Bavuma says South Africa’s run of wins is just the beginning
After beating Pakistan by 10 wickets at Newlands on Monday, South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, said that the test team was building something special. They had now won seven straight games and could look forward to the World Test Championship final.
Only once in their history has South Africa won more tests in a row. That was between 2002 and 2003, when they won nine straight games.
Not long ago, they beat West Indies and Bangladesh twice on the road and Sri Lanka and Pakistan twice each at home. Some people have said that the team’s games have been easy, but Bavuma thinks they still have other steps to go through.
“Despite our success, I don’t believe we are a flawless team,” he said. “We let the other team get ahead too easily occasionally, and it took real brilliance to catch up.”
“Our ability to find a way to win is what makes our team unique.” We’re still on the road and aren’t even close to being able to play 100%.
“But the team is creating something unique, and when we fully commit, it will be terrifying.”
From June 11–15, the World Test Championship final will be held at Lord’s against Australia, who is one of South Africa’s archrivals in cricket.
“We’ll prepare as well as we can, probably more mentally than anything,” said Bavuma. “We will stick to what our team has been doing.” We will have to get used to England and the other team, but we will still go out and fight.
There is a lot of competition in the group, which has made people smarter and stronger. To win is what drives us. There is a chance for us to do something great for the country.
“Everyone will overcome obstacles to ensure we achieve the desired outcome.”
Bavuma doesn’t understand why South Africa doesn’t have a home game until September 2026, when Australia comes to town.
“The guys are super keen to play test cricket, and the fact there is a trophy available is a factor,” said he. “We have been able to fill stadiums with fans (at home), and we want to play a lot more.”