South Africans have come to associate 27-year-old Temba Bavuma with gravity-defying runouts and gritty knocks in the middle order, as the tough Cape Cobras and Protea batsman regularly digs his country out of a tough spot. But this weekend we saw, or should we say heard, a different side of Bavuma.
He had a familiar partner in fellow Proteas Stephen Cook, though this time the challenge was different than the one on the pitch, as the two swapped their bats for microphones and entered the unknown of the commentary box.
This allowed Bavuma to take a closer look at Varsity Cricket and the players, with his chance to pass comment on the men in the middle for a change
“I’ve enjoyed Varsity Cricket during my time here,” said Bavuma. “I think it’s a wonderful platform for the young guys to showcase themselves. In South African cricket we’ve always been looking for a platform to bridge the gap between school boy cricket and first class cricket and Varsity Cricket really comes in to close that gap.”
Enjoyable couple of days doing commentary @varsitycup ,well done to @UPTuks for taking the title and thanks to @SuperSportTV #VarsityCricket #supersport pic.twitter.com/zUySiX5TP5
— Temba Bavuma (@tbavuma10) February 4, 2018
Bavuma was impressed with the exposure that Varsity Cricket provided the young players, with recent Proteas debutants Aiden Markram and Lungi Ngidi the most notable Varsity Cricket graduates.
“Not only does it give these guys the opportunity to test their skills against other universities, but the matches are shown on live TV, so it gives them a chance to be seen by the coaches of the different franchises.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity and I wish I had the opportunity to play in this competition when I was at university.”
Tuks went on to win the title, snatching it away from defending champions NWU. Last time they lifted the title, the winning squad included both Lungi Ngidi and Aiden Markram. It should only be a matter of time before we see a couple of this year’s winners back on our TV sets. And who knows, it could be Bavuma’s voice introducing them.
