Little man with a big heart, that’s Temba
Dear Vuyo Bavuma
Many years ago, when you and I were colleagues at ThisDay newspaper, you needed to get a lift to the new house you had bought in Fourways, just off Cedar Road.
I remember taking you there and meeting your kids. One of them was a small boy in the middle of the living room with a cricket bat in his hand, practicing his forward defensive shot and his cover drive.
He told me how much he loved the game and how one day he hoped to play for South Africa. He was tiny for his age but I was struck by the look of steely determination in his eyes. It was the same look I saw in his eyes when he went out to bat in South Africa’s first innings of the fourth Test against Australia at the Wanderers.
When Temba was recalled to the Test team for the third Test in Cape Town after being dropped for the India series, the critics had a field day. They said he was not yet ready to return to Test cricket and should have had a few warmup matches before being drafted back into the Proteas side.
When he made a single and five in his two knocks in that match,
Guy Hawthorne
the chorus of “I told you so” was deafening. “Underdone” and “lacking in confidence” were two of the phrases I read about his performance at Newlands.
In the first innings of the fourth Test at the Wanderers, Temba strode to the wicket after having seen his captain Faf du Plessis dismissed for a duck. The match was evenly poised with South Africa on 247/4. As he took guard, the camera zoomed in on his face and there it was … that same look I had seen all those years ago. “He’s going to make big runs in this innings,” I said to my mate Andrew.
And so it was. Temba went on to make a gutsy, unbeaten 95, in the Proteas’ total of 488, a score that effectively put the match out of the reach of the Australians and ensured South Africa their first series win on home soil since their readmission to Test cricket.
Temba was then 35 not out in South Africa’s second innings, off just 40 balls, when they were piling on the agony and I was again reminded of that little fella in his parents’ living room all those years ago with such big dreams for the future.
At the time, I remember you telling me you would do all in your power to help Temba realise his dream and when I saw you on TV watching him from the stands, your chest puffed out in pride, it warmed my heart that it worked out for the two of you.
It was also a reminder to never give up on a goal. We learn various lessons in life and that was one I got through in that exchange in Fourways all those years ago.
So, thank you. And long may you and Temba’s successes last.