In ABD's Absence, Temba Bavuma Eyeing to Seal Number Four Slot
Published - 13 Jun 2018, 07:02 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:52 PM
South Africa‘s middle-order batsman, Temba Bavuma is clear about his ambition to take over the No. 4 slot in the Test side in the wake of AB de Villiers‘ retirement, saying the position could help him to take his game to the next level.
Meanwhile, de Villiers surprised all by announcing his retirement last month leaving the No 4 spot open. Bavuma admitted he will be opportunistic and put his hand up to bat in that position.
“I’ll be opportunistic,” Bavuma said at a Proteas training camp in Pretoria this week. “There is a role for someone to come in at No. 4 and I’ll put up my hand to bat in that position. Hopefully, the selectors are looking towards me,” he added.
However, the 28-year old has filled the position before with some success.
Previously, Bavuma filled JP Duminy’s place, after latter’s string of poor scores during a tour to England last year. In challenging conditions at Old Trafford, Bavuma top-scored with 46 runs, as other batsmen struggled to cope up.
Moreover, he retained the role for Bangladesh’s visit two months later, and made 71 in the first Test, before de Villiers returned to the fold at the end of the year.
Now that de Villiers has moved on, Bavuma is the most likely of three potential candidates to replace him.
Batting higher will serve my game
Bavuma believes batting higher up will serve his game, as he looks to make a greater impact.
Although he has registered 11 fifties in 29 games, only one of them got converted to a hundred.
“Maybe it is something that could help my game because I haven’t been able to convert my starts,” he said. “Coming in at No. 4, the opportunity will be there to score those big runs, and you have to score big runs actually. With what I am trying to achieve, it could work hand in hand,” Bavuma mentioned.
Bavuma was one of the six batsmen who came to India as part of Cricket South Africa’s spin camp in April.
As a result, he holds a good ground, as the Proteas prepare to return to the subcontinent for the first time since 2015. Bavuma played the last game during the 2015 tour and looked more comfortable than other batsmen.
“From a team point of view we didn’t do as well as we wanted to so there will be those gremlins in our heads, but I guess we got the opportunity to face the extreme of spin,” said Bavuma. “Hopefully in Sri Lanka it’s not like that, but we will try to prepare for the worst and hopefully the good comes,” he concluded.
Also Read: Harbhajan Singh engages in a war of words with a Twitter User
About the Author
I am an accountant by qualification, my parents thought their obedient son would study further to be... Read more
