Temba Bavuma loves batting in Tests. He loves it even more when he’s captain. As South Africa’s skipper, Bavuma averages 54.36, well above his overall Test average of 37.39. He clearly enjoys facing the Aussies too, as his five fifties and a career-best 179 in the second Test at Gqeberha suggest.
South Africa were reeling at 110/6, with Bavuma holding one end up. A crucial 132-run partnership with Marco Jansen offered some much-needed respite, before another stand of 183 with Simon Harmer turned the game on its head. The two 80s from South Africa’s No. 9 and No. 10 deserve plenty of credit, but Bavuma’s knock was cut from a different cloth. At just 5 feet 4 inches tall, Bavuma is hardly imposing in stature, which makes his innings against Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland and Pat Cummins all the more remarkable.
Bavuma took a leaf out of another little man’s book – a certain Sachin Tendulkar, who knows a thing or two about batting against Australia. In 39 Tests, Tendulkar averages 55 against the Aussies, the best among subcontinental batters to have played 30 Tests or more. While Tendulkar’s methods may not always be replicated, Bavuma appears to have drawn plenty of inspiration from the Master Blaster.
“I try to emulate his technique,” Bavuma said after the end of Day 2. “I’m obviously not a big guy. I’m not really going to get any big strides in. I try to be efficient in terms of my movement. Sometimes it gets me into trouble. But I think for me, that’s generally what works. I try to play the ball as close to my body as possible.”
Bavuma vs Australia
Bavuma’s average of 45.17 against Australia isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. In his first two Tests against the 2023 World Test Championship winners, Bavuma scored 51 and 74 in Perth and Hobart. Four years later, his unbeaten 95 played a key role in South Africa’s emphatic 492-run victory in Cape Town. The 2022-23 series yielded little for him, but last year, Bavuma’s 66 at Lord’s was the perfect support act to Aiden Markram’s 136 as South Africa clinched the World Test Championship.
That was then. This is now. Without Bavuma, the prospect of South Africa going 0-2 down would have looked considerably more likely. But having posted 425/9, they have set St George’s Park up for something special. To go from being on the brink of being bowled out for less than 200 to declaring after two days is a moral victory in itself. Now, Bavuma believes it’s time for the real win.
“Part of our plan was to keep them in the field for as long as we can. I think that paid off … being able to bowl and get that wicket there. If we’re going to get on the right side of the result, we’re going to have to spend the majority of those two days out there on the field. So I think mentally for us it is to prepare for that overnight,” he said after Day 2.
“There’s still something there in the wicket, especially with that new ball. If we can get the ball in the right place for a considerable amount of time, anything can happen. Hopefully on day five, the spin comes into play as well and Simon can be a lot more of a threat. We obviously want to go for the win and we’ll do as much as we can to bring that to life.”
