Bavuma's best not enough for Proteas as West Indies win with Hope

Shai Hope’s unbeaten 125 saw the West Indies claim a 48-run victory over the Proteas, for whom Temba Bavuma also made a career-best 144, in the second ODI in East London on Saturday night. 

Bavuma’s performance — his fourth ODI century and his third in Proteas colours in the last seven innings for his country — proved to be in vain as he ran out of partners. South Africa’ s starting team featured four debutants — three in the batting unit — and they were well ahead of the required scoring rate, thanks to Bavuma’s brilliantly clean striking. 

After Quinton de Kock made an electrifying 48 off 26 balls to give the Proteas the perfect start in pursuit of a hefty target of 336, Bavuma took on the charge, striking some excellent shots, particularly a couple of sixes over long-off, to put the Proteas in a dominant position. His 144, featured 11 fours and seven sixes and came off only 118 balls. 

However Ryan Rickelton (14), Tony de Zorzi (27) and Tristan Stubbs (6), all playing in their first ODI, couldn’t provide sustained support for their captain. 

The left arm spinner Akeal Hosein picked up three wickets and along with a disciplined showing from their fast bowling ace, Alzarri Joseph, who took 3/53, including that of Bavuma to put the seal on the West Indies' victory. It was a win that came in spite of a dreadful fielding display, which featured plenty of miss-fields and the dropping of Bavuma when he had 108.

They had enough on the board thanks to a batting effort that was defined by plenty of scintillating stroke play, particularly through the off side.  What it needed was Hope’s ability to find the correct balance between aggression and anchoring the innings. 

Captaining his side for the first time, Hope had to hold his side together after they’d lost three wickets in 10 balls, after a good first wicket partnership between Brandon King and Kyle Mayers that was worth 67 runs.  However from that position the West Indies slumped to 71/3 and it took an 86-run fourth wicket stand between Hope and his predecessor as captain Nicholas Pooran to set the innings back on track.

Hope then shared an 80-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rovman Powell, in which he was denied the strike for large periods of time. Still, when it mattered Hope located the boundary and even when pinned down around the 40-over mark by Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin and a maiden over bowled by Marco Jansen. The fact that they had scored above six runs an over for most of the innings allowed Hope and the lower order to absorb the pressure during that period and then finish with a flourish — by scoring 40 runs off the last three overs as they finished on 335/8.

Hope was not out on 128 which came off 115 balls in an innings that included five fours and seven sixes. 

The Proteas’ bowling was all right but the explosiveness of the rested Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortjé was definitely missed. Coetzee bowled well enough and took 3/57 on his debut, while Bjorn Fortuin was steady in claiming 2/57. The rest struggled and with Bavuma limited to just the five bowlers, he had no option but to back them until the end.   

Worryingly, the Proteas struggled with their over-rate again, missing the required three hour and 15 minute mark by a large chunk. It took them three hours and 51 minutes to bowl their 50 overs, which should lead to a fine for Bavuma and his players.

It’s the second match in a row that the Proteas have taken too long to bowl their overs and with the series against the Dutch imminent it’s an area that needs to be urgently addressed by the captain and head coach Rob Walter. If they err in that regard in the two games against the Netherlands, they risk losing points on the Super League log, which could affect their qualification for the 50-over World Cup.  They were docked a point in that last ODI against England in Kimberley.

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