Test batters need more time for plans to bear fruit, says Bavuma

Much like Mzwanele Manyi swaps political parties, SA cricket has in the last few years had various plans to manage the Proteas' transition, particularly as it pertains to the Test batting unit.

Thankfully, the latest transition won’t be managed in the same shallow manner as it was previously. 

That there is more change — on top of those that occurred when the De Villiers-Amla-Du Plessis generation exited the stage — was unavoidable. What is different — in a new era with new coaches and greater influence from director of cricket Enoch Nkwe — is that the plan for SA’s batting is clearer, not only for those taking their first steps into Test cricket like Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham and Tony de Zorzi, but also those next in line and even further down the pyramid. 

Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram are the only frontline batters still remaining from the group that achieved SA’s last great Test series win against India in 2021/22. In those three matches, played at empty stadiums during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bavuma was one of the standout performers, as the team recovered from losing the first Test to emerge triumphant against Virat Kohli’s team. 

The SA captain is also the sole survivor from his team’s last significant overseas triumph, in Australia in 2016, further underlining the rawness of the current line-up. 

It’s worth recalling that SA batters scored five hundreds in that 2016 series.

In seven Tests since Shukri Conrad took over as head coach last February, SA batters have scored a total of five centuries — three coming from Markram and Bavuma, another from the now retired Dean Elgar, with only Bedingham, among rookies, to have reached three figures. 

It’s the reason Bavuma, ahead of the ongoing second Test against West Indies, expressed less interest in how quickly his batters were scoring, and was more concerned that they made bigger scores. But the Proteas Test skipper empathised with those young players — knowing they were still trying to grow accustomed to the demands of the Test game — allied to how he wants them to play. 

Cricket SA’s new batting lead, Imraan Khan, is using many of the same phrases as coaches of recent years, mentioning the goals of playing a “smart and expressive brand of cricket” that demands batters “take the initiative”. 

But more importantly than that broad philosophy is Khan’s work to ensure the message reaches those outside of the current group. “There have been batting camps over the winter, with the next group of players, [SA A] Tours that are managed by the national coaches. So, in terms of messaging around the philosophy, it has been really good,” said Khan. 

Performances by Lesego Senokwane and Modiri Litheko for the SA Emerging team, which is currently touring Zimbabwe, suggests the messaging is resonating at the levels below the Proteas. 

The next step for those players — in combination with their domestic coaches — is to ensure they continue on that path at provincial level next season. 

The spotlight as always remains on the senior SA team, and how the young players there are interpreting and implementing the philosophy. 

Bavuma mentioned how players needed to be given space, and how seeing what they’d talked about in team meetings was bearing fruit in the heat of battle. In the second innings of last week’s first Test against the West Indies, led by Stubbs’ maiden Test half-century, they showed that they were getting to grips with the need to play with more intensity, but not do so recklessly. 

Finding the right balance, however, will continue to be difficult. While conditions on the first day of the Guyana Test were favourable to the bowlers, the Proteas will feel they allowed the West Indies to dictate terms too easily, thereby not “taking the initiative”, 

It is unfortunate, said Khan, that unlike England, SA’s new Test batters don’t have as much opportunity to fail and learn from those lessons. “The volume of cricket is uncontrollable,” he said.

“We believe the group that we have has the quality and ability to perform in Test cricket. We also understand that it’s a process that requires time and opportunity. These boys will learn along the way... mistakes will happen. But we know the end goal and believe that through perseverance we will have an exciting batting unit for the Proteas in Test match cricket.”