Cricket
Exclusive: Temba Bavuma's Test Cricket is Still Right Up There, Says Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener, former Proteas all-rounder, believes Temba Bavuma's Test cricket remains strong and encourages him to regain form in the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies.
Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Former Proteas all-rounder Klusener wants Bavuma to do the hard yards to regain form in the two-match Test series against the West Indies in August.
As South Africa gears up for six Tests till January in the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, the focus will shift to Temba Bavuma, who will make a comeback after seven months in the tour of West Indies in August.
Bavuma’s Comeback
Bavuma will lead South Africa in the two-match series starting August 7 at Trinidad and Tobago. The 34-year-old was last seen in international cricket in the Boxing Day Test against India at Centurion in December 2023, where he sustained a hamstring injury.
The right-handed batter is one of the experienced members, along with Aiden Markram, in the Proteas squad that flaunts new names such as Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, and David Bedingham, who scored a century on the tour of New Zealand earlier this year.
Former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener feels Bavuma perhaps let himself down with his lack of form in white-ball cricket before the prolonged absence from all formats due to the hamstring injury. He managed only 145 runs in eight outings at the ODI World Cup last year.
Image Credits: India.com
Struggles in White-Ball Cricket
"Temba, by his standards in white-ball cricket, hasn't got the results he wanted. There is space for him to improve there. His Test cricket is still right up there, and that's good. In the last 18 months, by his standards, it hasn't been as good as he would have liked it though, but all cricketers go through this phase," Klusener told SportsBoom.com.
Bavuma could take a leaf out of his knock of 172 against the West Indies at Johannesburg last year as a manual before the Caribbean tour. The only other time he scored a Test ton was against England in 2016. He has appeared in 57 Tests for the national side with only two centuries, separated by seven years, at an average of 35.25.
"He will come out of it. He has to get back, do the hard yards and ensure he regains form. Even Virat Kohli went through a phase like that," added Klusener, who finished his red-ball career with 80 wickets and 1,906 runs, including four hundreds in 49 Tests.
It is one of the reasons why they have done well in the white-ball games.
Lance Klusener
Future Prospects for South Africa
The veteran praised the team management of Cricket South Africa for holding on to the same group of players for a while.
"It is one of the reasons why they have done well in the white-ball games. They have decent experience playing together. Plus, all the young players are gaining significant experience in SA 20, and we are trying to get the A teams to play again. That's a stepping stone as well. It is exciting, and there is good competition as well for important places."
The Impact of SA 20
Klusener has coached Durban's Super Giants in SA 20 and believes the franchise model will unearth more talent like Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton in the future. "There is quite an arsenal of players starting to gain decent experience. The standard of SA T20 has been excellent, and we have seen how good the Indian Premier League has been for Indian cricket.
"As the South African competition grows, the Proteas cricket will reap those rewards," he signed off.
Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya is a cricket journalist based in India who takes a keen interest in stories that unfold on and off the field. His expertise lies in news writing, features and profiles, interviews, stats, and numbers-driven stories. He has also worked as a podcaster and talk show host on cricket-related shows on YouTube and Spotify.