NEIL MANTHORP: Bavuma played one of SA’s great ODI innings

Temba Bavuma’s century at the Mangaung Oval on Sunday afternoon was one of the greatest “statement” innings in SA’s cricket history.

The tribulations of his own career for the previous six months were enough to have broken most cricketers, but there was so much more on his shoulders.    

He is not alone in captaining a SA team to an inglorious World Cup exit though his wretched form during the T20 in Australia made the experience worse. However chastening it was on the field, at least it was on the field. Some of the invective from anonymous nobodies which followed was actionable libel. Try as he might, he could not ignore it.    

Before this series he was facing the possibility of becoming the first captain in his country’s ignominious World Cup history not to even qualify for a World Cup. His team was fortunate in the first game on Friday. He threw his wicket away having made a dashing start and the middle order showed no killer instinct at the end having batted first. England were persuaded to mess up their run chase by Anrich Nortjé and Sisanda Magala. For the umpteenth time, the bowlers rescued the batsmen.    

England made no such mistake on Sunday afternoon, posting a mighty 342/7. Bavuma and his team were facing the prospect of improving on the previous highest successful run chase at the Mangaung Oval by more than 70-runs, in all probability to keep alive their hopes of automatic qualification for the World Cup in October.    

Not only did Bavuma score a century, he did so like never before. With a game perfectly suited to the role of “anchor”, especially with opening partner Quinton de Kock a natural aggressor, he redefined himself. He attacked and then counterattacked during the power play, and then he carried on when most expected him to revert to anchoring the chase. In the 90s he suffered a bout of cramps but he wasn’t going anywhere.    

Bavuma is a man of decency and deep integrity. Even when he failed to attract a bid at the SA20 player auction, the only member of his entire squad deemed unsuitable for the country’s shiny new league, he remained calm. He has rarely spoken out about anything but, when he has, it has invariably been for the good of the team and to defend others. He spent the two weeks before this series on holiday. There wasn’t any cricket to be played.    

Only when he reached three figures, from just 90 balls, did he allow himself a brief display of emotion, leaping into the air and pointing to the name on his back and then beating his heart with a clenched fist. Was it saying: “The name is Bavuma and I’m all heart”? That’s what it looked like.   

“Yeh, I’ll go with that,” he said afterwards, smiling but back to his usual calm demeanour. “It was quite emotional, I never planned that celebration. For me it was just to remind myself, and everyone, that I do deserve to be in this team. But, yes, there was emotion.”    

Bavuma enjoys the art of understatement: “Probably one of the better knocks in my international career, it was a good wicket so that helped a bit. But it was quite satisfactory. I’m sure the fans were thrilled by the performance from both teams, we got close to 700 runs in the match, it was a great contest,” Bavuma said.    

If there has been anything from either side during the series better than Bavuma’s century, it has been his captaincy. Clear, concise plans have been in place — which is fine when they work. A captain earns his extra meal allowance when they aren’t working, however, and Bavuma’s instincts have been razor-sharp.    

“I’ve been on the beach for the last two weeks and out of the game for a bit, so it takes a while to get that tactical nuance going again, the feel of the game, but fortunately the other guys have been playing so I’ve been able to bounce ideas off them when I’m not sure, so that’s helped quite a bit,” he said, keen to share his success with his teammates even when “highs” have been so rare for him recently.   

“But I have enjoyed being in those pressure moments, making decisions to try to turn the game in our favour. It’s not easy against England, they’re always coming at you and you have to be on your toes but, not wanting to blow any air up my own you-know-what, I think we were tactically quite good in both games,” Bavuma said, incorrectly. He has been brilliant, not “quite good”.

Whatever happens in the final game in Kimberley on Wednesday, and whether his team have to pre-qualify for the World Cup, Bavuma’s century on Sunday will always be one of the great limited overs innings for SA.