South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma has expressed disappointment over the limited number of Test matches his team plays, admitting that watching the Ashes stirred feelings of envy as he hoped for longer series, particularly against top cricketing nations like India.
South Africa are currently engaged in a two-match Test series against India.
Bavuma, fresh from leading South Africa to a World Test Championship title earlier this year, highlighted that the shorter series format fails to reflect the competitive strength of his team or their opponents. Speaking ahead of the second Test, he pointed out that while Australia and England are locked in a five-Test Ashes series, the Proteas are confined to just two matches against India.
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“We woke up this morning to watch the Ashes. We watched with a bit of jealousy, knowing that they were playing five Tests. They’ll be going at each other,” Bavuma said during the pre-match press conference, showing his disapproval of the short series for a champion team.
He also expressed hope that this would change soon, especially regarding contests against India. “Hopefully, not too far in the future, but more in the near future, we’ll go back to play four tests against India.”
Bavuma Further Explains
Bavuma further explained that players have minimal influence over scheduling, as Test tour structures are often driven by commercial interests. This explains why iconic series like the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy feature five matches due to their high commercial value, whereas series involving South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, or Bangladesh are usually limited to two Tests.
“Players are not involved when it comes to mapping out the schedule. I think every of our players who have had the opportunity to interact with the media, have had that question in front of them. They have voiced out their frustration,” Bavuma added.
Despite these challenges, Bavuma remains focused on performing strongly on the field to draw more high-profile opponents and longer series for South Africa.
“Like I’ve already said, as players, all we can do is what we’ve been trying to do out on the field, keep playing good cricket. That will attract the top nations and other nations to play a lot more cricket,” he said.
Meanwhile, South Africa are on the verge of a historic achievement in India. Having taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series with a 30-run win in Kolkata, Bavuma’s side now have a golden opportunity to claim only their second Test series victory in India, the first coming in 2000 under Hansie Cronje’s captaincy.
