Faf du Plessis tells Temba Bavuma to cash in and make good form count

Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis says Temba Bavuma must continue to play the aggressive cricket he produced in the SA20 match between the Joburg Super Kings and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the Wanderers on Sunday.

Though Bavuma’s Sunrisers team were well-beaten, thanks largely to Du Plessis scoring a stunning 92 off 64 balls, the current Proteas white-ball captain Bavuma hit a superb 50 off 34 balls at the top of the order.

Bavuma, who has battled in T20 cricket in the last while and didn’t get bought by any SA20 team at the player auction last year, also scored well in the recent ODI series against England, registering scores of 36, 109 and 25. His good form was noticed by the Sunrisers and they added him to their squad last week.

On Sunday, after the match at the Wanderers, Du Plessis said Bavuma had to now cash in.

‘Batted beautifully’

“The hardest format to deal with regarding form is T20 cricket,” said Du Plessis.

“That is why when you are scoring you need to cash in.

“Temba is in a bit of form now, so it’s important to score runs. Earlier, when there was a bit of pressure, it was hard for him to find form.

“The thing is at that time you think the game is moving quicker than it is. But you don’t have time to get in, and with every dot ball you feel more under pressure.

“But it’s good to see how he has come back. He played well in the recent ODI series, and what was impressive is the way he scored, he was more aggressive … something you can see he worked on.

“He batted beautifully, and that’s the way Temba needs to play for him to be at his best.”

‘Keep expressing myself’

Bavuma said he just wanted to keep trying to express himself in the shortest format of the game.

“This was just my second game. The first game lasted one ball, at least this time it lasted longer,” he said.

“I tried to carry on with the form and belief I have now, from the England series. Obviously the conditions were different from Bloemfontein, but it came off (on Sunday). I’m not trying anything different from the last few weeks … I just want to keep expressing myself.”

The Joburg Super Kings, and Du Plessis, are in action again on Monday evening, at the Wanderers, against MI Cape Town, while the Sunrisers have completed their fixtures.

The Super Kings, second on the points table, have already qualified for the knock-out games, while for the Sunrisers, third, it is a waiting game to see if they will advance.