The chokers tag was never ours to carry, says Proteas’ Temba Bavuma
LORD TEMBA Proteas captain Temba Bavuma dismisses the “chokers” tag after South Africa’s World Test Championship victory over Australia, aiming to inspire a new era of trophy wins in South African cricket. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
The inevitable C-word came up as Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma was welcomed back to South Africa on Wednesday, following his side’s World Test Championship (WTC) final victory over the weekend.
South Africa clinched the WTC final at Lord’s on Saturday, beating Australia by five wickets at the home of cricket.
Bavuma formed part of the match-winning partnership with Aiden Markram in the fourth innings as the Proteas emerged emphatic winners. Markram scored a sensational 136 and Bavuma made an invaluable 66 batting with an injured hamstring at the other end as the pair shared a pivotal 147-run stand for the third wicket in pursuit of 282 for victory.
Bavuma was asked at a press conference in Johannesburg if the Proteas team can finally dispel the harsh chokers tag, and his response was: “As much as the Australians, I mean we were saying it in the field, I don't think in the group it's ever something we were concerned about,” said Bavuma.
Bavuma Reflects on Proteas' Confidence and Resilience Amid Criticism
“We've been confident enough that we've been playing good cricket, and we've been getting ourselves into positions where you can be in finals. Like anything, you've got to just keep going, you've got to keep being relentless in that pursuit and it was always that belief that at some point, the harder we knock on that door, that door is eventually going to open.
“So you [as a player] don't believe that it was our tag or label to carry. Yes, there's a responsibility that you always have when you wear the Proteas badge, but I don't think anyone here can say now we're not chokers, because it was never a thing of ours. We never spoke about it in team meetings.
“So nothing is different [after the WTC win] from that point of view.”
South Africa's Cricket Triumph: Bavuma Hopes to Ignite a New Era of Trophy Wins
Though it’s been 33 years of heartache in ICC World Cup events, if you don’t count the 1998 Champions Trophy, this victory could spark a new era for South African cricket, believed Bavuma.
“I think, as a team's perspective, in terms of the legacy that we'd like to leave behind, we'd like to be the start of a team that encourages and inspires other teams to start winning trophies.
“It's something that the guys who have been wearing the Proteas badge for a while that we've been speaking about is what connects us, so we hope that this can be the start of a lot more of these trophies. But I think we know as a team as much as we've achieved what we've achieved in 18 to 24 months, it's not a big legacy as of yet. We've been speaking here for two to three years’ time, I think that's probably the biggest thing, that we want to start a culture of winning trophies for the country.”