Temba Bavuma’s one-legged bravado ends Proteas curse; braveheart captain secures his place in the South African pantheon

As the clock ticked over to 12.45 pm British Summer Time and Kyle Verreynne slammed a full toss from Mitchell Starc for a piddly single, a nation erupted. Long years of frustration and heartbreak had finally come to an end; after 27 years, South Africa finally had their moment in the sun, their stunning five-wicket triumph over Australia in the final of the World Test Championship erasing the bitter memories of campaigns gone awry, of mishaps of the past, many of which were of their own making. South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma plays a shot.(AP)

South Africa’s entry into the final of the WTC was met with derisive dismissal; during the two-year cycle, they didn’t face Australia or England, and only managed a 1-1 draw at home against India, who thrashes them inside two days on a diabolical Newlands surface in Cape Town. There was a feeling that they had ‘played’ the system, banking on a succession of two-Test series to wend their way into the title round.

It didn’t seem to matter that, coming into the final, they had won seven Tests on the trot, or that they had a fantastic all-round team helmed by that wonderful leader of men who is the most shining example of mind over matter. Temba Bavuma often flies under the radar, perhaps because he is the victim of misperception, but that has hardly impacted the 35-year-old, who masterminded a sensational campaign by setting himself up as the ultimate example of leading from the front.

In the third cycle of the WTC, South Africa’s admirable skipper scored 711 runs in eight matches at an average of 53.13, inclusive of two centuries. In the Lord’s final, he backed up a two-and-a-half-hour 36 in the first innings with perhaps his most impactful and satisfying innings, 66 in three and a quarter hours on one leg after sustaining a hamstring injury very early in the piece.

When mind triumphed over matter

No one would have blamed Bavuma had he retired hurt, given how severely he was hampered by the injury, when he was only six. Every run thereafter was an event, a burden, a body blow; every moment spent in the middle was painful beyond imagination, though apart from the occasional involuntary grimace, he gave little away. Bavuma battled through the pain barrier, linking up with the exceptional Aiden Markram in a third-wicket alliance of 147 that enabled the Proteas to mount the joint second-highest successful run-chase at Lord’s.

Bavuma was seen initially as a beneficiary of the affirmative action policy that intended to undo the wrongs of the past, but today, the cricketing world is short of words when it comes to eulogising the South African captain. Markram was understandably the star of the show with his terrific fourth-innings 136, while Kagiso Rabada, coming off a cocaine-induced ban, was the bowling hero with match figures of nine for 110. But Bavuma’s special 66 hardly paled in comparison; batting on one leg and hobbling between the wickets for all but a quarter of an hour of his presence at the crease, he showcased spunk, spirit, hunger, desire, ambition and desperation, making light of physical discomfort to orchestrate undeniably the greatest moment in South African cricketing history.

The Proteas had won the inaugural Champions Trophy (then the ICC KnockOut Trophy) in Bangladesh in 1998 under Hansie Cronje, but that has almost been forgotten. What was remembered until Saturday afternoon was the string of exits in the knockout stages of ICC competitions across formats – two losses in the quarterfinals, a whopping 12 in the semifinals and one in the final, of the T20 World Cup against India in Bridgetown a little under a year back when 30 off 30 with six wickets in hand proved several bridges too far.

To bounce back from that debilitating low of less than 12 months back and stand on top of the Test firmament is tribute to South Africa’s belief and the depth of resources even though cricket is not the number one sport in the country. To hold Bavuma at the forefront of this revolution will be neither exaggerated nor without merit. Soft-spoken and preferring anonymity, the little fella has forged his side into a fighting fit unit that knows not what it is to take a backward step. By leading the way under immense pressure and severe physical discomfort, Bavuma went above and beyond the call of duty, establishing himself as one of the legends of the sport in his country even though he only averages a modest 38.22 from 64 Test appearances.

Bavuma’s identity no longer revolves around being the first black African batter to be picked in South Africa’s Test squad. He has taken his team to heights that several of his illustrious predecessors couldn’t. The reactions of Shaun Pollock, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, all present at Lord’s in various capacities, showed just how much Saturday’s victory meant to them and, by extension, to their country. That Bavuma was the mastermind behind this epochal triumph added a special, special lustre.

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