Ken Borland

There always seem to be whispers about Temba Bavuma’s place in the Proteas side for whatever format, but notwithstanding the questions over his role in T20 cricket, coach Mark Boucher gave his captaincy a ringing endorsement after he led them to victory in the West Indies in his first assignment in charge.

Bavuma’s one innings of note in the Caribbean came in the second T20 when he top-scored with 46 off 33 balls batting at number three as South Africa bounced back superbly from a mauling in the first game. But Bavuma ended the series with just 76 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 108.57, opening the batting in the final match. Which is where he said he envisages himself batting in future.

But for keeping the side together through the ups and downs of a tricky series, with an unsettled team, Bavuma’s leadership deserves high praise.

“I thought Temba’s captaincy was great, if you look at the bowing this series it was fantastic, give or take one or two bad overs here and there. The way he managed his bowlers when it was really tough up front was impressive. There were a couple of gambles that didn’t pay off but that’s always going to happen in T20 cricket. I thought he led beautifully,” Boucher said.

Bavuma himself acknowledged that he is still trying to make his own way in international T20 cricket, having only played eight games before this series, while having the added responsibility of being captain.

“The execution of your plans is always put under pressure in T20 and I just tried to keep the guys calm, that was my biggest responsibility. I take it as a journey, I’ve been given the responsibility early in my T20 career and I’m still trying to grow as a player, while leading and inspiring the other players as well. I’m just trying to get better and better,” Bavuma said.

Bavuma’s stern visage on the field suggests he is not one to pamper his players and, although delighted with a series win at the first go, he is looking for further improvement.

“The win is a step in the right direction, the challenge now is to get better and better. We have to keep an eye on what is ahead and we had to find the balance around wanting to win the series but also seeing guys perform in certain roles ahead of the World Cup. I think we’ve done that and we’ll take a lot of confidence and clarity from winning against a top-quality West Indies outfit,” Bavuma added.

More than just providing the joy and relief of his first T20 series win, coach Mark Boucher said the Proteas’ 3-2 victory over the powerful West Indians offered great insight into what could work and what won’t in the T20 World Cup that will now be held in the United Arab Emirates in October.

South Africa won the fifth and final T20 by 25 runs at St George’s in Grenada at the weekend to finally vanquish a West Indian team that is rated as one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup. The win was built on the outstanding second-wicket partnership of 128 in 14 overs between Quinton de Kock (60 off 42) and Aiden Markram (70 off 48), followed by another magnificent display of wrist-spin from Tabraiz Shamsi (4-0-11-1).

Shamsi, the player of the series, was given great support this time by an impressive return to form by Kagiso Rabada (4-0-24-2) and Lungi Ngidi (4-0-32-3), while all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, included for the first time in the series, did an excellent job with two for 31 in his four overs.

“The biggest thing from the series is that we take a lot of knowledge from it because we will probably have conditions like this in the UAE. The pitches there are also going to be dry after the IPL and we’ve seen you’ve got to be skilful and smart and not just bash away. We saw that with our bowling today, the guys listened and bowled in the right areas.

“We’ve had a couple of guys out of form but we’ve still won the series, so we must be doing something right. We just want to be very smart in difficult conditions, play our brand of cricket and the guys have bought into it. Maybe why we don’t score so many runs at the end of the innings is because the Windies are very skilful there, but we are very skilful in the middle overs and in the end we won the series,” Boucher said.

Nowadays, everyone quotes a batsman’s six-hitting figures or their strike-rate as being the most important factor in T20 cricket, but the West Indies clearly dominated those statistics and yet still ended up on the losing side. Which shows that a one-paced, all-or-nothing, six or dot-ball approach is not the way to go.

“There are a couple of things in our game that we know can be much better and we would like to finish our innings better. But just because someone is out of form in one series, in tough batting conditions, does not suddenly make them a bad player. But if we can find an extra 15-20 runs – get past 180 – then it becomes very difficult to chase that in dry conditions.

“We have a basic idea of our best XI, especially when we are firing on all cylinders, but there are still places that need to be solidified. We will take confidence from beating a very good team though, and that is immense. We’ve learnt that if we really rock up on the day, we can probably beat anyone,” Boucher said.

Conceding 43 in the last two overs meant the West Indies had too many runs in the kitty for a Proteas batting line-up that did not pitch, according to captain Temba Bavuma as South Africa wasted a golden opportunity to clinch the series in the fourth T20 at St George’s in Grenada, losing by 21 runs.

