Bavuma wants younger players to be given more game time at domestic level

Cricketers need sufficient game time at domestic level before they can be called up to the national team, Proteas ODI captain Temba Bavuma has warned, as the second-string SA squad look to bounce back against Ireland.

Playing with a largely experimental squad, the Proteas lost in a 2-1 ODI series against Afghanistan in Sharjah before settling for a 1-1 draw against Ireland in a T20 International series in Abu Dhabi last week.

While Bavuma was pleased with some of the performances produced by new players in the squad on their tour of the United Arab Emirates, he admitted it was a challenge for them to step up without having enough domestic experience behind them.

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“I think some of the guys come onto the scene and they’re able to shoot some lights out from the beginning, whereas other guys need a little bit longer,” Bavuma said.

“People have spoken in depth about our domestic system and where it’s at. I think the unfortunate thing is that guys are just not playing enough cricket, for whatever reasons, and that obviously doesn’t really help the guys when they come to this level.

“At the end of the day you’re selecting your players from the domestic system, and that can’t really be put on the guys who are selecting youngsters for the Proteas.

“It’s probably not ideal for the youngsters because you want guys coming in with a bit of experience at this level, and not really coming in and trying to find their feet, but those are the cards at hand at the moment.”

Chasing victory against Ireland

In the eight previous ODI matches contested between the two sides, Ireland have beaten South Africa only once, in Dublin in July 2021.

Bavuma said they were eager to prevent another upset in their three-match series starting in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (1.30pm SA time).

He defended the decision, however, to field another second-string unit against the minnows, as the Proteas looked to improve their depth.

“Winning is important. The reason we train as hard as we do is so we can go out and win,” the skipper said.

“We’re a competitive bunch of people and we have a lot of pride as a team and as a country, so results is always what we want to put forward in everything we do.

“We also have to be sensitive about where the team is at. We’ve got a lot of older guys within the team who in two to three years’ time you might not see, so we need to make sure when that happens we’ve got guys who have at least had a taste of international cricket and who will be better positioned to fit into those guys’ shoes.”