Temba Bavuma was left frustrated by the weather in Port of Spain as South Africa and the West Indies played to a draw in the first Test. Picture: Daniel Prentice-Gallo Images/Getty Images
Proteas cricket captain Temba Bavuma was left frustrated after his team’s drawn first Test against the West Indies in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Sunday.
The match was badly impacted by rain, with Bavuma saying, “We would have wanted more time, because losing seven sessions is always going to be tough.”
Indeed, the Proteas ran out of time to take 20 wickets to win, while the West Indies, too, had a chance on the final day to chase down 298 for the victory.
“We tried out best to really make most of what was in front of us, but at the end of the day the elements, the weather, got the best of what could have been a really good competitive game of cricket,” said Bavuma.
After some quality batting and bowling performances over the five days, Bavuma gave his team the thumbs up.
“From a batting point of view, how went about our business in the second innings, the fact we came out with good positive intent, and tried to buy ourselves as much time by taking on the game, was good,” said Bavuma.
“And, bowling was always going to be tough with the limited time we had, but the guys gave it a good shot. It was another strong, valiant effort from Kesh (Maharaj), and he was well supported by KG (Rabada) and the others also chipped in.
“I think there were some strong individual performances and they’ll take confidence into the second Test.”
Bavuma was full of praise for the batters, especially Tristan Stubbs, who hit a quick-fire 68 off 50 balls on the fifth morning as the Proteas went in chase of quick runs.
“The way he went about his batting, getting 50, was exciting,” said Bavuma of Stubbs, “especially having not scored in the first innings. He was confident enough to express himself and that speaks about his character, and he’ll build on that.
“Tony (de Zorzi) also added to the runs he got in the first innings. There were a lot of positives in general (to take out of the match), considering we hadn’t played in a while, so it can only getter from here.”
The second Test starts Thursday in Providence, Guyana.
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