Three-thousand two hundred and seventy-eight days without a series loss away from home. Two series lost in almost 10 years. No1 ranking - twice. They won on all cricket continents. Beating two No1-ranked sides on their home turf. And managed to not lose once in Asia.Any team that did all of that would have to be one of the best Test sides of all time. They should be applauded for even existing. Heavily mourned for their demise. And we should be seriously discussing how great they are.But this is South Africa. Their national press does not hype them. They are seen as men doing a good job, nothing more. They are known for bowling well outside off-stump, for using spinners to dull your senses, for grinding, grim-faced innings, draws, and humiliating World Cup exits.They fought internal politics. They fought historical prejudice. They fought richer opponents. They fought for their record. They fought for 30 series, losing twice.This is not a team that chokes in Tests. But we have all seen them choke, or miscount, or strop, or combust, or underperform at a World Cup.A team that has had some of the greatest one-day players in the world has, since the turn of the century, made one more World Cup semifinal than Kenya, and as many World Cup finals as Ireland.Every time South Africa's greatness is discussed, even if only as a Test side, that dead World Cup albatross is slung around their neck.In 2011, Gary Kirsten took over as South Africa's coach.His first series was the draw against Australia. But South Africa won their next series, and their next. Whatever magic Kirsten had, it worked. The fight came back, and the form.By the time South Africa arrived in England, in 2012, England were in their best form since 2005.The first Test was at The Oval. England played like the No1 team on day one. And South Africa didn't have a great day, but they held in there. On day two, Hashim Amla started batting. On day four he stopped batting.England tried to come back, but South Africa drew the next Test, and at Lord's they held their nerve to win by 51 runs.When Vernon Philander took Steven Finn for a golden duck, they had done something they had never done before - win the world Test ranking. And this time, they kept it for a while.How could they possibly have gone nine years without an away loss, including four trips into the snakepits of Australia and India, and not been great? Not to mention two series in the UAE, and one in Pakistan.It doesn't add up. And that is part of the problem. If you ask 100 cricket fans, the chances are you won't get a majority who think they are great or a majority who think they aren't. You'll get more confusion. Greatness should be automatic. It should punch you in the face. It should be obvious.South Africa are nothing but questions. Are they a side who don't land killer blows against good teams? Is their away record enough to go past the other holes in their record? Are they a really good side in an average era?This is certainly the greatest era in South African cricket. Before this, they have had only two really good runs in Test cricket. From 1998 to 2003 they had 24 Test series - they won 16, lost three to Australia and drew three in all. But they also lost a captain to match-fixing, and had two embarrassing World Cup exits.Their other era was played by ghosts, two series apart, when the world had turned away from them. Names like Denis Lindsay, Mike Procter, Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards.None of those players is considered a South Africa player by Cricket SA. They are not given official numbers. For CSA, South African cricket started in 1992. Those men might have only played a handful of Tests, they might have won only two series, both at home, three years apart, but they are what people think of when they think of the best of South African cricket.To most, the 1966 and 1969 team that beat Australia is the gold standard, and part of the problem is that you can't compare a modern team that has played 78 matches to a ghost team.But no other team has strung together a record such as South Africa have just finished. No team other than West Indies has ever gone this long without losing away from home.The biggest problem is what legacy they leave. West Indies gave us raw, brutal, beautiful pace. Australia gave us punchy, thuggish, quick-fire scoring, and the second coming of legspin. This South African team is much like you would expect a South Africa team would be, only more so. This is a clinical, efficient, cricket machine.They have no legacy. They are not a big-market team. They are probably not a great team.But they are one of the best five teams of all time. They are giants. They might have to fight in foreign lands for their era to be remembered and respected.They are used to that. ESPN Cricinfo..