AB looms large for Bavuma

Temba Bavuma has battled to get going for the Proteas this season. Photo: Dave Hunt, EPA

Temba Bavuma has battled to get going for the Proteas this season. Photo: Dave Hunt, EPA

Published Jan 13, 2017

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JOHANNESBURG – AB de Villiers turned up at the pre-match warm-ups on the first day of this final Test, dishing out hugs and smiles, chatting to his national teammates and the coaching staff.

De Villiers has loomed over the series even as he’s played no part. He’d given up the Test captaincy before the series started – in the short term because he could play no part due to the elbow injury that’s kept him out all season, and because he could see the winds of change blowing as the team won so brilliantly in Australia.

It’s amazing how quickly this already feels like Faf du Plessis’ side. Du Plessis speaks with passion and authority, whether it’s bemoaning the departure of players on Kolpak contracts or celebrating a milestone as Hashim Amla is in this match.

De Villiers looms over this series for a different reason. The assumption is that once he’s fit, he’ll take up a spot in the South African middle-order once again. But, at whose expense?

De Villiers is supposed to play a match for the Northerns semi-professional team soon to test out his elbow. If all goes well, he’ll return for the final T20 match of the series against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on January 25.

And then he’s expected to play a full part as one-day captain for the five-match series against Angelo Mathews’ men.

Hashim Amla👏👏👏👏👏🏆 Special man, special player! #Hash100 Also a super knock by @jpduminy21

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 12, 2017

Provided he scores runs, De Villiers is also expected to be back in the Test side by the time the Proteas face New Zealand in Dunedin on March 8.

So, who drops out when that happens?

All manner of theories have been thrown around including axing Stephen Cook and everyone from Amla to Temba Bavuma to Quinton de Kock has been proposed to open the innings.

This series also acted as a trial for the middle-order. Du Plessis can no longer be dropped given that he’s only just assumed the captaincy, which leaves Bavuma and Duminy.

Both came into this final Test facing scrutiny. They’ve played some important innings at various stages of the season, but to keep De Villiers out of the side for one century – in Duminy’s case – and a couple of fifties from Bavuma didn’t feel like enough.

Then Duminy made a very fine hundred here, transferring pressure at a time when Sri Lanka had picked up two wickets in five balls on the first morning and in combination with Amla, providing a foundation for South Africa’s formidable first-innings total of 426.

Bavuma made a two-ball duck, his choice of shot on Thursday not wise as he pushed hard at the ball, providing the Sri Lankan slip cordon an opportunity that Kaushal Silva did well to take.

Since the series against New Zealand last August, Bavuma is averaging 23.08 and in this series following another duck in this game, his average is 4.2.

It’s not good enough – he knows it, the selectors know it and De Villiers knows it. Bavuma may not get another chance to make his case in this Test.

Duminy admitted on Friday to feeling under pressure for much of the season, knowing that De Villiers was coming back and would have to slot in somewhere. “The pressure is mainly from myself, and it’s purely based on the fact that I have high expectations of myself,” he said.

“I’d be silly to say that I didn’t think of AB coming back, and where would he fit in and ‘Is my spot up for grabs?’. But coming into this Test, my focus was to do well for the team.”

Duminy’s beautifully compiled 155 has certainly eased the pressure on his shoulders – Bavuma’s second consecutive duck has increased the pressure on his.

Thx 4 all the luv and support peeps.. doesn't get better than a test 💯 privilege to share those moments with my brutha @amlahash #Hash100 pic.twitter.com/vHhPeASdYt

— JP Duminy (@jpduminy21) January 13, 2017

Duminy’s advice to Bavuma is “to keep it simple”.

“His teammates back him,” Duminy commented. “There’s a big score around the corner. It’s matter of time for when things turnaround.

“Everyone in a career goes through dips. We certainly back him. He’s a great player, he’s shown that many times. We certainly support him.”

Which is what teammates must do. Selectors have a different job, and Linda Zondi and his panel have an intriguing call to make if/once De Villiers proves form and fitness.

They are well aware of the political pressures Cricket South Africa face. But a player out of form is a player out of form, regardless of race, and if there’s someone better, especially when that someone is a player of De Villiers’ calibre, it’s very, very hard to ignore him.

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Independent Media

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