Bavuma: I was trying to hit good shots
It was a scratchy start for Temba Bavuma on his Proteas ODI debut, but once he got into his stride he proved he has what it takes.
|||It was a scratchy start for Temba Bavuma on his Proteas ODI debut, but once he got into his stride, he proved that he could have a future in international limited-overs cricket.
Bavuma was initially searching for the ball outside off-stump in Sunday’s clash against Ireland in Benoni, with opening bowlers Craig Young and Peter Chase bowling a nagging line and length.
The little right-hander played away from his body too often, and the horse eventually bolted when he found a thick outside edge to the seventh ball he faced as he followed a wide one from Chase, but Kevin O’Brien couldn’t hold on to the catch to his left at second slip. To add insult to injury, the ball rolled all the way to the boundary rope.
It was just the break Bavuma needed after a nervous start, as he would’ve been eager to cash in against an Ireland attack missing their best paceman Boyd Rankin to state his case for a permanent spot in the Proteas ODI side.
Quinton de Kock took some pressure off the debutant by smashing a six and four boundaries to settle things down, and Bavuma could play himself in a bit on a slowish Willowmoore Park pitch.
Medium-pacer Tim Murtagh tossed up a few half-volleys in the seventh over, and Bavuma packed them away through the offside to finally get going.
The former Langa Cricket Club prodigy then displayed his full array of strokes, with the highlight perhaps being a terrific pick-up shot off Chase that went all the way for six over square leg.
Bavuma reached his 50 off 54 balls (6x4, 1x6), but knew that he needed to go big if he wanted to be seriously considered for the national ODI team going forward.
And he did just that, and became the 12th player in history to score a hundred on debut – and the second South African after Colin Ingram in 2010 – when he punched O’Brien over the top of cover and beat the boundary fielder to bring up his ton off 110 balls.
He perished in the cause for quick runs to finish on 113 off 123 balls (13x4, 1x6), the sixth highest score by an ODI debutant as the Proteas ended on 354/5 in 50 overs. “I’m quite delighted. I think the biggest congratulations has to go to the selectors, the management and all those involved in deciding to get me involved. I think they showed a great backing in my skill,” Bavuma told SuperSport TV after his innings.
“I found it a bit difficult with the pace of the wicket – the ball wasn’t really coming on to the bat, as I am accustomed to. I was just trying to get myself in, keeping in mind that I was trying to hit good cricket shots. And also not trying to put too much pressure on Quinton.
“But it was lovely the way he batted, he allowed me to take a bit more extra time. The nerves will always be there whenever you get the opportunity to represent your country and I see it as a positive thing.
“In terms of fluency, I never really felt fluid – I never really felt in, with the wicket. I just tried to stick to my game plan and took the risks when I could, and hit in my areas.”
De Kock and Hashim Amla are the established opening pair for the Proteas in limited-overs cricket, but Bavuma’s innings proved that he could be a real option at the top of the order after battling lower down in franchise cricket for the Highveld Lions.
The likes of Farhaan Behardien – who scored a quick-fire 50 off 22 balls on Sunday – and David Miller (14 off 16) will need to keep producing in the middle-order in the upcoming five-match series against Australia to hold on to their spots.
Bavuma won’t be involved in the Australian series, but if he continues his upward curve for the Lions in the 1-Day Cup later in the season, he could be a viable alternative as an opener, which could see Amla and the rest of the batsmen dropping down one position if Behardien and Miller aren’t at their best.
– ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@ashfakmohamed