Bavuma needs to stake his claim in Test side – Faf du Plessis

The Newlands pitch on Thursday looked as delicious a prospect for batsmen as a big brown rump steak lying on a braai does for meat-lovers, but Temba Bavuma will not get a chance to bat on it during the second Test against England which starts on Friday, with Proteas captain Faf du Plessis saying the gritty 29-year-old now needs to stake his claim for a recall in franchise cricket.

Du Plessis confirmed on Thursday that Bavuma was fit and fully recovered from the hip injury which kept him out of the first Test at Centurion, but had now lost his place in the starting XI after his replacement, Rassie van der Dussen, made a crucial half-century on debut.

So ends a run of 12 consecutive Tests for Bavuma, in which he scored 553 runs at an average of 27.65.

“Temba is fit and is on board that, in general, as a batting unit, we have to raise the bar in terms of our standards, we need to push our performances up. So he won’t be in the starting XI, it’s about weight of runs, which was a challenge for him even before the injury. And weight of runs in four-day cricket will be his way back in, we want more competition to push us in the team to lift our level.

“We don’t see colour but opportunity is very important for any colour player. We want consistency in terms of giving players opportunity and backing them, and Temba will be the first guy to acknowledge that he had a really good opportunity. We need to put things in place to make sure we keep producing Black African players, but right now we need to win Tests,” Du Plessis said.

Because the Proteas have resisted the temptation to move Van der Dussen up the order to replace injured opener Aiden Markram, thereby creating a middle-order spot for Bavuma, it means Pieter Malan, the other specialist opener in the squad, will make his debut on Friday.

And he should find batting conditions very much to his liking, especially in the first innings.

“It looks a very good batting pitch, probably a bit flatter and drier than we expected. You get your pace from green grass but this one looks quite brown, so I think it’s going to be a good batting wicket. We want pitches that have a bit in it for everyone, but this one looks like it will favour the batsmen more, there are going to be more runs. A good score here before was 300-350, so the first innings will be very important and we need big runs,” Du Plessis said.

Malan comes into the game with 1,972 runs in 27 matches for the Cape Cobras, with eight centuries, and an average of 45.86 since leaving Pretoria in 2013. He is 30 years old and Du Plessis said his age would be an advantage because it means he is comfortable with his game.

“Pieter coming in at the top and making his debut on his home ground is the perfect script and he really knows his game. At 23 or 24 maybe a player is still learning about themselves and I prefer guys who have been knocking on the door for a few seasons, they are so hungry and know their games so well when they finally get the nod.

“As a 30-year-old, there will obviously still be nerves, but I’ll have that element of trust that he knows his game and that he feels that he belongs. You want to back him so he feels comfortable and enjoys his time in the team, and Pieter seems very calm and collected and is very confident in terms of where his game is. He’s a more traditional opener, a grinder who can bat for long periods,” Du Plessis said.

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