The Great Gamble
There was a time, not too long ago, when the mere mention of money was anathema in sports ~ professionals were allowed in Wimbledon for the first time in 1968, and in the Olympics only from 1988.
South Africa middle order batsman Temba Bavuma was axed from the squad on Thursday and was instructed to return to the domestic circuit and force his way back into the Test team through “weight of runs”.
According to a ESPNCricinfo report, Rassie van der Dussen will be given an extended run in the middle order for South Africa.
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“We feel it’s the right thing to do to stick with Rassie. As a player, you feel like you get a bit of confidence when you get an extended run — runs or no runs. Luckily, he scored some runs in the first Test against England,” South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
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“A big part of international cricket is the mental aspect of belonging. Rassie has got a real composure to him and a presence when he bats. He ticks all the right boxes,” the skipper added.
Du Plessis also said that Bavuma knows why he has been dropped and what he needs to do to get his place back.
“Temba is on board. Something we are trying to achieve as a batting unit is to raise our standards a little bit higher, push our performances from a runs point of view. He is on board with the process to try and get guys to score big runs,” du Plessis said.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series against England, a confident South Africa will be up against the visitors in the second contest at the Newlands here from Friday.
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