Age not on Bavuma’s side, says Conrad after more injury worries

Shukri Conrad described the absence of Temba Bavuma from the whole Pakistan tour as an obvious concern. “Every series there’s been an injury and it is not for want of him trying,” said the Proteas head coach. 

“The guy is doing everything in his power to make sure he remains injury free. We need to be smarter with how we manage these guys.”

The problem is that despite Bavuma being on a workload management programme, recent history suggests his body isn’t strong enough to get through back-to-back-to-back matches. Last season he did play in all four home Tests, and while there was obvious discomfort with his elbow, especially in the Sri Lanka series, he finished the summer as South Africa's best Test batter. 

Before then he'd missed the Test series in Bangladesh with an elbow injury — an ailment that first cropped up in India in 2022, which hampered him at the subsequent World Cup in Australia later that year.

He missed matches at the 2023 World Cup with stomach bugs and then picked up a hamstring strain in the last group match against Afghanistan in that tournament and, despite not being completely fit, still played in the semifinal against Australia. 

This year in the Champions Trophy Bavuma also missed a group match against England due to illness.

Then came the hamstring injury in the World Test Championship final, he missed the next tour to Zimbabwe, and played two of the three ODIs in Australia, missing the last one, as the management sought to ease his return ahead of the England series. 

But then in England, having played the first two ODIs, he strained a calf in the last match and couldn’t bat. Now he’s missing an entire tour and even if he does get picked for India, there will be doubts about whether he can make it through three ODIs and two Tests there. 

In one sense it is fortunate that after India, Bavuma will have no further international requirements until September, when South Africa begin a hectic Test schedule against Australia. 

Those three matches will be followed by two against Bangladesh and then three against England, which will include back-to-back Tests over Boxing Day and New Year's. Those fixtures will test Bavuma physically and could to some degree determine the outlook for the World Cup in 2027.

Bavuma wants to play that tournament and it is clear Cricket SA are desperate for him to lead the side at a home World Cup. 

“He’s the captain and he is definitely worth managing. Age is not on his side. I’m sure that given the calibre of the medical staff and the desire of Temba to get himself in peak condition that hopefully these injuries will be something of the past very soon,” said Conrad. 

There is a trust issue too; first for Bavuma, who must believe that all the rehabilitation work will allow him to play a full part as both batter and fielder. Then there are his teammates, who have for now filled in every time he goes down and of course for Conrad, who must want his captain as often as possible. 

As important as it is for younger players like Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke and Kwena Maphaka to gain experience before the 2027 World Cup, it is as crucial that those players build relationships with Bavuma, about what they offer and how to get the best out of them. He won’t be able to do that if he keeps missing matches. 

He brings so much to the side, not only on the field but in the change room as well

—  Shukri Conrad on Quinton de Kock

It creates an additional layer to the Quinton de Kock reversal. He brings seniority and experience, which if he combined with form and fitness would make picking him for the T20 World Cup an obvious decision. 

There are no strings attached to his return. He will, said Conrad, be available for both limited overs formats and even if he doesn’t get picked for the T20 World Cup next February, Conrad said it would have no bearing on the ODIs thereafter. 

De Kock, according to Conrad, is “on board, full on”. It will be up to Conrad, selection convener Patrick Maroney and the respective white ball captains, Aiden Markram and Bavuma, to determine, how De Kock fits in to the side.

De Kock rekindling relationships with teammates is not a problem, Conrad foresees. “He brings so much to the side, not only on the field but in the change room as well,” he said. 

In Pakistan De Kock will work with another old head in David Miller, who will captain the T20 side in three matches and Breetzke, who is on a hot streak and who Conrad feels is ready to lead having already done so with the SA A side. “He will be great for Matt,” said Conrad. 

There are a lot of players — 35 in total — named across four squads, each with different captains as Maroney and Conrad try to balance the demands of assessing players for next year’s T20 World Cup, resting others for the tour to India and throw a few others into the international pool to see if they can swim.

Only Brevis and Corbin Bosch have been included in all three squads for Pakistan. 

Besides De Kock, there are also returns for Simon Harmer for the Pakistan Tests, and Zubayr Hamza too. Gerald Coetzee, who was back in the fold in Zimbabwe, gets another chance to show if he can combine form with fitness and George Linde, omitted for England, is also in both white ball squads for Pakistan. 

Andile Simelane, who played against India last summer, is in the T20 squads for Pakistan and Namibia and Sinethemba Qeshile’s recent century for SA A against New Zealand A demanded he get an opportunity in the ODIs. 

Northerns batter Rivaldo Moonsamy, who was so explosive in the limited overs formats for his province last season, is the only uncapped player across the four squads and will play in the one-off T20 in Windhoek on October 11.