Temba Bavuma does not expect repeated mistakes after ODI loss against Australia
By
SABC Sport
8th September 2023
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma says he expects his team to curb making the same mistakes following their three-wicket ODI loss against Australia in Bloemfontein.
The in-form limited overs batsman carried his bat with an unbeaten 114 on Thursday to help an ailing batting lineup to reach a respectable 222 runs after 49 overs.
Bavuma admitted to battling through conditions due to the variable bounce on the pitch following the conclusion of the South African innings but backed his bowlers to be able to match the Australian bowler's performance.
However, despite having the Aussies pinned at 112/7, the Proteas bowling unit failed to break the matchwinning partnership between concussion substitute Marnus Laubuschagne and Ashton Agar.
The 33-year-old spent most of the second innings off the field as he recovered from a cramp that troubled him towards the end of his century and admitted his disappointment with the outcome.
"If you get a team in that position, you expect yourself to be able to clean out the game," said Bavuma after the match.
"We speak about being relentless. When you get given a sniff against a team like Australia, you've got to take it. If the situations were reversed, they would have prided themselves on cleaning up the game."
The South African bowling attack has suffered in the new season after being taken apart in the recent T20 series 3-0 loss against Australia and will be looking to improve drastically ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
"These are world-class players we have in the team. We don't expect them to keep making the same mistakes. It was just our inability to create chances in that innings. I would have encouraged the bowlers to use their bouncer a bit more," he said.
"We've lost one ODI game, there's no use referencing the T20s as that's different personnel. We weren't good enough and we need to find ways to improve our game holistically. We will challenge ourselves to get better."
Bavuma also played down injury fears claiming that his hamstring "felt a bit tight" but thinks he "will be fine."
The South African will be looking to square the four-match series on Saturday when the two teams meet again at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
