Ken Borland

Temba Bavuma is the right man to lead the Proteas because he took the Imperial Lions from being kittens to the roaring, dominant beasts they are now, according to his vice-captain at the franchise, Nicky van den Bergh.

History will be made at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday morning when Bavuma becomes the first Black African to captain the South African cricket team, and for wicketkeeper/batsman Van den Bergh he was the obvious choice as skipper.

“There was obviously a lot of speculation over who the best captain would be, but the Proteas white-ball teams need to win trophies and Temba has managed to do that, really stepping up for the Lions in two or three finals. He has been the most successful franchise captain over the last three years, he has a proven record that no-one can dispute. It’s about time that the Proteas have taken that punt and I think he will do well.

“Sure, he inherited a strong squad at the Lions but we hadn’t won anything. Under him we won five out of eight possible trophies which you can’t argue with. The best captains get a team effort going, there’s no secret, no aces up his sleeve, he just gets the best out of the big players and ensures they step up in the big games. Temba is very confident, he has that presence, that aura, that means he can get the best out of his players,” Van den Bergh told The Citizen on Thursday.

Both Van den Bergh and former Lions coach Geoff Toyana, who first gave the captaincy to Bavuma, spoke on Thursday of his people skills and ability to get the best out of players.

“Temba is a pretty intense character and he leads like that as well. But I feel he got the best out of me and the other players, and now he’s obviously got an even greater calibre of players and more backing. He expects the best out of you as a player and he’s never satisfied with just doing well, he expects you to do better and better. But he lets the guys play, you can see that by how attacking we are.

“That’s the kind of thing that makes the top players stand up and he does it as well, Temba’s not one to back down under pressure. He created a winning culture very quickly at the Lions and the gus now expect to win, we don’t buckle. So for me it was a move the Proteas had to make because of the success he has had at franchise level,” Van den Bergh said.

“Temba is a great leader and a people’s person who leads from the front. He gives his team confidence and backs the players, that’s the main thing that makes sure they do well,” Toyana said.

New South Africa limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma said on Monday that he hopes to define a style of play for the Proteas that will be fit for every condition and for every occasion.

Bavuma will lead South Africa for the first time in the three ODIs against Pakistan which start at Centurion on April 2, followed by four T20 Internationals.

The Proteas’ failure to win any of the world cups is well-documented and their performances in the global tournaments seem to be getting worse rather than improving, their most recent failure being their dismal showing in England when they failed to advance to the knockout stage. South Africa have not played an ODI since their tremendous 3-0 whitewash of Australia little more than a year ago, but since the 2019 World Cup they have completed just five matches.

“South Africa have always been more than competitive in ODIs, we’ve been No.1 in the world before. As the leader I’m just going to try and define a style of play that we will be able to execute in any conditions and under any occasion. To do that, mentally we need to improve a lot, we need to get stronger. I’ll be trying to inspire and get the guys into a space where they can perform as well as they can.

“We want to be aggressive and able to dominate in all conditions. We definitely want to test ourselves more in conditions that may be ‘unfavourable’ for us, we want to see if we can execute our brand of play at all times. The mood is optimistic and hopefully I can lead the team to a couple of victories as we build to 2023. We really want to define our style of play,” Bavuma said on Monday.

Bavuma’s landmark appointment – he is the first Black African to lead South Africa – comes after he has played just six ODIs, but has scored 335 runs at a strike-rate of 92 in those games. While the 30-year-old has now scaled the Drakensberg in terms of his career, he knows he needs to keep posting performances to add to the rocks already on his cairn on top of the mountain.

“Those conversations about where I’ll bat are still ongoing, but it will probably be in the top three, I would like to think no further down than number four. But being versatile is something I pride myself on, it’s something I’ve always had to do. I’ve got to make sure I’ve got the skills to achieve whatever role I’m in. Obviously I’m excited by the responsibility.

“I’m going to enjoy the journey and this new chapter in my career, and I look forward to adding value with the bat. I have to stamp my mark on the game and I will be the guy on the field who the players will look to for decision-making and plans. It starts with communication off the field and then hopefully we can execute the plans,” Bavuma said.

Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi bowling and Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma batting, although not in concert, will be the entertainment to savour when the Four-Day Franchise Series pool stage comes to an end with the televised Jukskei Derby between the Imperial Lions and the Titans at the Wanderers starting on Tuesday.

While Rabada and Bavuma both played key roles in the Lions’ triumphant T20 Challenge campaign, and Ngidi was superb for the Titans, De Kock was last seen in action during the ill-fated Tests in Pakistan more than a month ago. Since then the wicketkeeper/batsman has been relieved of the Proteas captaincy that was clearly weighing him down, and the Titans, who are looking to secure their place in the four-day final, will be hoping a refreshed De Kock is able to make sweet music with his bat.

The Titans, with 86.84 points, are trying to hold off the Warriors (72.68) to win Pool B and qualify for the final from March 25-29. Beating the Lions, who are out of contention at the bottom of Pool A, will not only assure the Titans of top spot in their pool but could allow them to overtake the points tallies of the Knights (102.08) and Dolphins (100.92) and host the final. But that would depend on neither the Knights beating the Cape Cobras at Newlands nor the Dolphins winning against the Warriors in Pot Elizabeth.

“Trying to fit Lungi, Quinny and Heinrich Klaasen back into this side is the sort of problem I like to have,” Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi said. “But the danger is that you can have all the names in the book, but you still have to go out and do the job. So the message I will keep pushing is that you are now Titans players, not Proteas, and you have to look after this blue badge now,” Mashimbyi said, putting his hand to the logo on his shirt.

The Lions and Titans may geographically be close, but there is always a fierce rivalry between the two sides and the hosts will certainly not be lacking motivation at the Wanderers. Especially since they suffered a disappointing defeat against the Dolphins at their stronghold earlier this week, which ended their chances of defending their four-day title.

Temba Bavuma may have struck just the lone four, but he added two sweetly-struck sixes as he steered the Imperial Lions to a tricky target of 142 and a place in the T20 Challenge final as they beat the Warriors by seven wickets in the playoff at Kingsmead on Saturday.

Bavuma’s beautifully-judged innings of 48 not out off 37 balls saw the Lions cruise to victory with five balls to spare, even though they were forced to bat second on a pitch that was getting lower and slower.

He received important help from opener Reeza Hendricks, who gave the Lions a superb start of 45 without loss in the powerplay with his 32 off just 19 deliveries, and Rassie van der Dussen, who scored 17 in a third-wicket stand of 61 off 51 balls.

Left-arm spinners Jon-Jon Smuts (4-0-18-1) and Jade de Klerk (3-0-23-0) were the Warriors’ most effective bowlers, but they inexplicably failed to use impressive left-arm wrist-spinner Lizo Makhosi in conditions that would have suited him, even when they were desperate to buy a wicket when Bavuma was in complete control.

The Warriors made a great start to the match as Wihan Lubbe and Smuts (23) shared an opening stand of 71 off only 53 balls.

But the innings rather ran out of steam when Lubbe was caught at long-on off Sisanda Magala for a powerful 52 off 38 balls that included some great blows.

Young Tristan Stubbs was the provider of some impetus with his 37 off 26 balls, but the Warriors eventually closed on 141 for six.

Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso (4-0-20-1) gave the Lions tremendous control in the middle overs, assisted by seamer Wiaan Mulder (3-0-11-1), while left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks (4-0-26-1) ensured a strong finish in the field with some excellent death bowling.

The Lions will now play the Dolphins in Sunday’s final.