ONE day Temba Bavuma will don the South African national cricket team armband. This is from his mentor and Highveld Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana. But first, Bavuma has to put up some work on his bating career as well as cement his place in the Proteas team, a feat that will provide many challenges for the young batsman.
According to Toyana, Bavuma has what it takes to be Proteas captain as he has shown some leadership qualities while at the Lions.
We made him vice-captain last year as he is natural leader. We regarded him as a senior player and even young players come in
the team, batsman was feeling after his feat. The word that constantly came out of Bavuma’s mouth was relief. He was relieved that he managed to finally score a test hundred in front of a crowd that probably felt he did not belong in the team. He was also relieved that many young black kids across South Africa are now able to see how possible it is to play for the national team and do remarkably well.
Relief that for many years Bavuma had to prove to everyone his worth in the national team, where there has been many doubts about his capabilities.
The pressure is always there when you are in the national team and one needs to make use of the chance given to you,” said a straight-faced Bavuma.
Does that mean he can one day lead the Proteas? Toyana thinks he can: He will really need to put in the extra work, which we strongly believe he has, to become a captain.”
Toyana feels Bavuma needs to knuckle down in the next year or two before the word captain can fill his head. Being a Proteas batsman who can score a hundred is not an easy feat, so imagine captaining the side.
As Hashim Amla, who quit as captain this week pointed out, the job is just not that simple.
For Bavuma, the time is now to learn the ropes, but importantly win the hearts of the demanding and not-so-forgiving South African public.
But where to now for Bavuma? The right answer is that he is a permanent figure in the national team.
He plays his next game here (Wanderers) next week and he needs to be consistent with his performance to stake his place in the team,” adds Toyana.
The barriers have been broken down or have they? We have seen this movie before, where young black players come into the national team, only to disappear into obscurity due to many factors, mostly selectors not giving black players opportunities to thrive.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe, after some injuries, is nowhere to be seen. We are talking about a player who was once the number one ODI bowler in the world.
Pride in the cricket team is something black South Africans increasingly share. Support is there for Bavuma, but it will be up to him to take the mantle.