After the surprising choice to open the bowling with Aiden Markram cost 20 runs, the Proteas recovered superbly having won the toss and elected to bowl. Spinners Tabraiz Shamsi (2-13) and George Linde (2-16) were once again magnificent as they reduced the West Indies to 101 for six after 16 overs.

The Proteas just needed to keep things reasonably tight at the death and they would have been chasing the lowest total of the series so far to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. But instead Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada bowled a succession of full tosses and long hops, which were dispatched for four fours and five sixes by Kieron Pollard (51* off 25) and Fabian Allen (19* off 13) as the West Indies finished on 167 for six.

Bavuma blamed growing up on South African pitches that are a haven for pace and bounce for the singular lack of skill displayed by the pacemen.

“To concede 66 runs in the last four overs was criminal but this is an experienced Windies side playing in conditions they know, so they can adjust. If you look at our quick bowlers, they use aggression and pace because that’s what the pitches back home are good for, but that becomes null and void on these wickets. And we don’t have much time to improve the skills before the deciding match on Saturday,” Bavuma said.

The Proteas innings saw Quinton de Kock go to a second-successive half-century, finishing with a determined 60 off 43 balls. But none of the other batsmen were able to keep him company for long, and the fact that they tended to hog the strike complicated matters further – when De Kock was dismissed in the 18^th over he had faced only 41% of the 103 deliveries bowled.

“The batting did not pitch up, except for Quinny, who was a lone soul. How we plan our batting innings is to take advantage of the first 10 overs when it’s easier. Our first powerplay has been good, averaging more than 50 runs, and then we’re trying to carry on the intensity and momentum in overs seven to 10, especially in these conditions.

“And then hopefully we’re in position to dominate the last 10 overs when it is tough with pace taken off and the ball getting softer. A seam-bowling all-rounder might have to come into the mix because we are looking for an effective sixth bowler. Markram is seen as a versatile batsman who comes in at the top or middle, it’s just the bowling we need to nail down,” Bavuma said.

The skipper confirmed that Ngidi’s place would need to be looked at as the paceman has conceded 11.78 runs-per-over in the series. Sisanda Magala has an ankle niggle and is not up for selection, leaving Lizaad Williams and Beuran Hendricks in contention for Saturday’s decider.

Ace South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi does not believe the Proteas bowling attack are forgoing skill in T20 cricket and the improvement they have shown in their fixtures in the West Indies, winning the last two games for a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, certainly bears him out.

Shamsi, the No.1 ranked bowler in international T20 cricket, has spearheaded South Africa’s comeback after a mauling in the first match, and has taken four for 56 in his 12 overs in the series. He was man of the match in Tuesday night’s encounter as he took two for 13 in four phenomenal overs, as the Proteas just managed to defend 168 in Grenada.

Left-arm orthodox spinner George Linde was man of the match in the second T20 and South Africa’s pacemen have steadily improved as they have found a fuller length, with Anrich Nortje particularly impressive and Kagiso Rabada holding his nerve in the last game as he defended 15 in the final over.

“We’re still learning as a team because we don’t have much experience together as a unit. But the skills are not missing, I firmly believe our bowling unit is up there with the best. The same with our batting, they just need to get into their rhythm. I think the batting has been quite good in the last two games.

“The way we’ve bounced back with the ball though against the West Indies batsmen is very pleasing, they’re hitting sixes but we’ve seen a big improvement in how we are nailing the execution from our analysis. In that first game, I think the rain kept juicing the pitch up which allowed the ball to skid on nicely for the batsmen,” Shamsi said.

While Shamsi sticks to the Proteas’ hymn sheet with his chorale of “just trying to land the ball in the right areas”, there is no doubt the 31-year-old is reaping the benefits of detailed analysis of the individual West Indies batsmen and his feistiness that suggests he is a fast bowler trapped in a spinner’s body.

“I like to do a lot of homework, I’ve always spent a lot of time on analysis. I go back to the videos to see how they play me and I ask myself ‘did I bowl well then?’ I always just try to stay a step ahead with my game. But T20 cricket is a different beast, the West Indies are very strong team, they basically play T20 for a living, and I might go for 60 in the next game.

“We can’t take them lightly given the amount of experience they have, their four most capped players probably have more runs and wickets together than the whole of our team. But it’s all about preparation for us,” Shamsi said.