Bavuma like ‘a kid in a toy shop’ for Proteas Test return: Conrad

Temba Bavuma is as excited “as a kid in a toy shop” after passing a series of fitness tests on Monday that confirmed his readiness for the highly anticipated Test series against Sri Lanka, Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad said on Tuesday. 

Bavuma overcame an elbow injury that prevented him playing in Bangladesh. It was the latest in a series of ailments which have befallen him since Conrad appointed him Test captain when he took over as coach in February last year.

He’s played in just four of the 10 Tests Conrad has overseen during an enormously frustrating period in which injuries also affected his ODI World Cup campaign in India last year. 

For Bavuma to be back and fit is hugely encouraging before four Tests that will determine whether South Africa will qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.

“I never thought I’d say this, but it is an exciting time for the Test side, starting with Durban [venue for the first Test],” said Conrad. 

After a series of aerobics and conditioning assessments, Bavuma came through 90 minutes of batting on Monday against net bowlers and “throw downs” from fielding coach Kruger van Wyk that indicated he was pain-free from the ailment in his left elbow.

“The main concern was the pain every time he affected the ball; it was the reason he didn’t play in the second Test in Bangladesh,” said Conrad.

There was a temptation to allow him to play last weekend’s four-day match for the Lions but Conrad said doing so would have been “detrimental” to his recovery. “He is probably going in cold on the back of not having played any matches,” Conrad admitted. “We will be simulating match situations in the camp we will have in Pretoria. Whatever guys may have gained from playing a four-day match, we feel we can do the same in two days in the training camp.”

Just being back in a playing capacity has elevated Bavuma’s excitement, even more than his teammates, who Conrad said were looking forward to a series where so much is at stake. 

Bavuma made his Test best score, 172, against the West Indies in his first series as skipper, but in South Africa's next series against India, last season, he injured his hamstring on the first morning in Centurion, missing the rest of that match and the subsequent Test in Cape Town. 

He also didn’t tour New Zealand because he was contracted to the SA20 and after coming back for the series in the Caribbean, which South Africa won, he missed the Bangladesh Tests after injuring his elbow while playing an ODI against Ireland in the UAE two weeks before. 

Bavuma was understandably frustrated at how his body has let him down, particularly given all the hard work he put in, with new training methods and dieting after the ailments which hampered his World Cup campaign last year and then forced him to miss the India Tests. 

With the Proteas on an upward curve, having won their past three Tests, he knows extending that winning streak will see the side qualify for the final of the WTC, which will be hosted at Lord’s in June next year.

“We are all hell of a passionate about [the WTC final] but I don’t think you [should] ever want something that badly that you become desperate. There is a wonderful opportunity for us to do something special,” said Conrad. 

Marco Jansen, whose last Test was in Cape Town at the start of the year, and Gerald Coetzee, who picked up a hip injury after the Boxing Day Test last season, are also back in the Test squad.

“I’m thrilled to have two of our best quicks in the country back in the fold,” said Conrad. 

Both completed three-month strength and conditioning programmes which concluded with the T20 series against India last week. Like Bavuma, Conrad said both bowlers would benefit from the two-day training camp at the Centre of Excellence in Tshwane at the end of the week. 

Sri Lanka named a 17-man squad for the series on Tuesday, with all the batters, including skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, already in the country conducting a batting camp under the watchful eye of former Proteas player Neil McKenzie, who’s been appointed as the team’s batting consultant for the series.

“We understand the magnitude of [the series],” said Conrad. Sri Lanka has won five of its seven Tests in the WTC this year, including an away win against England and a recent 2-0 triumph at home against New Zealand.

They are still the only side from Asia to win a Test series in South Africa in 2019, with the matches that year played in Durban and Gqeberha, and as the same venues will host the upcoming series, they won’t be short on confidence.

“They might find comfort in having won in Durban and Gqeberha before, but we know that if we play close to our ability we will be there when it matters,” said Conrad.