First Black African Batter In South Africa Test Squad! When Temba Bavuma Made History

Temba Bavuma celebrating a Test century [Source: Screengrab/@willow/YouTube]Temba Bavuma celebrating a Test century [Source: Screengrab/@willow/YouTube]

Temba Bavuma is among the rare breed of cricketers to have worn a Test cap for South Africa in recent memory. In an age of T20 exuberance and hard-hitting flamboyance, Bavuma’s penchant for keeping things simple has fetched him match-winning centuries as well as national captaincy.

It all began back in 2014, when at the age of 24, he was called in for a spot in South Africa’s Test XI during a home series against West Indies. While the cricketer did not have the best of outings at Gqeberha during the Boxing Day affair, Bavuma’s stature as a batting mastermind has only grown as the years progressed.

Here, we take a look back at the time when the Western Cape-born made his Test debut for South Africa, his path towards earning that maiden Test cap as well as the cultural significance behind it.

Significance of Temba Bavuma Test debut

Back in December 2014, Temba Bavuma became the first black African specialist batsman to be picked in South Africa’s Test line-up. Moreover, he also became the first black cricketer to score a Test century for South Africa roughly a year after his debut, doing so against England by crafting a swift and unbeaten 102 in Cape Town, all while going up against the likes of Test bowling greats James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Bavuma was awarded his maiden Test cap for the Boxing Day match against West Indies in December 2014 on the basis of his prolific first-class record for Gauteng. On his maiden international outing with the bat, the right-hander managed to withstand just 35 deliveries to score 10 runs before getting a brute of a delivery from West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel at St George’s Park.

In early 2023, he succeeded an aging Dean Elgar to become South Africa’s Test captain. Needless to say, once again, he became the first Black African cricketer to lead the Proteas.

Temba Bavuma stats in Tests

To date, Temba Bavuma has turned up for South Africa in 60 Tests. Tallying over 3,000 runs in the process, he has maintained an average of 35.25.