Bavuma keen to play his hand in timely fashion

TEMBA Bavuma may be an inexperienced international captain, but he is showing early signs that he is a fast learner heading into the T20 World Cup.

The fast-paced nature of T20 cricket places plenty of pressure on any captain, who has to stay abreast with tactics, bowling changes and field placings while the ball is often flying off the bat to the boundary.

This causes many captains to lose track of the clock, which is an integral part of the shortest format, as the 20 overs need to be delivered in a specific time period.

It may seem like an indifferent technicality, but Proteas teams of the past have struggled to maintain their over-rate at previous T20 World Cups, particularly when the pressure is at its most intense at the death – like it will undoubtedly be during the upcoming tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Former captain Faf du Plessis even missed a crucial final groupstage match against England at the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh after he was suspended due to South Africa’s slow over-rate in the previous match against the Netherlands.

Bavuma, who has also previously been fined 20% of his match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during a one-day international against Pakistan, is certainly not planning to make the same mistakes at his maiden ICC tournament.

“You definitely don’t want to be missing games because of the overrate. It is definitely something that we have highlighted and something that we have to be aware of,”

Bavuma said.

“We have to make sure we get through quickly between the overs. What may help us is if we play three spinners, we can get through their overs quite quickly and make up time for the ‘death’ hitting period.

“It is definitely something we have spoken about. It is something that we have been guilty of in the past, and it is something we need to keep in check.”

Furthermore, Bavuma seems to be on track to face Australia in the Proteas’ T20 World Cup opener next Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

The skipper, who missed the previous Sri Lankan T20 series due to a hand injury, is recovering well, having had a few throw-downs in the nets recently.

He will ramp up his rehabilitation today when he gets in the nets to face bowlers for the first time, and is expected to play a full part in SA’s warm-up game against Afghanistan next week.

“I had a good batting session. My hand is definitely improving by the day. It’s getting stronger, and I am getting a lot more comfortable with it. Tomorrow (Friday) will be my first time where I’ll be having a live net, facing bowlers,” Bavuma said.

“I am looking forward to that, and that will of course give me a better indication of how far I have progressed. At the moment, everything is still on track. I am looking to play in the warm-up games. I am feeling good.”