Temba Bavuma’s 179 drags South Africa back into second Test at St George’s Park
On Tuesday at St George's Park, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma scored a career-best 179 to lift his team in the second Test against Australia and help the hosts reach 425 for nine declared.
South Africa had resumed at 97 for five after rain had severely restricted the first two days and slipped to 110 for six when Bavuma came to the crease, a position in which he said he had often been trying simply to get through to a 50 or 60. "I kind of struggled with rhythm through the ODI series, even coming up to the first Test," Bavuma admitted. "I was just trying to go into the nets and just trying to find the feeling that I kind of had last year."
Bavuma reached his century from 226 balls while shepherding the innings as his teammates provided attacking support, with Ryan Rickelton helping to establish momentum before the middle and lower order partnerships. Marco Jansen made 85 in a record-breaking 132-run stand for the seventh wicket, and Simon Harmer added 183 with Bavuma for the eighth wicket while scoring a career-best 82.
Reflecting on those contributions, Bavuma said: "Very brave innings from him," Bavuma said of Jansen. "And Simon as well. You know, I think he showed a lot of application there at the end." The partnerships transformed South Africa's precarious position into a total that allowed them to declare late in the day.
Bavuma described his batting as driven by efficient movement rather than large strides and cited one of his childhood heroes as an influence on technique. "I'm obviously not a big guy. I'm not really going to get any big strides in. I try to be efficient in terms of my movement," he said. "Sometimes it gets me into trouble. But I think for me, that's generally what works. I try to play the ball as close to my body as possible."
He also pointed to the strength of the Australian pace attack and recalled their effect in the first Test. "We got a taste of it in the first Test, and we kind of knew what was up for us," he said. Bavuma had not been able to contribute in the series opener and framed his 179 as a response to both the match situation and his personal frustration from preceding weeks.
South Africa declared at 425 for nine, leaving Australia a handful of overs to negotiate; Kagiso Rabada, returning after a five-month layoff with a hamstring injury, struck in the first over to dismiss Nic Maddinson and Australia ended the day at three for one. "From a batting point of view, we've done half the job," Bavuma said. "Yeah, it's up to the bowlers now." He added: "You want to win the game. You want to get yourself into a position where you know you can win the game," he said. "And I think we've given ourselves a chance."
