Temba Bavuma clinches SA20 contract to continue feel-good summer of SA cricket

CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe. (Photo: Lee Warren / Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

2 Feb 2023

Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Thursday announced the signing of national white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma which, along with the Proteas’ turn in form, continues the upward trajectory of cricket in South Africa this summer.

After a two-year cricket hiatus for spectators at stadiums — due to the Covid-19 pandemic — South Africa has been saturated with cricket since the start of the year.

The inaugural season of the country’s premier T20 competition, the SA20, has made a superb start with almost every match sold out.

Smack-bang in the middle of the SA20, the Proteas played a vital three-match 50-over series against England — which they won 2-1.

After having been snubbed at the SA20 auction, national white-ball captain Temba Bavuma came back rejuvenated in the series and top-scored for South Africa. He made a total of 180 runs with a highest score of 109, as he led from the front, batting at a strike rate of more than a run a ball in all three innings.

Bavuma’s incredible form in the series against England helped him secure a contract with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape for the back end of the SA20 — a little late, but rather that than never.

The SA20 has been well received for its quality of cricket and staunch support around the country, from the band at St George’s Park in Gqeberha to the loud stadium announcers at Newlands, Cape Town.

temba bavuma cricket Cricket South Africa Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe. (Photo: Lee Warren / Gallo Images)

“There are new voices, new faces. It gives an opportunity to some of our domestic cricketers that have never been exposed to that stage to rub shoulders with some of the best players internationally but also within [the country],” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe.

“So far, it’s been exciting. It’s good to see different cricketers stepping up at different times. Hopefully, it grows from strength to strength and it continues to have that positive impact on South African cricket.”

Packed schedule

A few days after the SA20 kicked off, the Women’s Under-19 World Cup started in Potchefstroom. And a day before the final of the SA20 final, the Women’s T20 World Cup kicks off in Cape Town.

To say the South African cricket schedule is filled would be an understatement. But Nkwe would have wanted even more cricket.

“Some of the supporters would have wanted it to start over the festive season in December with a couple of Test matches, going into the shorter formats,” said Nkwe.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to continue to promote the game — both men and women.

“It’s a dream to have our country host the Under-19 World Cup and the senior World Cup in the same season.”

South Africa’s Under-19 women’s team was unlucky to not make the semifinals of the World Cup after missing out on net run rate despite only losing one match all tournament.

“Hopefully, the [senior] ladies can build on that women’s cricket momentum, following the way the Under-19s have started,” Nkwe said.

Women’s cricket

The Proteas Women are in the best position they have yet been in to win a World Cup.

They have made the semifinals of the past two editions of the shortest tournament format and playing at home with large crowd support will only help their cause.

Head coach Hilton Moreeng has now been in charge of the side for 11 years. He has overseen the team’s golden generation and despite the positive strides he has made with the squad, he is yet to capture gold of any kind with the team.

Moreeng’s contract finishes at the end of this season and Nkwe said a decision on his future would be made after the World Cup, with an eye on the next two global tournaments.

Whether he succeeds or fails at the home tournament, questions remain on whether he has achieved as much as he could with the star-studded group of players.

“His contract finishes at the end of the season. Our focus currently is on the World Cup. After the tournament, we’ll do a full review and then see how we plan forward with the coaching staff,” said Nkwe.

“We’re going to be sitting down with the players individually to plan forward. Post-World Cup, we need to plan for the next two years because there’s a T20 World Cup next year and there’s a 50-over World Cup in 2025.

“There’s not really a lot of time and there’s still a lot of work to be done. We need to continue to build on the work that has been done and plan for the next two years.”

The focus, according to Nkwe, is to incorporate younger players in the team gradually to ensure the retirement of players from the golden generation does not have too great an impact on the performance of the national team.

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

Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee retired last year, and opening bowlers Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail are both closer to 35 than 30.

The 21-year-old all-rounder Annerie Dercksen made her debut in the recent tri-series against West Indies and India, while 22-year-old wicketkeeper batter Tebogo Macheke spent some time around the national team recently.

“There’s a good mix of young and experienced players at the moment, but we don’t want to be caught on the back foot if some of the experienced players decide to retire soon,” said Nkwe.

“We need to ensure these younger players transition well into the senior team.”

Nkwe said the SA20 has plans to include a women’s edition of the tournament in the near future which would further help reduce the gap between provincial and national cricket — one of the major problems in South African women’s cricket at the moment.

Australia’s premier T20 competition, the Big Bash League, has the Women’s Big Bash League, which has proven to be extremely successful.

India recently announced the Women’s Premier League, the women’s version of the most popular T20 league in the world, the Indian Premier League.

On 25 January, multiple investors bought franchise rights to the five teams in a closed bidding process which raised a total of close to R10-billion.

Even though Nkwe said he could not confirm when the women’s edition of the SA20 would be announced, the fact that it is in the works enhances the feel-good factor currently prevalent in South African cricket. DM

Categories:

Tags:

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

South Africa

Packed schedule

Women’s cricket