‘You grow thick skin’ – pioneer Bavuma proud to lead Proteas in final

“Being the first of a lot of things comes with misunderstanding at times, and criticism,” says Temba Bavuma, in a gentle tone.

South Africa’s first black African captain is preparing to take on Australia in this week’s ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.

While the Proteas achieved number one in the world Test rankings in 2012, beating the defending champions in a showpiece final would be the country’s most significant cricketing achievement.

Few people tip South Africa to win, but 35-year-old Bavuma is used to dealing with adversity.

He is acutely aware of his own significance as South Africa’s first black African batter and first black African to score a Test century as well as the country’s first black African captain.

All this during South Africa’s post-apartheid era of transformation, where selection policies across domestic and international cricket have been influenced by racial quotas.

More than a decade on from his Test debut in 2014, it would be easy to understand if Bavuma is tired of talking about race. But he leans forward and speaks calmly and evenly about experiences that continue to shape him.

“The mere fact I was the first black African brought a different narrative and connotation to it,” explains Bavuma.

“It can come with criticism. Sometimes unwarranted criticism. I haven’t been short of that.

After a lean couple of years at the start of his Test career, his maiden century was expected to put such notions to bed.

It was wildly celebrated, no more so than in Bavuma’s home township of Langa in Cape Town.

A match report from January 2016, when he made an unbeaten hundred against England at Newlands said: “Temba Bavuma: Depicted as a quota cricketer no longer.” It wasn’t as simple as that though.

“When I scored the hundred, it didn’t really dispel that,” adds Bavuma, without a hint of self-pity or bitterness.

“It’s not nice when you have to deal with it. But the longer you survive within international cricket, within the Proteas, you grow a thick skin.”

Bavuma speaks thoughtfully about the attention associated with being ‘a first’.

“The expectation and pressure that comes with being a black African cricketer within that system, within the team, there’s a lot of opportunity and privilege that comes with that,” he says.

“I learned quite quickly it wasn’t just about me having a passion for the game and working hard. It meant a lot more.

“It was quite difficult to embrace the baggage, the pressure, the expectation and the criticism as well. But in my older years I’ve found it mentally easier to deal with.

Bavuma was appointed Test captain by head coach Shukri Conrad, who took over in January 2023. Conrad began his playing career when South Africa was under apartheid rule and cricket was racially segregated.

“When he told me I’d be Test captain, my first question was, ‘Why?’ – because I’d felt it was this honour and privilege that you just had to accept,” says Bavuma.

“When he unequivocally said, ‘You’re the best player in the team and you’re the best person to lead it,’ that gave me a lot of confidence and comfort to step into those shoes.”

Trust and empathy are two qualities Bavuma emphasises when describing his relationship with Conrad.

After a Test series thrashing by Australia in 2022-23, Conrad, 58, took the time to sit with Bavuma and allowed him to open up.

“He asked really direct questions, more pertaining to the actual person, how I was, apart from the cricketer,” enthuses Bavuma.

“He really helped me get to a space where I could just enjoy cricket. That was a tough period in my career when you never really felt you could speak to anyone in and around the system.

“He can resonate with a lot of the struggles and experiences I faced as a cricketer. A lot of trust, through the vulnerability he allowed me to show, was built from that.”

And what of Bavuma’s own leadership style?

“As a captain, there’ll always be the essence of putting the team first, but I try to make sure my game is in order then try to empower the guys around me,” he says.

“It becomes a collective leadership style, freeing up the guys to be themselves and play their best cricket. That’s allowed this Test team to get to this point.

“It will definitely be a highlight in my career, just being there in the final at Lord’s against Australia.”

Bavuma advocates for blood cancer awareness and stem cell research, trying to encourage people to register as donors. He was humbled recently to meet a 14-year-old boy who faces challenges far greater than those on the cricket field.

Iminathi was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia and is struggling to find a stem cell donor. Non-white patients in South Africa often face difficulties in finding a match because of underrepresentation in donor registries.

“He’s dealing with blood cancer,” says Bavuma, matter-of-factly. “For sportspeople, winning and losing is everything. But here’s a boy battling every day to keep going and he still sees joy within his life.

“It strengthens the perspective on what’s really important.”

Through his advocacy, Bavuma discovered his own grandmother died of leukaemia, but his mother and uncle never talked about it.

“It was something they brushed under the carpet,” he adds.

“Me putting my voice behind it made it easier for them to deal with those scars.

“They also gave me insight into the misconceptions that exist, at least within my black culture, where people are not well informed about things like blood cancer. We always blame it on cultural or spiritual aspects.

South Africa have faced scrutiny during their run to the final.

The Proteas won eight of their 12 Tests in this cycle, while Australia won 13 of 19.

Only Bangladesh played as few matches as South Africa, leading to criticism by former England captain Michael Vaughan that the Proteas had qualified on “on the back of beating pretty much nobody”.

South Africa’s pathway included series wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at home, West Indies and Bangladesh away, a home draw with India, and a defeat in New Zealand. “Not nobodies,” as coach Conrad strongly pointed out.

Yet South Africa have no home men’s Tests scheduled for 2025-26. Bavuma would like to play more.

“Yes please!” he pleads exaggeratedly, before the question is barely finished.

“We’ve got to keep playing good cricket. That’s the only way we’ll make it attractive for other bigger nations to want to play us.