TEMBA BAVUMA HAS NEVER LACKED THE ABILITY AND SKILL OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRICKETER

"The Achilles’ heel in Temba’s test career has been the lack of big scores ....."

Temba Bavuma made his test debut in 2014 during a boxing day test match and questions around whether or not he belongs have been there since the day he walked out to go bat in a test match. He is just one of those batters who have constantly been expected to prove themselves. This is however, not something that would be new to Temba. I remember watching his interview with Pommie Mbangwa on Instagram in 2020. He spoke about how he has had to, “fight for my spot and fight for respect”. Something he has to do almost every single time he gets on the field.

With the changes in coaching structures and personnel in the Proteas set up that have seen Temba made test and One Day side captain, questions about Temba and whether or not he should be in the sides, let alone be captain have continued. This is what sparked his celebration in the second ODI against England. “It was a reminder to myself and everyone that I am still here and I deserve to be here.”   One thing that continues to stand out about Temba is his bravery and fighting spirit. I am not sure how many people would’ve endured as much as he has and for him to still want to prove that he indeed has what it takes to lead South Africa and lead by examples. This too, after all that was said about him during and after the T20 world cup. Describing the last few months where the noise has been much louder, Temba says, “As much as you try to block out the outside noise, it does find a way to affect you. The biggest thing is the way it affects your family and those around you,”.

After getting a pair on test captaincy debut, even more questions around Temba and whether or not he belongs in international cricket were asked. He wasted no time and responded with two centuries, 1 in the test matches and 1 in the one dayers. The test ton being only his second test ton. Something for which he was also criticised. When the announcement of two coaches was made, nobody really knew what to expect but it definitely looks like something that has worked well for Temba. I don’t know what conversations he had with the coaches but they must have been really good and positive conversations. He looks different, walks different and most definitely bats different too.

TEMBA BAVUMA HAS NEVER LACKED THE ABILITY AND SKILL OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRICKETER

Whilst some may disagree, it has always been evident that Temba has the ability and talent to do well in international cricket. The fact that he averages 50 in ODI cricket (small sample) compared to his overall List A record is telling that maybe sometimes stats don’t really tell it all. He made his semi-pro debut for Gauteng at 18 then later made his debut for the Lions a few years later. Even though he never set the stage alight at semi-pro, he did well in the 2009/10 season where he scored 675 runs at 45 average and that is probably when the Lions started looking at him. He made his Lions debut the following season where he scored 242 runs in 4 matches at 60.50. Temba’s record for the Lions suggests also suggests that Temba does not lack the talent nor the skill to score runs. 58 matches, 3752 runs, 180 highest score,43.62 average and 9/16 100s/50s. The  Achilles’ heel in Temba’s test career has been the lack of big scores and that is something he too has acknowledged a number of times already. He has recently shown that he has the ability to score hundreds and one can hope that we will see a few more hundreds from him. The lack of big scores is the reason why his test record looks the way it does while the opposite is true with his ODI career.  Even in T20 cricket, Temba has shown that he has the ability to do the job but perhaps that would be a topic for another day.

Temba has started like a house on fire under the new coaches in Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter and one can only hope that he keeps the momentum and consistency. There can barely be any questions around his leadership and captaincy because he has proven that he is a good captain and it makes all the difference when he backs it up with performances. People who refuse to acknowledge him as a captain and as a batter have their own reasons for that but many South Africans back Temba and his team 100% which is something that is wonderful to see.