Proteas batting coach praises Temba Bavuma’s resilience

Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince has praised captain Temba Bavuma’s decision-making in tough conditions, giving his side a slight fighting chance in the second Test match against Australia in Gqeberha.

Bavuma showed some resilience on Day 2 of the Test, which only saw play in the afternoon due to inclement weather earlier in the day, and Bavuma ended the day unbeaten on 41 despite losing Marques Ackerman, Matthew Breetzke, and Ryan Rickelton at the other end.

Prince says Bavuma’s best weapon on the day was actually knowing when not to play at the ball to lead them to 97/5 at the close of play.

“Leaving the ball is vital, and Temba has done that really well.

A big part of why Temba was able to remain at the crease was due to his decision-making in tough conditions.” Prince, who scored over 3600 runs in 66 Test matches for South Africa between 2002 and 2011, says Bavuma is displaying the exact essence of the longest format of the game and is digging deep when the chips are down.

“There’s a reason why it’s called test cricket because it challenges all of your skills from the technical side to the mental side of the game.

When you face these kinds of situations as a team, you want someone to stand up, and at the moment the skipper is doing exactly that.

Hopefully he can have a few partners digging in with him.” The match at St.

George’s Park has already lost a lot of overs in the last two days, with rain allowing very little time on the field.

Prince believes this has affected how the ball moves and led to the loss of their five wickets.

The forecast has given the all-clear for the rest of the match, and he says they’ve got enough time to turn things around.