Bavuma and teammates speak their minds

If it wasn’t Temba Bavuma saying he was receiving better support than he has in the past three years, then it was Kagiso Rabada wondering out loud about the lack of Test matches for the Proteas or Heinrich Klaasen saying the selectors can do what they want with him, he’ll continue to play his way.

The Proteas have been outspoken and forthright, leaving no-one in doubt about their feelings. 

In recent interviews, Dean Elgar too has reiterated his disappointment at being axed as Test captain. There was a time, not so long ago, when that sort of stuff — being backed by management, talking about the schedule or blasting the selectors — was kept behind closed doors.

“We have encouraged that in the changeroom,” said present Test and ODI skipper  Bavuma, “for guys to be more transparent, to have the confidence to say what is on their chest and not to tiptoe around issues affecting us.”

It’s been refreshing. Had such an attitude been adopted years ago, it would perhaps not have necessitated a process like the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings. Cricket SA’s own administrative failures may have been avoided. 

The players seemed to find their voice during that period in which Cricket SA’s office bearers and directors had dragged the game to the point of doom. It has resurfaced now with the changes in the national team’s management. 

There is no more forthright individual than Shukri Conrad, the new Test coach. He speaks his mind, will call out an inquirer if he thinks a question silly. Perhaps his example has given the players confidence to speak their minds. 

Bavuma feels something else is at play too. “KG, Klaasie, myself, we came though that [T20] World Cup and experienced a certain level of pain, and it’s almost as if we have seen the worst and there is now a belief that it can’t get worse. It’s almost been an unshackling of emotions and thoughts. Guys are willing to lay their thoughts bare.

“Even for me, I used to be quite measured around the [team] space, because your confidence and comfort within the people in the environment wasn’t where it necessarily needed to be.  Now I feel you can say what you need to say. You obviously need to deal with the consequences, but you are willing to make yourself more vulnerable for the positive sake of the team,” Bavuma remarked. 

He is more comfortable now in his captaincy than at any other point since  being appointed two years ago. He has a major say in the selection of the side.

“You want to be super comfortable with the guys that you go out with onto the park. Not that I haven’t been comfortable, but you want to have a major say there. I am quite happy with where it is now. The coaches still have a role to play, to coach and have a massive impact on who goes onto the field. I am there to give my input for what is best for that day.” 

SA produced an impressive turnaround last summer, going from the depths of despair in the wake of the T20 World Cup ousting and then losing a Test series in Australia to home series triumphs against England, the West Indies and importantly the Netherlands. That latter win helped to secure automatic qualification for the 50-over World Cup later this year. 

Though Cricket SA, through director of cricket Enoch Nkwe, said there were no expectations for the Proteas in India, Bavuma knows that doesn’t mean that pressure will be absent.

“For me the pressure will be our ability to keep up this style of cricket we have been playing in the past few months. If we do that, then honestly the results will take care of themselves. That’s the expectation I have. Are we going to be able to play like that in a World Cup?”

The failure in the 2022 T20 tournament in Australia, when a defeat to the Netherlands saw SA eliminated before the playoffs, will definitely serve as motivation, he said.

“What happened at the T20 world cup triggered this new way of doing things for us.”