JOHANNESBURG: Temba Bavuma said on Thursday he accepts the responsibility of being named South Africa’s first black African cricket captain.
“I would be lying if I said it meant nothing to me,” he said at a press conference after being named captain of South Africa’s limited overs until the 2023 World Cup .
At the press conference, Bavuma also answered some questions in the indigenous Xhosa language, a first for a South African cricket captain.
“I understand the deeply rooted importance of being the first captain of Black Africa to lead our country,” Bavuma said.
“You don’t have to look too far at our history and our political situation. I can fully understand why the people of our country would celebrate it for what it is.”
Bavuma said he was determined to do justice to his work as both captain and player.
“From a game point of view, I still have strong ambitions to achieve,” he said.
“Besides being known as the first captain of Black Africa, I would like to be known as someone who led the team very well and created a legacy for himself.”
Bavuma, 30, has been with the South Africa test squad since 2014/15 but only established himself in the white ball squad during the 2019/20 season, ironically after being briefly ruled out of the test team after an injury and a poor set of form.
He said he had always believed he had the ability to play in limited cricket and admitted it was frustrating having to wait to prove it.
In just six one-day internationals he is averaging 55.83 while in eight T20 internationals he is averaging 35.57 with an impressive strike rate of 133.15.
“I guess it was an eye opener for people to see a different side of my game,” he said.
“It took a lot of work, more from a mental point of view, to get to this point. I was very happy with the results I was able to achieve.”
Bavuma, who will be vice-captain of the test team, is captain of the Lions franchise team and led his team to victory in a Twenty20 tournament that ended on Sunday.
“I have experience at the national level, so I understand the pressure that comes with the harbor master’s office,” he said.
Bavuma is the last black player in South African sport to receive the skipper’s armband.
In 2018, Siya Kolisi became the first black captain of the country’s union rugby team, leading the Springboks to triumph at the 2019 World Cup.
Thursday also, Dean elgar was appointed captain of the South African test team for the next two years.
The appointments ended the career of captain of wicket keeper Quinton de Kock, who was named full-time captain for a day in February 2020 and was named interim captain of the test team for the 2020/21 season.
De Kock struggled as test captain and got a “sanity break” after a tough test run in Pakistan that ended last month.
CSA Director of Cricket Graeme smith said it was necessary “to make a difficult and important decision” to relieve De Kock from the post of captain, who he said had followed “engagements” with the former captain.
“It hasn’t been an easy time for him,” Smith said.
“He’s a proud guy and I’m sure there’s a little bit of emotion and feelings around that.”
Smith said he believed De Kock felt the burden of leadership.
“We want to release him as a player. He will always be part of the management group.”