Proteas v England ODIs: Temba Bavuma and Co seek fresh start

Temba Bavuma has received more than a fair share of hate, and he admitted on Thursday to getting a bit het up in the wake of the T20 World Cup exit, but he is back at the helm of the Proteas side and eager to get a new era for the national team underway in the first ODI against England in Bloemfontein on Friday.

Captain Bavuma has had a wretched time in T20 cricket of late, but his ODI form has been very solid, averaging 42.94 at a strike-rate of 82.11. While he is the only player in the Proteas squad who has not seen any SA20 action, he is clearly going to bring his trademark energy to the team as they take on a top-class England outfit.

‘Important series’

“After the T20 World Cup, questions were asked about my captaincy and it was quite an emotional time. I felt it was a bit unfair to be asked about it right after a loss, when we walked off the field,” Bavuma said on Thursday.

“But I’m happy to still do it and I have a bunch of guys who support me, so it is business as usual. For me it is always about the team and where they want to go, and we have a new coach.

“Obviously it’s an important series, we know where we stand in terms of World Cup qualification and the minimum number of games we need to win. But we are shifting the focus a bit, clearing up our identity and how we want to play.

“You might see some new faces and guys in different roles. Personally, I’m the kind of person who moves on with things and I try to keep a smile on my face. This series will be big for our confidence and momentum, and we know we’ll be tested in all departments,” Bavuma said.

Self-expression bubbling up

The skipper said the new approach under Shukri Conrad, standing in for new white-ball coach Rob Walter for this series, will emphasise more self-expression bubbling up within the team.

“There’s going to be no better opportunity to test our skills and the new way of doing things, even though we’re not exactly clear on it all at the moment,” Bavuma said.

“It’s very hard to articulate it all, we want to be a lot more positive and brave, always taking the option that puts the batter or bowler under pressure and do it a lot more consistently.

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“There are a lot of similarities in where Rob and Shukri want to take the team and it’s exciting, even though change can bring uncertainty and insecurity. The new way is for the guys to go out and express themselves more.

“It’s a fresh start, there’s the potential to do things differently and there will probably be different language around the team, which can be invigorating from an energy perspective,” Bavuma said.

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