‘We speak about being relentless’ - South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma on his side's loss in series opener against Australia

Temba Bavuma, South Africa captain, expressed his disappointment after his side’s three-wicket loss against Australia in the first ODI of the five-game series, in Bloemfontein, on Thursday, September 7. The hosts were on the track in the second innings, before concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne and tailender Ashton Agar stitched a century partnership for the eighth wicket to help Australia chase down the 223-run target. 

Bavuma, who scored an unbeaten 114 runs, reckoned that he had expected his side to most likely outplay Australia in the opening game. The 33-year-old also urged the Proateas to be ‘relentless’ ahead of the much-awaited ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, which is scheduled to begin on October 5.

"If you get a team in that position, you expect yourself to be able to clean out the game. 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,” Bavuma was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Bavuma was not overly dismissive of his team and believes that the players will make improvements in the forthcoming matches of the home series.

"We will get better. These are world-class players we have in the team. We don't expect them to keep making the same mistakes,” he added.

I would have encouraged the bowlers to use their bouncer a bit more

Meanwhile, when asked about what possibly went wrong in the opening game of the series, the Proteas captain stated his side failed to create ample chances when it mattered the most. Moreover, the South African skipper was also of the opinion that his bowlers underutilized the bouncers to rattle the Australian batters.

"It was just our inability to create chances in that innings. I would have encouraged the bowlers to use their bouncer a bit more. The first ten overs weren't great. We managed to get wickets, but at what cost? That's just a mis-execution thing. If you look at our first ten overs versus theirs first ten overs, it was chalk and cheese," Bavuma further continued.

Australia have already defeated South Africa four times in consecutive matches, but Temba Bavuma seems unfazed about what that signifies as they will push themselves to improve.

"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,” he concluded.