Even among the coloured South African population, there are some who still believe Temba Bavuma is “lucky” to find a place in the Proteas XI, let alone captaining the team. Such views obviously matter little to the South Africa skipper, who’s comfortable in his own skin.
Bavuma has the numbers to speak for him. In Tests since January 2021 to date, Bavuma aggregates 1,850 runs in 44 innings, hitting 12 fifties and three centuries, and averages 50. Barring opener Aiden Markram, barely any other batsman in the Proteas Test team has been able to perform with such consistency over the last four years and 10 months.
Flamboyance isn’t a part of his game. So then, what exactly has produced such impressive statistics?
“Temba adjusts his stance according to the conditions he comes across. He’ll open up slightly if he feels that bowlers are trying to bring the stumps or LBW into play. He will adjust it according to the conditions, but not majorly... Just small adjustments,” former South Africa batting coach Justin Sammons, who has worked with Bavuma since 2016 and is currently head coach of Zimbabwe, told The Telegraph from Rawalpindi on Thursday.
“He has paid attention to make sure his bat comes down along the correct path. It looks like he is trusting what he has at the moment. Precisely, Temba being comfortable and understanding his game is helping him to be more consistent,” Sammons explained.
Having helped Bavuma also in his provincial franchise team, Lions (from 2017-21), Sammons spoke about how the skipper focuses on being “specific” in his preparation. “Alongside taking care of his defence, he would always have a mindset of working hard on the specific options or shots that he'd be using, so that he could put the bowlers under pressure and score, whether that was in terms of his strike rotation or where he'd be looking to score his boundaries.
“He would be very specific around that. He wouldn't really practise shots he wouldn't be playing in certain conditions. He'd practise only those shots that he'd be playing.
"He's not trying to do something different or step out of what works for him. I think that plays a big part," Sammons explained.