BAVUMA BALANCES HISTORY WITH AMBITION
WHILE acknowledging the significance of the social dynamic that comes with his appointment as the first black African cricket captain of South Africa, Temba Bavuma also recognises the enormity of the task that awaits him and the expectation about winning a World Cup title.
Bavuma, 30, was named captain of the Proteas’ T20 and One-Day International sides yesterday.
Dean Elgar was named the Test team’s captain, with Bavuma as his vice-captain.
Cricket SA’s Director of Cricket Graeme Smith confirmed that both appointments were for two years, lending the South African men’s team some much needed stability.
It means Bavuma will captain the Proteas at the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups and he will also lead the side at the 50-over World Cup in 2023. South African has never won a World Cup title in any of those formats.
“I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t mean anything to me. I understand the deeply rooted significance of it all,” Bavuma said of his appointment.
“I can completely understand why people in our country would celebrate this.
“From a pure ambition point of view, as much as I am the first black African captain, from a playing perspective, I have very strong ambitions that I’d like to achieve. Along with being the first black African captain, I want to be known as someone who led the team very well and created a legacy for himself.”
That legacy will be completely entwined with how the South African team he leads will perform at the three ICC events over the next two years. South Africa’s legacy at World Cups is one of failure and choking.
“It is quite a scary and daunting prospect, but there’s also a lot of excitement attached to it as well,” he said. “I’m committed to the whole process and journey. I’d like to lead the guys to something special.”
Bavuma has had great success as the Lions captain, since taking that position in 2018/19. In that season he led the side to the FourDay title and later the T20 crown as well and last week the Lions, with a star-studded team, won the competition again. It is the 2018/19 tournament that proved pivotal in Bavuma’s career. Fuelled by the disappointment of not even being considered a candidate for the World Cup side in 2019, Bavuma changed his approach to batting, adopting a more assertive style to prove he could thrive in the limited overs formats.
“I’ve enjoyed the responsibility of leading the Lions side. The nature of serving people, that balancing act between (achieving) your own personal ambitions as a player and (ensuring) the interests of the team (are upheld) is something that I’ve taken a liking to.”
Bavuma, like Elgar, was informed a few days ago about his appointment, but said that while it came as a surprise, he had no doubts that he wanted to take the role.
“I feel a bit calmer now and at peace with the decision. There is obviously anxiety in terms of not knowing what to expect. But a lot of comfort comes from the fact that I know my players, the people who’ve entrusted me with the position; Graeme, Victor (Mpitsang, chairman of selectors), Mark (Boucher, the Proteas head coach) and Enoch (Nkwe, the Proteas assistant coach), I draw a lot of confidence from that, because those are people of stature.”
While Bavuma’s first assignment as captain is within sight – the twin limited overs series against Pakistan next month – for Elgar, there is still time to reflect on his appointment, but also, the plans he has for the Test side.
South Africa’s next Test assignment is likely to be against the West Indies, sometime around June, with details about that tour close to be finalised.
“There is a lot of time before our next Test series,” said Elgar. “So I’m not going to rush into anything. There are areas for us to work on, but because we have time, I’m not going to clarify anything now.”