Despite a hamstring injury, Temba Bavuma has been persuaded to be part of the World Cup semi-final against Australia in Kolkata next week.
The Proteas’ one-day cricket captain hurt his leg in the South Africans’ last group game against Afghanistan.
“My leg hurts. I don’t know the exact extent of the injury yet, but I should be ready for the semi-final,” he said.
The 33-year-old player suffered the injury early in Afghanistan’s innings and he was not at all his energetic self in the field.
He struggled with his mobility and could not chase a ball at full speed.
Later he also struggled to run between the wickets and he contributed 23 runs to South Africa’s successful run chase.
In his seven World Cup innings, he could only score 193 runs at an average of 20.71 – the worst performance of all the Proteas’ top order batsmen.
The South Africans had already qualified for the semi-final round before the Afghanistan match, but Bavuma wanted to remain part of the action.
“It was an opportunity to spend time in front of the goals and I didn’t want to give it up. Yes, it was a risk to stay on the field, but I did what felt right to me.”
If he does not recover sufficiently from his injury, Reeza Hendricks may have to fill his shoes against Australia.
The 34-year-old player made his mark against England earlier in the tournament with a good innings of 85 runs.
- This is how the Proteas hit their World Cup runs:
- Quinton de Kock: 591 runs in nine innings at an average of 65.66 and a strike rate of 109.24.
- Rassie van der Dussen: 442 runs in nine innings at an average of 55.25 and a strike rate of 88.57.
- Aiden Markram: 396 runs in nine innings at an average of 49.50 and a strike rate of 114.45.
- Reeza Hendricks: 94 runs in two innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 103.19.
- Heinrich Klaasen: 326 runs in nine innings at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 140.51.
- Marco Jansen: 157 runs in seven innings at an average of 39.25 and a strike rate of 111.34.
- David Miller: 255 runs in nine innings at an average of 36.42 and a strike rate of 119.15.
- Keshav Maharaj: 55 runs in five innings at an average of 27.50 and a strike rate of 76.38.
- Temba Bavuma: 193 runs in seven innings at an average of 20.71 and a strike rate of 75.12.
