Bavuma puts Pink Day priorities ahead of Tests for final ODI

The glamour and excitement that has been associated with previous “Pink ODIs” seems to be missing this year as the Proteas go in search of a morale boosting win at the end of a series that was lost in Cape Town. 

Long gone are the days of glamorous breakfasts with semi-drunk low-grade politicians, golf days or Brian Baloyi lending his then still considerable fame to the build up. Even the Wanderers, which has hosted all 11 of these matches, looked less pink than usual a day before. 

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times; where once the “Pink ODI” was the sole attraction, now it falls in the middle of a busy sports weekend, while shops are also packed with festive crowds and the cricket calendar itself is stuffed to bursting point. 

Sunday’s will be SA’s 12th match across all three formats in the last six weeks and for the public its been hard to remain focused on what’s important. Temba Bavuma reiterated what these ODIs with Pakistan are — given the context of the Champions Trophy. 

“It is a special occasion, it’s a fixture all of us look forward to,” the Proteas captain said on Saturday. “We’d like to play our role in creating awareness about breast cancer, but also raise funds for the Charlotte Maxeke hospital.”

Aside from the critical social message, the on-field performances remain vital too. But flitting between formats, according to Bavuma, has been “tricky.”

“We are not lacking motivation, we still speak ODI cricket and the skills required to do it well, but I guess at the back of the minds of some players we know that after this game the next two weeks become super important.”

While players and both coaches, Rob Walter and Shukri Conrad, have talked of giving equal priority to the ODIs as well as the Tests, there is no doubt that the latter is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, simply because of the big prize on offer there — a spot in the World Test Championship final. 

SA haven’t been able to fulfil Walter’s target for this series, which was to rekindle the style and intensity with which they played at last year’s World Cup. “We are not close to where we want to be. There is still a lot of stuff for us to do to get to that level,” Bavuma stated. 

The Proteas have struggled to assert themselves in all departments, but it is the batting that is the most concerning, especially the top order. They are not helped by the fact that they’ve played so little ODI cricket this year — albeit that is the same for most countries — but critically they haven’t been able to fill the gap left by Quinton de Kock’s retirement. 

“When we are at our best, whoever gets to 30, generally that guy will convert, and (in this series) we have had guys get starts, but they haven’t been able to convert. Because of that, we haven’t been able to put ourselves in a position where we are able to reach scores of 350.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan have been superb; they’ve batted with the requisite tempo, and in Saim Ayub, appear to have unearthed a star at the top of the order. In the middle, Salman Agha and Kamran Ghulam have increased the intensity, while with the ball their spinners — Salman and Abrar Ahmed — have impressed.

“They’re not just holding the game, they’re taking wickets,” Bavuma said of the Pakistan slow bowlers. “Then when their quicks come back for a second or third spell they’re bowling at our tail.”

For Sunday at least, Bavuma will implore his players to set aside thoughts of Boxing Day and the red ball, and clad in pink, focus on boosting their confidence in the 50-over format. 

The match starts at 2pm.