Ongama Gcwabe
The year 2023 was probably Temba Bavuma's most successful in South Africa's green and gold colours.
The right-handed batter was named captain of the Test team at the beginning of the year and scored a career-best 172 in his first series captaining the Test team. In white-ball cricket, Bavuma was enjoying a rich vein of form. He scored centuries against England, West Indies, and Australia, establishing himself as the backbone of both the Test and ODI teams.
While opposition players could not stop Bavuma's form, injuries did, as a right adductor strain ruled him out of the fourth ODI against Australia in Centurion, a month before the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Bavuma carried that injury into the World Cup and despite his team doing well reaching the semi-final, Bavuma did not look the version of himself that we had seen all year long leading up to the World Cup.
That wasn't the last of the injuries, as the skipper missed this year's New Year's Test in Cape Town due to an injury that he had picked up in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. Most recently, the right-handed batter missed the all-important Bangladesh series due to an injury, although he was recalled to the squad yesterday for the two-match series against Sri Lanka.
In an exclusive interview with Independent Newspapers Bavuma revealed the frustrations that he had to go through facing injuries in the past 18 months.
"It was quite devastating when it happened in that second ODI against Ireland (in September). When it happened, I felt the pain and I knew that this pain was similar to when it happened originally," Bavuma said.
"In your mind, a lot of things happen, you have doubts, you start playing things forward as to how long you're going to be out for and all those types of things. But I guess, you visit the doctor, they give the report, and the biggest thing becomes how quickly you can get your mind settled and accepting of everything that is happening.
“Mentally that was quite tough for me.
"Also, because in the last couple of years, I've had my fair share of injuries. It speaks to that frustration that you've just recovered from this injury and now you're getting into another one.
“So, it's almost like can you get a break type of thing. But all those demons that happen in your head, you want to get to a point where you can put that aside and then say this is what I'm going to do to get myself in the best space possible to be able to play."
Red-ball head coach Shukri Conrad has today announced a 14-player squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which gets underway in Durban later this month.
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 19, 2024
Captain Temba Bavuma will lead the side after being cleared for selection following a fitness test on… pic.twitter.com/MuUhVjqb4q
The 34-year-old further revealed what really goes on in the professional athlete's mind when successive injuries have kept them out of important series.
"There'll be a period where I'll be bitter and sulking but then you get over that and put your mind in what you need to do to get yourself better," he said.
"That's the mental fight that I'm still going through now but you don't want to stay in that space where you're looking for sympathy because those things won't help."
With all the frustrations he has had to face in recent times, Bavuma had a method he relied on to get past the difficult periods. The 34-year-old believes the recipe lies in spending quality time with family and being brutally honest with himself.
"I'm big on family. When I get home I know my son and wife are there, so that gives me time to forget about certain things and it just becomes a wonderful distraction," said Bavuma.
"In saying that, you still need to allow yourself to feel whatever emotions and let them play out. I'm someone who writes a lot about how I feel, and write down my goals and the steps I need to take to get better. It's a daily thing as well; you've got to keep checking in with yourself mentally.
“There are days where I wake up and I'm like I am fed up with all of this. I allow myself to get into that space and it might mean that on that particular day, I don't go to rehab or the gym.
“The next day when I feel better, I get back into my program again. I'm big more on having quiet time with my thoughts, speak to myself and I find in that way I start to uncover solutions to whatever it is I am going through."
Bavuma, if he is fully recovered, could make his return to Test cricket next week Wednesday in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.