Victory over Australia in Gqeberha will only be great if SA can win series in Cape Town

Temba Bavuma will wait until after the third Test before determining where to rank his Proteas team’s amazing innings and 31-run victory over Australia in Gqeberha.

A win at Newlands and with it a series triumph will certainly elevate the status of a victory at St George’s Park in which South Africa had to overcome numerous obstacles including the loss of so much time in the match because of the weather, then a top order batting collapse and an injury to one of their fast bowlers.

“From a team perspective, we forget that the target is on our backs. Everyone wants us to show our mettle as the current world champions and everything we do is under that microscope. The Durban performance was a realisation of that, but also a realisation of what it means coming up against super strong opposition,” said Bavuma.

“Winning the Newlands Test would be bigger if things go according to plan.”

It was all the adversity the Proteas overcame that will make St George’s Park 2026 special. “It was very much a spirited effort from us,” said Bavuma.

“A lot was asked of us after the first Test in Durban. I think the biggest one was the character or the mentality of the team and over the course of the five days we’ve definitely spoken well to that. When things got tough, we managed to dig deep, stay in the game and most importantly get the result in our favour.”

Bavuma led from the front, with a magnificent 179 which helped to rescue SA from a precarious position at 110/6 on the third morning. The loss of Anrich Nortje with a suspected groin injury after just 3.3 overs in Australia’s first innings, placed extra demand on the rest of the South African attack. But it was a burden they bore courageously with Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Simon Harmer and of course Kagiso Rabada, playing his first match after a hamstring injury, all making timely contributions with the ball.

He admitted playing Nortje, immediately after his first Test in three years - in which bowled 40 overs - was a risk, but he was grateful for Rabada’s presence and Mulder’s skill especially on the last day.

“KG’s not a big guy in terms of speeches, he’ll speak whenever he sees fit but I think with the figure that he is, he is inspiring in a lot of ways. When he’s on the field he assumes that responsibility and pressure of leading the attack and I believe it allows everyone else to kind of go about and do what they need to do.”

Mulder was an unlikely hero on the final day, taking 3/64, counting Australia’s second innings centurion, Travis Head, and the obdurate nightwatchman Scott Boland among his victims.

“He’s a guy that feeds off of confidence and I think once he’s within that space he can play freely. I’ve played with him for many years at the Lions so I guess there’s a little bit of bias there from my side when it comes to him but he’s one of those guys who can make a play when we need him to and look today he did that beautifully in that second innings,” said Bavuma.

South Africa will understandably take plenty of confidence into the series decider that starts at Newlands next Tuesday. Despite Bavuma and the lower order’s performances in helping SA to reach 425, the batting remains a concern, and they will have to make at least one change to replace Nortje.

“Momentum is a big thing. That’s something that once you’ve got it you want to protect it and that’s exactly what we’ll be trying to do. With that being said you know it will be a case of when we get to Newlands to understand what’s happening there. I don’t think I’ve played in Cape Town this time of the year so you know it will be different to what we’re used to with the New Years Test.”