Despite a comfortable 2-0 Test series win over the West Indies, with an 87-run win at Centurion and a huge 284-run win at the Wanderers, the Proteas batting department still has plenty of work to do.
The Proteas Test batting has been in decline for a number of years now, and they were brutally exposed on their tour of Australia in December and January.
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However, they showed a slight improvement in their series against the Windies, with the Proteas batting department managing to post three totals in excess of 300.
But, in each innings they had their struggles, and often had to rely on one batter to bail them out of trouble.
That has led to the emergence of captain Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram as the batting department’s possible shining lights going forward.
Bavuma’s ‘daddy hundred’
Bavuma showed tremendous character to bounce back from a horror show on his captaincy debut, where he picked up a pair of ducks, with an incredible performance in the second Test.
In the first innings he only made 28, but it was his career best 172 in the second innings that proved to be a match defining innings that led to him being named man-of-the-match.
“It was massive on so many fronts, but most importantly for the side. That’s what Temba and I spoke about before the series. That second Test century was a burning thing for him and I said let’s forget about that. Let’s put all our energy into this side,” said Proteas coach Shukri Conrad.
“We don’t have a side made up of Amla, Gibbs, Smith and Kallis, so let’s try skin this cat in a different way. Really invest in little things like partnerships, try get 300 on the board and see where that takes us.
“It wasn’t a baby hundred, it was a daddy hundred. It was a hundred that shaped the possible destiny of the series. We were crying out for someone to take up the fight and bat the way he did, because that is a very skilled bowling attack.
“I know a lot of people make light and say it’s just the West Indies. But that is a a very skilled bowling attack and for Temba to do it under pressure in that situation I thought it was massive.”
Markram resurgence
For Markram his return to the Test side after missing out on the Australia tour due to poor form, proved to be a perfect one as he was named man-of-the-series due to his exploits with the bat.
In the first Test his scores of 115 and 47 were vitally important in the Proteas starting the series with a win, with him backing that effort up with 96 in the first innings of the second Test, with his only real failure the 18 he scored in the second innings.
Conrad explained that he had worked with Markram for a long time and knew what made him tick, so it was a no brainer bringing him back into the team and backing him at the top of the order.
“With a lot of these guys I go a long way back with them. I had them at national academy level five or six years ago. So I know the characters and I knew with Aiden I just had to clear out his thought processes,” said Conrad.
“Get a relaxed and confident Aiden and he thrives at the top of the order. I think he only ever knew opening the batting. So for me it was an easy call.
“It wasn’t about him repaying the faith (shown in him) but just him coming out and riding the crest of the wave from the SA20. All the stars just seemed to be aligned so it was great that he did what he did.”
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