Bavuma returns to where he belongs – the Wanderers

TEMBA Bavuma may be the son of the Langa soil but the recent fourth test against Australia served as a reminder of where he is truly at home as a cricketer.

It is at Wanderers where he belongs as a firstclass and test-match cricketer and he returns to the Highveld Lions after what can only be termed a season’s sabbatical with the Cape Cobras.

When he graced South Africa’s most raucous test ground with a gutsy and enthralling unbeaten 95 that deserved to be converted into a second test ton‚ there was an air of serenity and homeliness in the manner in which he went about his business.

That innings examined Bavuma in every sense possible from a cricket perspective, but the patience displayed against Australia’s crack bowling unit was of a man who intimately understood his surroundings and how they had to be navigated.

Bavuma’s only test ton may have come against England in Cape Town just over two years ago, but the cricket gods were astute in their timing.

South Africa’s most picturesque cricket ground in Bavuma’s birthplace simply had to be the venue for his first test 100.

The stars were aligned in that manner, but Bavuma has always seemingly been at home at the Wanderers and when the yearning for home comes‚ it is a difficult one to ignore.

With the Lions also going to have a new coach with Geoffrey Toyana having vacated the position‚ Bavuma will go into a new dressing room with a fresh coaching setup and, most probably‚ a new direction that the team will chart.

Because of Bavuma being contracted to the national team‚ the Lions do not have to deal with his salary, but that applies for all the franchises which have nationally contracted players.

While he may not be available for every domestic engagement because of his international commitments‚ the Lions were short of runs last season even though Hendrik “Rassie” van der Dussen finally started to realise the immense potential he showed in his junior years.

Maybe Bavuma needed a break from Johannesburg and its unending hustle and bustle, but if he warms up to Johannesburg and the Lions like he did in the Australia test‚ it could be the start of the best of times.

South Africa knows what it has in Bavuma, but is yet to see the best of him. – TimesLIVE