Temba Bavuma: better than his stats suggest. Photo: Ian Kington/AFP.
On Saturday, Temba Bavuma took 35 innings to reach 1 000 Test runs.
It felt apt because his 52 in the third Test against England at The Oval was one of his grittiest efforts, a knock compiled in difficult circumstances.
Also read: Brave Bavuma lights up the Proteas’ rainy day in London
It’s one innings quicker than the legendary Jacques Kallis, who ended with 13 289 runs in a stellar career.
To be honest though, it’s not really a massive achievement at face value.
After all, every discerning cricket fan will know Kallis actually took ages to get going as a Test player.
And Bavuma barely threatened to challenge Graeme Smith’s record of being the fastest South African to reach 1 000 Test runs.
The Proteas’ most decorated captain got there in a mere 17 innings.
Even if the 26-year-old Bavuma’s Test average of just over 32 isn’t in keeping with high modern standards, it simply doesn’t illustrate how vital he is to the Proteas’ cause nowadays.
Kallis had accomplished teammates like Gary Kirsten (average 45), Daryll Cullinan (average 44), Hansie Cronje (average 36) and Jonty Rhodes (average 36) around him.
And when those men didn’t pull their weight, there were all-rounders like Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener, who both averaged 33, to save their skins.
Later on, Kallis scored heavily in conjunction with other run-hungry batsmen – Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince –men who averaged between 42 and 50.
It’s a luxury for any player to be part of such a productive batting line-up.
Bavuma doesn’t have that.
He’s made his mark in Test cricket at a time when the Proteas are in transition.
The company he keeps is Amla (average 49) and Faf du Plessis (average 45).
He’s barely played Tests with AB de Villiers.
When he made his groundbreaking maiden century against England at Newlands last year, he’s been thrust into the position of being a senior member of the batting order.
It’s an unenviable task for any player actually still finding his way in Test cricket.
And then there’s the timing of his runs.
Bavuma doesn’t cash in when the Proteas’ batting prospers.
But boy, give the man a crisis.
His 51 in Perth against Australia came after South Africa were 81/5.
A match-winning 74 in Hobart was compiled after his side was reduced to 76/4.
The Proteas were 90/6 in Wellington against New Zealand when he made a brilliant 89.
Even his first Test fifty – in Bangladesh in 2015 – was made in trying circumstances.
All things considered, it’s actually a fallacy to complain about Bavuma not doing enough.
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