Temba Bavuma led the Proteas into a new era yesterday as he began his reign as captain against Pakistan in the first One Day International at Centurion stadium in Pretoria.
It was Bavuma’s first responsibility as the new limited-overs captain of South Africa, as he became the first black African to lead a Proteas team.
The 30-year-old probably hoped to have done better with the bat on his debut as he was dismissed for just one after he was caught by Shaheen Afridi on the boundary off the bowling of Muhammad Hasnain.
The Proteas take on Pakistan in three One Day Internationals, as well as four T20 encounters.
The next ODI sees the Proteas take on the sub-continent giants at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg for the much anticipated pink ODI.
Proteas head coach Mark Boucher this week called for fans to be patient with the team's newly appointed captain.
Speaking to the media, Boucher said he was excited about Bavuma’s new leadership role and believes he will do an excellent job at working with fellow players in the Proteas camp.
“It was a big choice to make. I am very happy with how things have gone. We have also got to give Temba some time as well to find his feet,“ Boucher said on Thursday.
“I think that is only fair. The preparation has been fantastic. The way he has spoken to the guys. Temba is a nice guy, so it is not going to be difficult for him to form relationships with players.”
“It is very exciting times for him, for us going into this short period. We have had some good team chats. Last night [Wednesday] we revisited our values and our value system and it is all very exciting times going ahead now. Just looking forward to getting on the field and playing.”
Boucher’s comments echoed that of batsman Aiden Markram, who also shared some of his thoughts on how Bavuma has handled the team in their build-up to the Pakistan series.
Markram told reporters that Bavuma is looking to bring his own style of playing and captaincy to the team.
“Under Temba’s guidance we have been brilliant so far this week. It is encouraging the brand of cricket he would like the Proteas to play. It is exciting that we have got a couple of years to build on something and hopefully when 2023 comes, the team knows exactly what each person’s role is under the brand of cricket everyone wants,” Markram said.