29-05-2025
Bavuma is ready for the Aussie heat, believes former assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa
Former Proteas assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa believes captain Temba Bavuma, left, is mentally prepared for the high-pressure challenge of leading South Africa against Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
With the World Test Championship (WTC) final fast approaching, Independent Media has engaged with many former Proteas players — and their message to the current South Africa Test team has been unanimous.
From Fanie de Villiers and Alviro Petersen to Andrew Hudson, it has been made quite clear that facing Australia, especially in a final, is an unimaginably tough challenge — one that captain Temba Bavuma and his team will face next month at Lord's.
To gain even greater insight into what it's like to take on the Australians, Independent Media spoke with former Proteas assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa, who worked alongside then-head coach Ottis Gibson during the infamous 2018 'Sandpaper Gate' Test series. Maketa also served as interim head coach in 2022, the last time the Proteas played a Test series against Australia — one which marked South Africa's first series defeat in Australia in over a decade.
Now 44 and coaching the South Africa Emerging side in Bangladesh, Maketa admitted that Bavuma will experience a very different kind of pressure, as he captains the Proteas in Tests against Australia for the first time. Nonetheless, he believes Bavuma is well prepared.
'I think it's going to be a totally different pressure now in terms of Temba. They always target the captain — they always look at the opposition's best batter, and they make it clear that they're coming for him,' Maketa said.
'Nine times out of 10, they'll say, 'we've picked up something in his technique'. They just try to plant a seed in your mind to distract you from focusing on playing and watching the ball. Closer to the time, I'm sure they'll start doing that to Temba.
'But Temba's been around for a long time. Technically, he's one of our best players. The real test will be mental — whether he's ready for everything the Aussies will throw at him.
'They'll definitely set some funky fields just to get him thinking, 'what are they trying to do?' But we know they're going to hit the top of off-stump. That's the kind of bowling attack they are—disciplined, relentless, and able to maintain their pace through the whole Test. I think Temba is ready to handle this now.'
