One match does not make us a bad team, says Bavuma

The Proteas spent the past two days in soul-searching mode, reflecting on personal performances after their embarrassing defeat to New Zealand by an innings and 276 runs in Christchurch.

The humbling defeat means SA won’t win this two-match series, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship, as the final match at the Hagley Oval begins on Friday.

Vice-captain Temba Bavuma said the two days they got off after the first match ended in just seven sessions, allowed players to look at themselves in the mirror and self-critique. “To me (the past two days) were exactly for that. It was for guys to individually reflect on their performances and see how they can be better coming into the next game,” said Bavuma.

“We have had that conversation as a team and I guess today (Tuesday) is the start of how we can get better. Our conversations were all about honesty regarding our performances because what we produced in that two-day Test match was not good enough.

Those are not the standards that we pride ourselves in. We know that we have to improve in all three disciplines of bowling, batting and fielding.

—  Temba Bavuma

“Those are not the standards that we pride ourselves in. We know that we have to improve in all three disciplines of bowling, batting and fielding and that was the conversation. Training will be around how we can be better.”

After a period of soul-searching, Bavuma said players returned to training in good spirits and they were determined to right the wrongs in their mission to level the series 1-1.

“The guys are happy at training and their smiles are back. They used the extra two days however they wanted to but the main thing is to make sure that we are in a better physical and mental state to compete out there.

“It starts with us as the leadership group being honest and understanding that the performances that we put out there were not good enough. But at the same time it is about reminding the guys that over the last couple of months we have overcome a lot as a team.

“The situation we are in is not foreign to us. We know how to come back from behind and we also know how to bounce back when our backs are against the wall.

“One match does not make us a bad team at all because we know how we have performed recently – not just in Tests but in all the formats. There are a lot of positives that we can take as a team.”