Bavuma yet again proving that he is the mainstay of the Proteas, without him their batting is on par with a village team
Well, when the "competition" comprise of world beaters like Markram, De Zorzi and Bedingham, Bavuma would stand out...
Bavuma last three years have been his best...below are his performances in the last 3 years
52 35* 87 - - 0 0 v India Centurion 26 Dec 2021 Test # 2443
51 23* 74 - - 1 0 v India Johannesburg 3 Jan 2022 Test # 2445
28 32* 60 - - 2 0 v India Cape Town 11 Jan 2022 Test # 2448
7 41 48 - - 0 0 v New Zealand Christchurch 17 Feb 2022 Test # 2450
29 23 52 - - 3 0 v New Zealand Christchurch 25 Feb 2022 Test # 2451
93 4 97 - - 0 0 v Bangladesh Durban 31 Mar 2022 Test # 2460
67 30 97 - - 0 0 v Bangladesh Gqeberha 8 Apr 2022 Test # 2461
38 29 67 - - 0 0 v Australia Brisbane 17 Dec 2022 Test # 2482
1 65 66 - - 0 0 v Australia Melbourne 26 Dec 2022 Test # 2485
35 17* 52 - - 0 0 v Australia Sydney 4 Jan 2023 Test # 2488
0 0 0 - - 0 0 v West Indies Centurion 28 Feb 2023 Test # 2495
28 172 200 - - 2 0 v West Indies Johannesburg 8 Mar 2023 Test # 2497
absent - - - - 0 0 v India Centurion 26 Dec 2023 Test # 2520
86 15* 101 - - 0 0 v West Indies Port of Spain 7 Aug 2024 Test # 2542
0 4 4 - - 1 0 v West Indies Providence 15 Aug 2024 Test # 2543
70 113 183 - - 0 0 v Sri Lanka Durban 27 Nov 2024 Test # 2563
78 - 78 - - - - v Sri Lanka Gqeberha 5 Dec 2024 Test # 2566
Best performances have been against poor West Indies and Sri Lanka in SA...Bavuma a standout performer having to carry the team due to the wastes in the team...
Currently averaging about 36/37...for context, Rhodes and Hudson finished about that average 20-25 year ago when bowling was better and rules were not so heavily in favour of batsmen...
So, Bavuma is a standout performer given current squad and opposition...even Rickleton and Stubbs will be found at out Test level when they play against the better bowlers from Aus and India and England in England as they play too far from their bodies... rely too much on the hands and that only lasts so long...
So, my issue is not with Bavuma but with the weaknesses in cricket within the SA team and in the sport in general that enable mediocrity to be elevated to look very good...
So very true, where are players like Smith, Amla, Kallis, Ntini, Steyn?
England, Australia and NZ have South Africans playing in their present test side who would all walk into this Protea team. Well maybe not Labuschagne on his current form.
They are out there in SA playing club and provincial cricket but t are being overlooked by the selectors yet we see the same worn faces chosen. Rabada is the only world class player in the team atm. Bavuma is 10th in the batting world rankings arm so he too is doing something right. If they don’t achieve the right result in this match which will then ultimately end any chance of playing in the test final they should select at least 3/4 new players for the series against Pakistan , who will enjoy bowling on SA wickets.
Looking forward to the SA 20 in January even if it’s just to see the sun and blue skies of the cape as we negotiate what is predicted to be a cold, hard winter
The Pakistani bowlers will show how ordinary our batsmen are...but even they have their politics such that their best do not play...
Agree about Rabada...a class act for 10+ years now...
Bavuma a beneficiary of current opposition that have bowlers that would struggle to get into some school teams...and our other batsmen's inability to cash in is a reflection of how poor they are...Markram has been stealing a salary for years now...most of the others are made to look good because of the mediocrity of the bowling at franchise level...
A Sri Lankan team that was bowled out for 42 in Durban is almost on par with SA in this match...puts into perspective the batting performances of SA in this match...
I think the quality of bowling is highly concentrated now such that few genuine tests exist as opposed to 20 years ago when every team had 2+ bowlers to test any batsman's technique...result is inflated averages...
Look at how poorly flat track bullies with no technique like Pant and Sharma are doing in the current test against Aus...being found out by a good Aus attack that is nowhere as good as the one they had 20 years ago...if the current lot played 20 years ago, they would have averages 10+ lower...but, in the name of "entertainment" brought on by India's money in cricket, rules have sadly taken away the battle between bat and ball...
Good summary of the state of the game nowadays tnaicker. As you say too many flat tracks, due to 20/20 demand of hitting sixes and making the batters look good, but as soon as their is a bit of grass on the deck batsman, especially the Indian team, go missing. This inning is a big one for Markrams test future, unless he is well ensconced with the selectors, as he has had far too many chances now.
A lot more as that's all they have...and they played test cricket so should have better insights...Haysman was bad but after going off to join Sanford and returning, he's just stealing a salary...
Markram should play a season of county cricket to try to rescue an apparent lost cause but I don't think any county team should waste it's money on a waste...and if he's sent back to franchise cricket, he'll look good against club bowlers and be back in the SA setup again..
I watched a little of the Aus Ind match and just before Nohit Sharma got bowled, I told my daughter that he's not moving his front enough to cover the line of off stump and 2/3 balls later Cummins hit the off stump...and that's a symptom of being a flat track bully...you can hit through the line with just the hands and eyes because the wicket is doing nothing and as soon as one shoulder height ball is bowled, the batsman can sit on the front foot as nothing is going to be at his neck...add in the better bats and shorter boundaries and the balance between bat and ball has been lost making it boring to watch...
Yet again shows the problem with cricket over the last 10-20 years...
Team makes over 200 in a 20 over match and chasing team doddles it because there is no fair contest between bat and ball...everything is to the batsmen's advantage...rules (no ball, wide, fielding restrictions), boundary length, bats...
Maybe cricket needs to do what tennis did when serving became too dominant in the mid 2000's...make the cricket ball a little heavier..,will counter the impact of better bats and shorter boundaries...
Also read an article that, irrespective of manufacturer, the cricket ball swings less since 2015...maybe that's the reason for the rise of the flat track bullies who can hit through the line with no concern for sidewards movement...
But something must be done otherwise the sport is going the way of the dodo...it will probably still hold interest in the money countries of Aus, Eng and Ind but the audience will just not be there for broadcasters to fork out money they cannot recover from subscribers...
