Proteas’ skipper Temba Bavuma delighted with series win over West Indies

Temba Bavuma leads the Proteas off the field after they beat the West Indies in the second Test at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on Saturday. Photo: Randy Brooks/AFP

Temba Bavuma leads the Proteas off the field after they beat the West Indies in the second Test at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on Saturday. Photo: Randy Brooks/AFP

Published Aug 18, 2024

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Proteas’ captain Temba Bavuma was delighted with how his team played after they beat the West Indies by 40 runs on Saturday to secure a 1-0 series win.

After the rain-affected first Test ended in a draw, the Proteas kicked up a gear and got the job done at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence thanks to some impressive individual performances.

Speaking after the game, Bavuma said he was satisfied with the victory away from home.

“We were just saying with the guys ‘winning away from home is never an easy feat. We should never take it for granted, let alone any Test victory for granted, so it’s very satisfying,” Bavuma, who struggled with the bat during the match, said.

“Our biggest goal was to come to the Caribbean and to win the series and we’re happy we were able to do so. And I think along the way as well we played some good cricket.

“We were put under pressure and we were able to have answers in this periods. I think we can obviously get better and improve as a unit within our batting and bowling, but I think for this young unit, this young group of players, I think there’s a lot of learnings and confidence that we can take from it.”

Bavuma was also happy given that the Proteas fielded a number of young and inexperienced players will help the team’s confidence grow for future challenges.

Of the individual performances, all-rounder Wiaan Mulder walked away with the man-of-the-match award after six wickets (4/32 and 2/35), and scoring a very important 34 runs towards the back end of their innings on Saturday.

On the positives from the match, and Mulder’s 90-run partnership with Kyle Verreynne, Bavuma said: “That was so crucial in us getting that competitive score, so ja, there’s lots of positives we can take.”

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