Leading from the front, Temba Bavuma stood strong as a leader on the field, providing his backing to the bowlers, to the spinners and changing the bowlers in the best possible manner. Not only did he lead the team to a crucial away win in the West Indies but also ensured that his leadership abilities were not questioned. However, that opened the door for criticism elsewhere, rightly so. His form with the bat is a major concern and a ‘largely unknown’ mystery for South African cricket. Having just played eight T20Is, the Proteas decided that he was going to be their skipper for the World T20 in October. 

Going into his second year, Bavuma had averaged 76 with the bat in the shortest format, having scored 49 and 27* against India. In his second year, barring the two dismissal knocks - 5 and 13 - Bavuma ended up averaging 28.83, at a good strike rate of 142.97. So when the West Indies series was around the corner, they expected the better Bavuma to turn up. However, that’s where the expectations started to falter, with scores of 22, 46, 1, 7 and 0 in the series. Barring the 46, which came off 33 deliveries, at a strike rate of 139.9, all of his knocks have been at a horrifyingly slow rate. Having started the series at No.3, he ended the series as an opener, all of it in vain. So before the World T20, Bavuma really needs a step up, ideally at No.3 but morally, anywhere in the batting order. 

Let’s face it, Aiden Markram with the bat gave more hope to the fans than David Miller or Temba Bavuma did in the entire series. In fact, having just played the three games, the right-handed top-order batsman scored 113 runs, finishing only behind Quinton de Kock in terms of top run-scorer for the Proteas, at a remarkable strike rate of 131.39. Even if you remove his shambolic bowling out of the picture, you have a batsman, who understands the need of the evolving T20 game and arguably, has all the shots to master it. Just prior to the series against West Indies, in Pakistan, Markram put on a spectacle for the Proteas, scoring 179 runs in four games, averaging 44.75 and at a strike rate of 182.65, all of it opening the batting. 

Oh boy, South Africa have hit home in a lot of departments in the series against West Indies and most importantly, in the spin department. Against West Indies, a batting unit, which struggled (understatement) to tackle the spinners, South Africa had a merry feast. The spinners - Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde - showed great composure, trickery and bravery to rattle the big boys. In between Shamsi and Linde, they have picked 13 wickets in the series, at a combined average of 16.125. Shamsi, in particular, wrestled the No.1 bowler ranking in his favour, with seven wickets in the series, conceding just 4 RPO, which bailed the Proteas bowling unit every single game. 

Out of all countries in the world, South Africa have to encounter the all-rounder conundrum, a nation that once had Jacques Kallis as a star force. Let’s start it up, in the first T20I against West Indies, the Proteas played without an all-rounder, which meant that they needed help from Reeza Hendricks, as a sixth bowling option. In the second T20I, however, the Windies faltered under the pressure, which meant that having five bowling options was more than enough for Bavuma and co. Having never had an all-rounder till the fifth game, it makes it a tough prospect for South Africa, considering that they would have to get overs from Makram or make Linde play a vital role with the bat. 

Reputation with a price to pay for South Africa

Reputation is a good thing but sometimes even the good things come at a cost, South Africa needs to find a fine balance.