitive fixture in three months since the Champions Trophy, and he was in good touch. Importantly, Bavuma was able to play the pull and the hook comfortably. Those are shots which require him to extend his elbow fully, and hence he allayed fears that the chronic injury he carries is holding him back.

As for Zimbabwe, for much of the day, it looked like they were doing their bit for continental unity, and it has been made easy for them. Their bills have been paid mostly by their hosts (the ECB provided a touring fee for Trent Bridge, and the ICC are paying for this add-on against South Africa). Their coaching staff - Justin Sammons, Charl Langeveldt and Rivash Gobind - are South African, so it has also been explained as something of a patriotic act.

"A lot of their support staff have been part of the Proteas set up before, so we've got a really good relationship in terms of that," Conrad told the media after the first day's play was washed out.

Overall, they gave South Africa as decent a challenge as they could on a flat track. Chivanga led the attack with a healthy dose of aggression and returned for spells late in the day, Victor Nyauchi got a hint of bounce, and the spin combination of Wellington Masakadza and Vincent Masekesa asked some questions of technique. More's the pity that Blessing Muzarabani, their most reputed quick, was unavailable for this match after jetting off to the IPL, where he did not get a game.

With heavy rain forecast for all of Thursday and most of Friday, South Africa had to manufacture some time in the field, and declared after 79 overs, with an hour's play remaining. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen opened the bowling, and combined to take the first wicket - Brian Bennet caught by Jansen at gully off Rabada - before Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj took over. Does that mean Ngidi is being thought of ahead of Dane Paterson at Lord's? It may be too early to tell, given South Africa only bowled 11 overs.

"It would be foolish of me not to tap into whatever IP there is, and he's current. He was successful against Australia, and knows how to bowl at Lord's, and the nuances that come with bowling from the respective ends"SA coach Shukri Conrad on getting Stuart Broad on board

The only thing South Africa may not get is a full 90-over day in the field and additional time in the bowler's legs. But they've made another plan for some extra help in that department too. They've recruited a former Notts team-mate of Prince's, who is also an SA20 commentator, in Stuart Broad. He will attend part of their training session on Monday in London, and have dinner with the coaching staff in an evening designed for information exchange. The arrangement is unpaid.

"I reached out to Stuart via Ash, because they obviously know each other. And I just said to him, 'Is there any way we can just get together, spend some time - primarily with the coaches - and then share whatever you've got?'," Conrad said. "He's coming for dinner with the coaches, and then he's probably spending an hour or so at our nets.

"It would be foolish of me not to tap into whatever IP there is, and he's current. He was successful against Australia, and knows how to bowl at Lord's, and the nuances that come with bowling from the respective ends."

Conrad also wants to be careful not to overload his team with "too much information", and remind them that, at its core, cricket is about simplicity. There was nowhere better to do that than Arundel. The Castle Cricket Ground is nestled among greenery, has no big stands, and the only food stall is the quaint Tea Hut. The match was open to members only, and there were just a few hundred people in attendance who could hear every word, ooh and aah being said on the field.

It was very much like watching a club match from the days before sportainment, and was as low-key as it can get the week before the highest-profile engagement of this South African Test team's careers. Zimbabwe will be back home by then, knowing they were the friends who provided a little - or, depending on how things go, perhaps a lot - of help when their neighbours needed them most.