Temba Bavuma...

And other stuff

    He is not alone in captaining a South African team to an inglorious World Cup exit although his wretched form during the T20 in Australia made the experience worse. However chastening it was on the field, at least it was on the field. Some of the invective from anonymous nobodies which followed was actionable slander. Try as he might, he could not ignore it.

    Before this series he was facing the possibility of becoming the first captain in his country’s ignominious World Cup history not to even qualify for a World Cup. That might still happen. The Proteas still need to win twice against the Netherlands and hope Sri Lanka don’t win 3-0 in New Zealand.

    Not only did Bavuma score a century, he did so like never before. With a game perfectly suited to the role of ‘anchor’, especially with opening partner Quinton de Kock a natural aggressor, he redefined himself. He attacked and then counter-attacked during the Power Play, and then he carried on when most expected him to revert to anchoring the chase. In the 90s he suffered a bout of cramps but he wasn’t going anywhere.

    Bavuma is a man of decency and deep integrity. Even when he failed to attract a bid at the SA20 Player Auction, the only member of his entire squad deemed unsuitable for the country’s shiny new league, he remained calm. He has rarely spoken out about anything but, when he has, it has invariably been for the good of the team and to defend others. He spent the two weeks before this series on holiday. There wasn’t any cricket to be played.

    Only when he reached three figures, from just 90 balls, did he allow himself a brief display of emotion, leaping into the air and pointing to the name on his back and then beating his heart with a clenched fist. Was it saying: ‘The name is Bavuma and I’m all heart’? That’s what it looked like.

   “Yeh, I’ll go with that,” he said afterwards, smiling but back to his usual calm demeanour. “It was quite emotional, I never planned that celebration. For me it was just to remind myself, and everyone, that I do deserve to be in this team. But, yes, there was emotion.”

    Bavuma enjoys the art of understatement: “Probably one of the better knocks in my international career, it was good wicket so that helped a bit. But it was quite satisfactory. I’m sure the fans were thrilled by the performance from both teams, we got close to 700 runs in the match, it was a great contest,” Bavuma said.

    If there has been anything from either side during the series better than Bavuma’s century, it has been his captaincy. Clear, concise plans have been in place – which is fine when they work. A captain earns his extra meal allowance when they aren’t working, however, and Bavuma’s instincts have been razor-

    “I’ve been on the beach for the last two weeks and out of the game for a bit, so it takes a while to get that tactical nuance going again, the feel of the game, but fortunately the other guys have been playing so I’ve been able to bounce ideas off them when I’m not sure, so that’s helped quite a bit,” he said, keen to share his success with his team mates even when ‘highs’ have been so rare for him recently.

    “But I have enjoyed being in those pressure moments, making decisions to try and turn the game in our favour. It’s not easy against England, they’re always coming at you and you have to be on your toes but, not wanting to blow any air up my own you-know-what, I think we were tactically quite good in both games,” Bavuma said, incorrectly. He has been brilliant, not ‘quite good.’

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    Dear Subscribers,

   Nine days in the Free State was fabulous and exhausting. Every day I wanted to share the experience with you. Not having ‘enough time’ in the day is a wearying excuse. There is, or should always be, enough time for the important things. So why wasn’t there enough time to update my site? Because for the last two years I have set aside hours to ‘craft’ something original.

    On the evenings I finally relaxed with a glass of wine, I had 20 minutes to ‘talk’. So, having always eschewed the idea of Q&As on this platform, I was wondering if you might be interested in that – from time to time?

    What about the Momentum Proteas and the Dane van Niekerk situation? The robust comments on national selection from Heinrich Klaasen? At times, after long days on TV, radio and print, it’s not possible to fashion an article appropriate to the standards I’ve (tried to) set for myself.

    In those moments I’d be delighted to answer a few questions, possible with a glass of wine at the end of the evening. Much as I’m grateful to Substack for the platform, and the necessity for security, the process of identifying traffic lights, buses and bicycles before I can reply to your feedback is another disincentive.

    So, if anybody has any questions, and is prepared for ‘no-holds’ answers, feel free to drop me a line here: neil@mwp.co.za I’ll do my best.