Bavuma reflects on the next chapter of his 'interesting story'

TimesLIVE

a day ago

South Africa and Australia are revelling in just being here.
Test cricket's biggest stage, Lord's, the World Test Championship final...and England ain't here.
No wonder Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins looked so chilled yesterday.
For Bavuma, this might be bigger than it is for Cummins. The Australian captain has celebrated many successes, lifted both the Test mace and the 50-over World Cup and he can draw comparisons like he did on Tuesday about which one means more. 'Personally, I think that the 2023 World Cup title is going to be tough to beat. But this is a good one,' Cummins remarked.
Bavuma and South African cricket don't have that luxury. 'For us to be regarded as a top cricketing nation, we've got to be in these positions where we can go for silverware,' he said.
'Obviously, getting over the line is part of the whole story. And I think for this bunch of players, for this group, for Shukri, I think it'll be a massive feather in our cap.'
'We always speak about excellence. We always speak about doing something special for the country and also for each other. So here's another opportunity for us to do that.'
Dark clouds hung over Lord's on Tuesday morning as a handful of Proteas players, excluding Bavuma, had an optional training session. Only Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham of the starting line-up decided to have a hit.
Part of coming to England early was to allow the players to get accustomed to conditions and do the bulk of their work in Arundel. There's an emotional element to all of this that Bavuma explained was critical to manage. 'A lot of preparation has been about understanding what the occasion is about being at Lord's.'
'From a motivation point of view there is not much that I can do. For us now, it's the fact of playing the game, not to get caught up in the story and what's to be. We accept and understand it will be tough to play against Australia. The time for emotion and the stories are things we have to put behind us, it's time to be ready to play what's in front of us.'
As is the case for the captains it's been a busy few days in the build-up — both were at an ICC event on Monday night where seven players, including Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla were inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Bavuma's story — the childhood games in the streets of Langa, adjusting to being at private school, the challenges of being the first black African batter in the Proteas team and then the captaincy were all subjects he touched on again.
'I try to focus on the cricket as much as I can, not to get drowned by the emotional side of it. But it is important, it's a thing, I try to soak it inasmuch as I can, in that moment and then switch to playing mode.
'My story is an interesting one, a beautiful one in a lot of ways and hopefully there are more happy ones within it.'
Bavuma in 2025 is by his own admission a very different player to the one who made his debut in 2014. He was reluctant back then to explain with depth too much about his background. 'I can speak about it openly now, without much anxiety. Four or five years ago, I probably wouldn't have answered the question.'
'I look at it with a lot more gratitude now. It's a part of my journey, unique to me and I guess it comes with me being the first in a lot of things.'
By the time the Proteas's training session had ended and Bavuma hopped on the bus to go back to the team's hotel, the sun popped out. The next chapter of Bavuma's tale is one he admitted included a dream where it shone on him as he lifted a trophy for South Africa.
'It would be a special moment, not just for myself, for the team, but also for the people back home. It would be nice to have it be a part of the story.'