Ken Borland

Temba Bavuma said on Tuesday that putting aside the emotion and focusing on the situation in the present helped him cope with the heavy pressures of leading the Proteas at the T20 World Cup.

The relatively new South African white-ball captain has drawn widespread praise for his handling of the usual off-field issues that plagued the team as well as his deft hand on the field as the Proteas exceeded expectations by just missing out on the semifinals on nett run-rate, despite winning four of their five group games.

“There’s always some type of pressure around me and I’ve learnt ways to deal with it. I put aside the emotion and deal with the issue at hand,” Bavuma said.

“The Quinton de Kock situation all happened quite quickly and there wasn’t really any time to consult anyone. I had to weigh up both sides and express an opinion.

“Sometimes it’s best when you don’t have too much time to think about things, you just speak to the merits of the matter at hand and that means you’ll be more authentic.

“It was always going to be a big responsibility to be captain and the pressure and expectation at a World Cup comes from all angles. But I have seen a shift in the energy and I sense that the backing and support for me is now there,” Bavuma said.

The skipper acknowledged that all the off-field noise surrounding the Proteas does eat the players up inside, but in a classic case of make-or-break, he said it strengthened the bond between the players, which was expressed in their never-say-die performances on the field.

“Matters off the field have put us under pressure, they have been challenging times but we have been able to get through them as a team. There were moments that could have broken us or pulled us together, and it turned out being more of the latter.

“I was put in a situation that was very hard to prepare for and I’m grateful that I got out of there. I now have a lot more confidence with the team in terms of trust and backing.

“I do believe we are in a better space as a team. We found a way to get together as a team and really fought for each other. That gave us the ability to play in those pressure moments, we did exceptionally well in those.

“There have been massive positives from this World Cup, even though we are now sitting at home watching on our screens, and we need to make sure we grow from strength-to-strength,” Bavuma said.

A top-class century by Dean Elgar on a tricky Wanderers pitch has put South Africa in a position of strength in the second Test against Sri Lanka and the gritty left-hander said on Monday that he enjoyed the challenge and being able to cope with the various fluctuations in batting flow that inevitably happen during four hours at the crease.

Elgar’s 127 was the bedrock of the South African first innings of 302 that gave them a commanding lead of 145, but apart from displaying his usual tenacious streak, it was also a fluent innings, coming off just 163 deliveries and featuring 22 boundaries.

“It’s about the ebb and flow of batting in Test cricket and you do go through periods when you have to absorb pressure, and then you’ll have a short window where you can score more freely when the bowlers maybe start searching for a little bit extra. So I went through the gears quite a bit, but that’s the nature of Test cricket – you can’t just have one gear and expect to be consistent.

“It was tough, we know what the Wanderers is like, it was bowler-friendly conditions and there was a lot of movement and in the air too. So the mental aspects of batting are challenged and it’s nice to put yourself through a challenge like that. It’s like coming out the other side of a tunnel and if your team is then in a good position then that’s all you can ask for,” Elgar said after notching the second-fastest of his 13 Test centuries.

While Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen (67) shared a second-wicket stand of 184 – a record both for South Africa against Sri Lanka and in all Wanderers Tests – there was a glaring failure by the rest of the batting line-up to capitalise as the Proteas lost their last nine wickets for 84 runs. Instead of shutting the tourists out of the game through sheer pressure of runs, they gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope and the visitors batted gamely, led by captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s 91 not out, to reach 150 for four at stumps.

“It was a well-under-par total especially after the big partnership, but this is not an easy place to bat, especially for the new batsman coming in. There were quite a few very good balls bowled so credit to Sri Lanka, and when you come in you have to really be on form. If you’re able to get through that tough time up front, if you respect the conditions, then you can cash in.

“It was not ideal that I got out and then Rassie straight afterwards, but maybe we relaxed a bit mentally, maybe we need to trust our techniques a bit longer. If you can apply yourself for lengthy periods, leave well and trust your defence, then the conditions will start to flatten out. If you stay in your bubble and not play rash shots, then the pitch does start to do less,” Elgar said.

The improvement shown by the Unlimited Titans bowlers and the recent struggles of the Sunfoil Dolphins batsmen suggests that how the visitors cope with batting on the often volatile Willowmoore Park pitch will be key to the outcome of their RamSlam T20 Challenge match in Benoni tonight.

By securing a comfortable 27-run win over the table-topping Highveld Lions in their last match at Willowmoore Park, the Titans attack showed that they are able to put the best batsmen under pressure.

Ethy Mbhalati ensured that the Lions were always on the back foot by removing openers Alviro Petersen and Chris Gayle in his first two overs and he was also excellent in his two overs at the death.

Junior Dala, David Wiese and Darren Sammy have each brought their own special strengths to the attack over the last couple of games and the Dolphins batsmen should find the going a lot tougher than when they plundered 194 for five in Durban two weeks ago.

“Junior has come in and bowled really well, and he’s quick too. He’s worked relentlessly on his skills and I’m very happy he’s had the opportunity and he’s taken it. Ethy was outstanding at Willowmoore Park. He has very clear plans now, specifically at the death, and his skill level is very good now after plenty of work in the off-season. When skill and strategy meet, that’s when you get success.

“David Wiese is our banker, he puts it together most games. I think we’ve bowled pretty well in the competition, barring just a couple of games,” Titans coach Rob Walter told The Citizen yesterday.

While the Titans have tightened up considerably in the field, their batting is still a work in progress. The decision to relieve Henry Davids of the captaincy has paid off, with the opener the leading run-scorer in the competition with 280 at an average of 40 and a strike-rate of 142.

Dean Elgar, who has scored 213 runs but is more of a worker than a blaster of the ball, has been rested and Davids will be looking for more support from fellow top-order batsmen Theunis de Bruyn and Qaasim Adams, before the big hitters like Wiese and Sammy, who is yet to show his prowess with the bat, are unleashed down the order.

Walter mentioned in the interview that while the Dolphins will be equally desperate in Benoni, they may lack confidence after a horror run that has seen them lose two in a row, while a third match was rained off after they had been bundled out for just 82 by the Knights.

The Dolphins can look forward to the return of Cody Chetty, their best batsman in this campaign, from a hamstring injury but whether they can give their attack enough runs to defend remains to be seen.

Cameron Delport, their quickest-scoring batsman, has been dropped and captain Morne van Wyk will be acutely aware that he needs to step up now after scoring just 79 runs in seven innings.

Fast bowler Craig Alexander will be the chief attacking threat for the Dolphins, while seamers Robbie Frylinck and Dwayne Bravo and spinner Prenelan Subrayen will be their other key bowlers.

Squads

Titans: Henry Davids, Theunis de Bruyn, Qaasim Adams, Graeme van Buuren, David Wiese, Darren Sammy, Heinrich Klaasen, Shaun von Berg, Eden Links, Junior Dala, Ethy Mbhalati, Cobus Pienaar.

Dolphins: Morné van Wyk, Jonathan Vandiar, Cody Chetty, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Dwayne Bravo, Khaya Zondo, Robbie Frylinck, Andile Phehlukwayo, Prenelan Subrayen, Keshav Maharaj, Craig Alexander, Chad Bowes, Brandon Scullard, Mbasa Gqadushe.