Temba Bavuma’s remarkable resurgence sees Proteas reach new heights before WTC final

Temba Bavuma (captain) of South Africa during day 1 of the 2nd Test between South Africa and Pakistan at World Sports Betting Newlands Cricket Ground on January 03, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

7 Jan 2025

After being vilified by the public for South Africa’s 2023 ODI World Cup exit, Temba Bavuma has picked himself up from the lowest moment of his career to the cusp of a first major ICC trophy.

Proteas red-ball skipper Temba Bavuma has taken his Test match batting to new heights this summer.

Across the four home matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bavuma notched up 504 runs at a remarkable average of 72. He only failed to pass 50 on two occasions — with scores of 31 and 40 — in the seven innings he batted.

The diminutive skipper is in the form of his life with the bat, and so is his side — who have now completed their seventh consecutive Test match victory after overcoming Pakistan by 10 wickets at Newlands.

The Proteas’ turbulent journey of navigating the lows of being written off after winning only one of their first five matches of the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle to qualifying for the final with one match to spare, demonstrates the backs-to-the-wall spirit of the team, and no one exemplifies that better than their leader.

For the first eight years of his career, Bavuma was defined by his gritty, rearguard batting, often rescuing the team from sticky situations but simultaneously failing to cash in with big scores when the occasion presented itself.

This was punctuated by his lack of centuries during that time — there was just a solitary undefeated 102 back in 2016.

Marco Jansen and Temba Bavuma of South Africa during day four of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands Cricket Ground on 6 January 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

Temba Bavuma on day 1 of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

Over the past 24 months, he’s added three more centuries — including two in his last six innings — as well as being the leading run scorer in the team, with the highest batting average, across that period.

Bavuma’s batting form has been on an upward trend since the turn of the decade, and he has led the Proteas’ batting stats since then, but over the past two years he’s taken it to a new level.

A calm head

Outside of Bavuma and opener Aiden Markram, who has the third most runs since 2020, South Africa’s batting line-up is relatively inexperienced with none of Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham or Tristan Stubbs – the team’s regular list of top-order batters – having played more than 15 Test matches.

Such is the form of the 34-year-old skipper that when he’s walked to the wicket over the past 24 months, fans of the national Test side tend to sit a little bit easier knowing that the often rocky batting line-up will be steadied.

His teammates feel the same way too, with wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne sharing similar sentiments after Bavuma scored his fourth Test century at Newlands on Friday, via the Proteas Men’s social media page.

“You’ve become the backbone of this team and this batting line-up,” Verreynne said. “I speak for everyone when I say we’re happy that you’re out there leading us.

“As a batter, the biggest compliment you can get is that when you walk out to bat, everyone in the ground and everyone in the changeroom has that sense of calmness because they know that you have this covered. Over the last couple of months that’s exactly what we got from you.”

Where has the turn in form come for Bavuma — whose Test batting average is trending towards 40 after being in the low 30s for the early part of his career?

“From a batting point of view, I understand my game a lot better,” he said after the second Test match win over Pakistan. “I’m trying to stay within my strengths as much as I can and not play like anyone else. In my early days, I remember being told I needed to have a trigger (movement), and I tried that, and it was never natural for me.

“Now, I’ve parked that aside and I’m just trying to do what is natural for me. From a mental point of view, I’m at ease. I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone else, just myself, and I’m trying to stay true to who I am and what my ambitions are.”

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Bavuma described leading the Proteas to the WTC final in Lord’s in June as the biggest highlight of his career.

“Next to me making my debut for South Africa, this is probably the biggest thing,” he said. “We have an opportunity to do something special for the country, and one thing I know with this group of players, everyone will try to run through a brick wall to get on the right side of that result.”

But right before he hit this incredible purple patch, he experienced the lowest moment of his 1o-year international career at the One-Day International World Cup in India in 2023, where South Africa exited in the semi-final after losing to WTC co-finalists Australia by three wickets.

“The way we exited… I’m the type of guy, I put a lot of responsibility and pressure on myself,” he said. “My own personal performances — it didn’t speak to what I wanted.”

Despite having a brilliant record in the ODI format, Bavuma struggled across the eight matches he played. He scored a mere 145 runs at an average of 18.12.

“That was quite difficult for me personally to deal with, but also to deal with where the team was,” he said. “The team played so well that I felt that we deserved a lot more as a team, and I guess someone has to take the fall, right? And it’s normally the captain.

“But one thing that I can say is that I’m very, very grateful for the experiences that I’ve gone through.”

After South Africa’s exit from the tournament, Bavuma became the player who fans loved to hate and the scapegoat of the team’s semi-final exit.

Just over 14 months later, no other batter receives a bigger cheer when they walk out to bat. In the first Test match against Pakistan, the crowd at SuperSport Park in Centurion stood when he walked to the crease, and fans at Newlands in Cape Town sang his name for minutes on end after every milestone he passed.The story of Bavuma is one of grit, determination and of never giving up — much like his attitude when batting. But it’s not over yet. Lord’s beckons and after being blamed for the 2023 World Cup exit, this is an opportunity for redemption by securing the country’s first major ICC trophy. DM

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A calm head

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