Temba Bavuma (born 17 May 1990) is a South African international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who currently is the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

South African cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

in white-ball cricket. He also vice-captains South Africa in

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

. He is a right-handed batter and was the first black African cricketer to make a Test century for South Africa and the first to captain the side. Bavuma is only the second South African cricketer to score a century on ODI debut, scoring 113 runs against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in September 2016.

Early life

Brought up in the intense cricket culture of Langa – Bavuma,

Thami Tsolekile Thami Lungisa Tsolekile (born 9 October 1980) is a South African former cricketer who played three Test matches for the national side as a wicketkeeper in 2004–05. He was educated in Cape Town at Pinelands High School. In first-class cri ...

and

Malusi Siboto Malusi Siboto (born 20 August 1987) is a South African cricketer. He was included in the Free State cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. In August 2017, he was named in the Cape Town Knight Riders' squad for the first season of the T2 ...

are all from the same street – Bavuma was educated at South African College Junior School in Newlands, and

St David's Marist Inanda St David's Marist is a private English medium Roman Catholic preparatory and high school for boys in Inanda, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The school was established in 1941 by the Marist Brothers. History The school's roots bega ...

, a boys high School in

Sandton Sandton is an upscale commercial and residential district north of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the city came from the combination of two of its suburbs ...

Domestic career

Bavuma made his debut in 2008 in Gauteng against Eastern Province. Batting in the middle order, he made four runs in the first innings in which he batted, briefly partnering teammate

Dane Vilas Dane James Vilas (born 10 June 1985) is a South African cricketer. He was born in Johannesburg, Transvaal. Previously, he played for South Africa's national side and made his Test debut for South Africa against Bangladesh on 30 July 2015. D ...

to his first-class best score. Bavuma made his franchise debut for the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

in the 2010/11 season. In the Supersport Series, he made 242 runs in 4 matches at an average of 60.50 in this first season, including a score of 124 not out against the Knights, which earned him a man of the match. In his second Supersport season in 2011/12, he made 637 runs at an average of 53.08. This was enough for him to place 11th in the top run scorers. In 2012/13, he was the 5th highest scorer in the now renamed Sunfoil Series, but at a poorer average of 31.58. In 2013/14, he again scored heavily making 714 runs at an average of 39.66, seeing him place 6th on the Sunfoil Series scorers list. For his franchise, he has an unusually high conversion rate of 50s to 100s, scoring six 100s and five 50s in Supersport and Sunfoil series cricket. These performances have earned him five matches so far for the South Africa A cricket team. The first was in July 2012 against Sri Lanka A in Durban. He also played a match against Ireland in the A side's tour of the country in August of that year. He did not make a significant contribution in either of those two matches. His next appearances for the A side were in the series of matches played in South Africa between South Africa A and the Indian and Australian A sides. He faced Australia once, and India twice. His best performance was a 65 in the second match of an innings defeat against the Indians. He was included in the Gauteng squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. In May 2017, Bavuma announced that he was switching franchises to join

Cape Cobras The Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras are a franchise cricket team representing the Western Province, Boland, and South Western Districts areas in South African domestic cricket. The team's home venues are Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, Boland ...

ahead of the 2017–18 season. In June 2018, Bavuma was made captain of the Highveld Lions across all formats. In September 2018, he was named in Gauteng's squad for the 2018 Africa T20 Cup. The following month, he was named in

Durban Heat Durban Heat were a franchise team of the South African Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 cricket tournament. The team were based at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban. Durban Heat played in the first two editions of the MLS in 2018 and 2019, ...

's squad for the

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of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Jozi Stars team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament. In April 2021, he was named in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

's squad, ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa. In September 2022, Bavuma wasn't picked by any franchise in the auction for the first edition of the SA20 League.

International career

Bavuma made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

debut for South Africa against the West Indies on 26 December 2014. Starc to Temba Bavuma

On 5 January 2016, Bavuma became the first black cricketer to score a Test century for South Africa. He scored an unbeaten 102 at the Cape Town in the 2nd Test of the 2015/16 series against England. Bavuma made his One Day International debut for South Africa against Ireland on 25 September 2016 and scored his maiden ODI century. He opened the batting with

Quinton de Kock Quinton de Kock (born 17 December 1992) is a South African cricketer and former captain of the Proteas in all three formats. He currently plays for South Africa in limited overs cricket, Titans at the domestic level, and Lucknow Super Gian ...

, standing in for

Hashim Amla Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS (born 31 March 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 ...

who was attending the birth of his child. Bavuma was named player of the math for his performance and was the second player to score a century on their ODI debut for South Africa. Bavuma took his first and only Test wicket against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 7 November 2016. In May 2017, Bavuma won the Award of Excellence at

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

's annual awards. In August 2019, Bavuma was named in South Africa's

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) squad for their series against India. He made his T20I debut for South Africa, against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on 18 September 2019.

Captaincy, 2021–present

On 4 March 2021, Bavuma was named as the captain of South Africa's limited over side, taking over the captaincy from

. With the appointment of him as South Africa's permanent captain, he became the first ever black African player to be appointed as the permanent captain of South Africa's side. Bavuma's first series as captain was a home series against Pakistan. He sustained a hamstring injury in the third ODI and as a result missed the T20I portion of the series. On 24 July 2021, against Ireland in the third T20I, Bavuma scored his maiden T20I half-century, scoring 72 off 51 deliveries before being dismissed by

Barry McCarthy Barry John McCarthy (born 13 September 1992) is an Irish cricketer. He made his first-class debut in 2015, and plays for the Ireland cricket team, and previously the English side Durham. Primarily a right-arm medium pace bowler, he also bats ri ...

. In September, South Africa toured Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is; in the opening match sustained an injury to his right thumb while batting and retired hurt. The injury required surgery, but Bavuma recovered sufficiently to captain South Africa's squad at the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in October. South Africa won four out of their five matches but were eliminated in the group stage based on net run rate. South Africa toured India in June 2022 for five T20Is. South Africa drew the series, but Bavuma sustained an elbow injury in the fourth match and missed South Africa's tour of England later that year. Leading into the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in October and November, sports journalist Katya Witney writing for ''Wisden'' observed that Bavuma was out of form. She suggested that "what Bavuma brings to the side should not be wholly dependent on his batting statistics. His skills and role as captain should not be overlooked lightly." In a second tour of India that year, preceding the World Cup, Bavuma scored eight runs across four innings in T20Is and ODIs, amidst a tour disrupted by illness, with Bavuma missing the final two ODIs. Bavuma led South Africa at the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bavuma, Temba 1990 births Living people Xhosa people People from Langa, Western Cape Cricketers from the Western Cape South African cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South Africa One Day International cricketers South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers Cricketers who made a century on One Day International debut Gauteng cricketers Lions cricketers Cape Cobras cricketers Durban Heat cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Jozi Stars cricketers