Rossouw rises while Bavuma’s batting woes continue

Temba Bavuma of proteas playing a shot during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Bangladesh at Sydney Cricket Ground on 27 October 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Isuru Sameera Peiris / Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

27 Oct 2022

Rilee Rossouw’s stock continues to rise as South Africa’s most important batter in a line-up of big hitters, but skipper Temba Bavuma’s battles with the willow continue.

It’s been a contrasting year for South African skipper Temba Bavuma and first drop batter Rilee Rossouw.

While Bavuma has only scored 68 runs at an average of 9.7 in the nine T20I matches he’s played this year, Rossouw has notched up an astonishing 340 runs, with an average of 68 in eight matches.

The destructive No 3 batter was at his sublime best when he recorded his highest T20 international score of 109 off only 56 deliveries against Bangladesh in South Africa’s second World Cup match on Thursday.

Rossouw’s emotions shone through when he reached the three-figure milestone for the second time in two consecutive innings playing for the Proteas, following a century against India earlier this month.

“I’m a very passionate man. Getting across the line meant a lot to me… meant a lot to my family back home. It’s been a good rollercoaster ride just to play for South Africa again,” said Rossouw in a post-match press conference.

Rossouw, who has played around the globe in T20 competitions in recent years, admitted that his time playing in the Bangladesh Premier League helped him in executing his excellent century.

“It definitely does help. I was there for three years and two of them I was the leading run scorer. I played against a lot of the boys back home and with a lot of them. I wasn’t too unfamiliar with what was going to be expected out there,” he said.

“I think today where we did really well was, we took on the spin, especially with Mehidy and Afif. We took charge and really wanted to control that area and we did well.”

Temba Bavuma of the Proteas plays a shot during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Bangladesh at Sydney Cricket Ground on 27 October 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Isuru Sameera Peiris / Gallo Images)

Struggling skippers

There’s been a trend in the ongoing World Cup of a few of the southern hemisphere skippers struggling with the bat.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand, Aaron Finch of Australia and South Africa’s Bavuma have all looked scratchy as they search for runs at a decent rate.

It can be argued that 35-year-old Finch’s best cricketing days are behind him, as evidenced by the steady decline in his batting average in T20I cricket — his average has dropped by at least two runs year on year since 2018.

With Williamson and Bavuma, it seems T20I cricket has evolved beyond them. The use of an “anchor” in T20 cricket is becoming more outdated as the shortest format of the game continues to develop and evolve.

South Africa’s regular No 6 batter, Tristan Stubbs, for example, has played 11 matches for his country but only batted in seven of them.

Playing as a specialist batter, Stubbs has faced, on average, 11.5 balls per innings in those seven innings.

That’s not enough time in the middle for a batter as destructive as Stubbs.

With anchors facing a chunk of deliveries, it inhibits the more destructive batters.

The most successful white-ball teams in recent years have loaded their teams with aggressive batters and have allowed them to play with freedom, knowing that the next person in the batting line-up is equally, if not more, aggressive.

Both Bavuma and Williamson have been batting at a strike rate under 120 in the last two years.

And while both batters have a dynamic and explosive batting lineup around them, dotting up one end could cost their side vital opportunities in the business end of the tournament.

Bavuma is an astute captain and has led the side well despite his recent shortcomings with the bat. He is also well backed by the coaching staff and his teammates, who have continued to support him publicly.

But privately the skipper’s poor form must be a concern for coach Mark Boucher, especially when Reeza Hendricks, who seemingly can’t stop scoring runs, is waiting for a chance.

Visit Daily Maverick's home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Dotting up

“The new ball bowlers of Bangladesh bowled nicely. Taskin in the first over got the ball to shape. He bowled nicely upfront to Temba,” said Rossouw about his skipper, whose struggles with the bat continued today as he scored two runs off six deliveries.

De Kock’s and more recently Rossouw’s incredible exploits with the bat have meant that Bavuma’s rocky, slow starts have been spared by the enigmatic lefthanders.

However, this won’t always be the case.

In the second T20I of last month’s three-match series against India, South Africa lost the encounter by 16 runs.

It was a high-scoring game with India posting 237 for three. The Proteas were valiant in their chase, scoring 221 for the loss of three wickets.

David Miller scored an incredible century while he was ably supported by De Kock, who contributed 68 runs.

With nearly 500 runs scored across the two innings, South Africa’s skipper went out for a duck. And while going out without troubling the scorers can happen to anyone, it was the fact that Bavuma ate up seven deliveries, including a maiden opening over off Deepak Chahar, that proved most costly.

The deeper South Africa gets into the tournament, the more important a few dot balls will be in the greater scheme of things. DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

Struggling skippers

Dotting up