The Springboks may be on a Rugby World Cup break this weekend, but that only means all eyes will be on Temba Bavuma’s Proteas team in their ICC Cricket World Cup opener against Sri Lanka in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Proteas have had a chequered history at World Cups since their first attempt all the way back in 1992.
Over the years, the teams have been stacked with superstars such as AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini, who were unable to bring home the elusive trophy.
Although Bavuma and his Class of 2023 may not possess the overall individual star quality of previous generations, they are determined to rewrite history over the course of the next six weeks in India.
“The boys are quite excited for the challenge of the coming weeks,” Bavuma said. “The guys obviously enjoy coming to India and experiencing everything about the cricket, as well as the culture.
“I think as a team, there’s a quiet confidence about the guys, who’ve been playing some good cricket. And we’ve kind of enjoyed going out and trying to express ourselves. So, I guess there will be an opportunity for us to do that over the coming weeks, and that’s exactly what we’ll be looking forward to.”
Bavuma will be leading the Proteas for the first time in a World Cup, but he will have experienced players such as fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock alongside him to lean on for advice.
Along with Rabada and De Kock, there is also David Miller, Rassie van de Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Heinrich Klaasen, who have all spent extensive time on the sub-continent playing in the Indian Premier League.
This experience will certainly be of great benefit to Bavuma and the Proteas.
“A lot of the teams have guys who play in India, who’ve done well in India. But I think all we could do is for the guys who have that experience and knowledge ... they can share it among the team, or use it in terms of our strategies and plans,” Bavuma said.
The Proteas skipper has endured a strenuous travel schedule recently after returning to South Africa for “family reasons” shortly after arriving with the team in India last week.
He rushed back to India to be at the ICC captain’s round-table in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, and seemed exhausted when he was caught on camera supposedly sleeping.
Bavuma assured everyone that he was indeed not nodding off, with a social media post stating: “I blame the camera angle.”
The Proteas have a precedent of a player falling asleep at a World Cup, in India back in 2011 when former wicketkeeper Morné van Wyk mistakenly took sleeping pills before a crucial encounter against the hosts.
Van Wyk had a terrible game during which he dropped three catches.
Proteas fans will certainly be hoping their skipper is wide awake when he walks out to toss the coin against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium at 10.30am (SA time) on Saturday.
Cape Times