South African batting coach Ashwell Prince said Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram were keen to make sure Bavuma didn’t retire hurt on the third day of the World Test Championship final against Australia even with his hamstring issue. They thought about taking him off as it could slow him down when running but Markram was willing to make it work.
Bavuma got hurt while batting at six and the physios spent a lot of time with him during the Lunch break. After deciding to carry on he struggled a bit and South Africa couldn’t turn twos into threes. But the chemistry between him and Markram was clear as they added 143 runs together and left the Proteas 69 runs short of victory at the end of the day.
“We had to make a big call on whether he should keep batting and how it would affect his game and Aiden’s rhythm,” Prince told ESPNcricinfo. “If they can’t run or if everything turns into singles. But both of them were determined that Temba would keep going. He was keen to continue.”
Markram knew keeping the partnership going was key. Sure, if Tristan Stubbs had come in they would have kept Bavuma’s wickets intact but it would have meant starting again. They were feeling good and wanted to stick with it. Markram knew he had to take it easy on the running to help Bavuma manage.
Markram ended the day not out on 102 while Bavuma was 65. Both have faced criticism before but Bavuma has felt the pressure more. But like in his batting and as captain he’s shown resilience and picked his moments well. Now he’s close to something special.
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“Temba is tough,” Prince said. “Aiden respects him a lot. Honestly I think this team’s biggest strength is the unity in the group. They know South Africa has had better individual players but there’s something special happening in that dressing room and it helps them push each other.”
Prince added: “Bavuma has had to fight his way through his career and this could be a turning point for him. I think this is the biggest stage in Test cricket. Maybe I’ll give a better answer after the game.”
