Bavuma deserves a fair chance

What Proteas batsman Temba Bavuma lacks in stature, he backs up with bags of courage. It’s this tenacity, coupled with a strong skill set and leadership qualities that saw the 30-year-old Highveld Lions skipper named the national limited-overs captain this week. Dean Elgar will lead the Test team.

Director of cricket Graeme Smith, himself a former national captain, said they were impressed with Bavuma’s leadership and handed him the captaincy armband for T20s and one-day internationals for two years – a period that includes three World Cups.

South Africa has been blessed with really strong leaders over the years in Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronje – before his fall from grace – Shaun Pollock and Smith. All of them had lengthy, successful spells in charge of the national team. After Smith departed, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla took turns in trying to make the leadership role their own in the different formats before Du Plessis took the reins and gave the structure stability.

However, when Du Plessis relinquished the captaincy early last year, it left a void. Quinton de Kock assumed the role, but he was a reluctant leader and his own game took a knock.

Bavuma said: “Combined with being known as the first black African captain, I’d also like to be known as someone who led the team very well and created a legacy for himself.”

Many will question if Bavuma is the correct man to lead the national team when his own place is far from secure, despite some consistent performances of late.

He will no doubt have to do his talking with the bat and have good results go his way if he is to be a success. But at the Lions, he’s shown he’s up for the job by leading them to the domestic T20 title last weekend after a number of good years at the franchise.

Captaincy can be a lonely position, but we owe it to Bavuma to give him a fair chance to show just exactly what he is capable of.