Bavuma To Establish A Strong Sense Of Belonging

We can take refuge in the leadership of Proteas short-formats captain, Temba Bavuma, during a difficult time in South African Cricket as we tour Sri Lanka on Wednesday 15 August, writes Ongama Gcwabe.

Bavuma’s Mission

“I am not afraid of that responsibility. It’s an opportunity that may not come again if I don’t accept it” Temba Bavuma told Bet Central in an exclusive interview prior to his appointment as white-ball formats Captain.

“I’m not going to go out of my way to get the role. If it comes my way, I’m definitely going to accept it.” He concluded.

There’s no better way to make sense of Temba Bavuma’s mission and philosophy as captain than to recap on some of his own words leading up to his appointment.

He has always been a man on a mission to put a stamp on the culture of South African Cricket. There is no doubt that he never was “afraid” of the responsibility and he always knew how he wanted to lead the Proteas.

Impact Of SJN hearings

Amidst what has been said during a reconciliation period of South African Cricket through the SJN Hearings, Bavuma made it clear that his intentions are to rehabilitate a hurt cricketing community and create a culture that best fits and represents all South Africans.

During a departure press conference, Bavuma left no stones unturned in terms of how he wants to lead going forward,

“In the SJN , a lot has been said. For me, the biggest take is that you want to create an environment that allows guys to have a strong sense of belonging, effectively allow them to express themselves,” he said.

“We all have different backgrounds, which in turn shapes our perspectives. Being able to put all of that together, where guys can express their beliefs.

“I think it starts with having those hard conversations. We are putting each other in uncomfortable spaces not so that we can expose each other.” He added.
 
To have a captain that realizes the importance of being vulnerable during this period is refreshing and gives the whole cricketing community a sense of relief and hope that the team is heading in the right direction.

It might be a blessing in disguise to have the hearings ongoing a few months before T20I World Cup because it is in these hard conversations that a team will draw up a sense of togetherness instead of continuing playing with these issues hanging over our heads.

Boucher And The SJN Hearings

Proteas coach himself has been mentioned in the hearings and we wondered what impact that had on the team that was on the tour of the West Indies & Ireland at the time.

Bavuma was transparent of the impact that the hearings had on the team before the Proteas ODI team departed to Sri Lanka for an all white-ball tour,

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have an impact on us. Members of the team have been named in the SJN in the testimonies. Our coach, Mark Boucher, has addressed us. He provided context, clarity.” Bavuma told the media on Monday morning.

There are no weak links in international cricket. The disastrous Australia tour of Bangladesh which saw the tourists being whitewashed was a testament to that fact.

Sri Lankan Tour

Sri Lanka will not be a walk in the park for this young Proteas team, we need concrete strategies to come out on top in the usually spinner friendly conditions.

“We did have a chance to have a look at who we could possibly come up against. Some of us have played in Sri Lanka. From an experience point of view, we have that on our side. Conditions will be suited to the slower bowlers,” said Bavuma.

“In terms of preparation, we’re trying to get that as much as we can. The weather, the heat. We expect a tough encounter, a tough challenge. They’re a strong team in their conditions.

“I have a lot of confidence in the spin. You’ve got a guy like Shamsi. He’s flying high. With those two spinners, we can more than just compete. We can dominate in those conditions. Having guys like George Linde in our resources we can really be confident.” Bavuma concluded.

The Proteas tour Sri Lanka for three ODI’s and three T20I’s with the first ODI being played on Thursday 02 September at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

Lutho Sipamla and Mandla Mashimbyi replace Junior Dala and Charl Langeveldt, respectively, in the touring team. Dala and Langeveldt were restricted to tour Sri Lanka due to COVID related matters.