South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has acknowledged his side are “quite far” from the level they aim to reach ahead of the 2027 home World Cup, despite claiming a fifth successive bilateral ODI series win over Australia.
The Proteas sealed the series 21 but ended on a sour note, losing the third ODI in Mackay on 19 August by a record margin. Bavuma described the squad as being in an “exploration phase,” with new players and combinations still being tested.
“You’re seeing new faces in the team and that’s all part of us being in that exploration phase,” Bavuma said after the final match. “We’re getting to understand guys, the roles they can fulfil, and what they bring from a personality point of view. We have time. There are two years left and we’re definitely not close to where we want to be as a team.”
South Africa handed debuts to Dewald Brevis and Prenelan Subrayen during the series, experimented with a new opening partnership of Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, moved Bavuma to No.3, and rotated their middle order. Results were mixed: Markram and Rickelton shared one stand of 92 but managed only 2 and 11 in the other games; Bavuma passed fifty once but struck at under 90.
Matthew Breetzke impressed with two rapid half-centuries before a hamstring issue kept him out of the final game. Tony de Zorzi showed promise but lacked consistency, while Brevis who holds South Africa’s highest T20I score holed out in all three ODIs. Bavuma remains enthusiastic about the young star’s potential:
“It’s refreshing watching him. He’s not fazed by anything. When he gets out, he just thinks he should have hit it harder. There’s an exuberance of youth with him. The longer he plays, the more batsmanship he’ll add to his game.”
With the ball, Keshav Maharaj underlined his value in white-ball cricket with his maiden ODI five-for and an economy rate of 4.64, while Lungi Ngidi showcased his experience with a clever display of variations in the second match. Nandre Burger impressed, but Kwena Maphaka’s only outing was a tough initiation. The battle among allrounders Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen remains unresolved.
Bavuma believes these growing pains are part of the process:
“As much as we won the series, we felt we weren’t anywhere near our best. That’s exciting too to see what happens when we start playing close to 100%.”
South Africa’s next challenge comes in just over a week against England, with Bavuma expecting “a lot more balls to go flying” in different conditions. He praised his side’s ability to adapt in Cairns and Mackay, where the ball moved considerably under lights.
“That we can win away from home, that’s a big thing,” he said. “We want to build that winning habit, in whatever format it is, and keep our standard up from a skill point of view.”
However, he admitted South Africa’s performance in the third ODI, where they conceded 431 runs, highlighted an area for improvement.
“From a control point of view, that definitely wasn’t there. When they put us under pressure, we weren’t able to come up with any solution. It’s a learning curve for everyone not just the younger guys but even the batters. It’s not every day you’re chasing 432. We need to find a formula for that.”