Lunch report: South Africa edge the morning session as Bavuma falls
Controversy, a confused review and the overuse of the word "intent"
ICC World Test Championship Final. Lord’s, London. Day Two: Thursday, June 12.
First innings: Australia: 212/10 (56.4 overs): Smith 66, Webster 72
South Africa: 121/5 (49 overs): Bavuma 36, Bedingham 39*, Verreynne 11*
South Africa trail by 91 runs
South Africa won the toss and chose to field
The sun and the clouds, like the flow of match, came and went on the morning of the second day of the ICC World Test Championship final. It was overcast before play started, then sunny when South Africa took the crease, then overcast when Temba Bavuma lost his wicket. At lunch there was talk of a short spell of rain hitting Lord’s after the break.
This final has had a little bit of everything and in the last over before lunch it had a little of controversy. David Bedingham got an inside edge into his pads off Beau Webster, where it lodged inside the flap. As Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey sprinted up to get the ball, Bedingham grabbed it and dropped it on the ground.
The Australians turned to the umpires. Was that not out with Bedingham having handled the ball, or, as it is now part of the obstructing the field law? Usman Khawaja was the most vocal, Carey, who had received death threats after his controversial run-out of Jonny Bairstow at Lords in 2023, took off his helmet, smiled, shook his head and walked away. He wasn’t getting involved this one. The umpires Richard Illingworth and Chris Gaffaney consulted and decided the ball was dead as it was stuck in the batter’s equipment, the correct decision.
To rub it in, Bedingham hit two fours from the last three balls of session. It was, considering that they had started on 43 for three, South Africa’s session, with Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne finding a rhythm. South Africa scored 78 runs in the session and lost just one wicket. One more little stat about that controversy, Australia won that 2023 Ashes match at Lord’s by 43 runs, South Africa’s overnight score. Perhaps it is a sign for the Proteas.
Before this final, Bavuma said: “For the team, for myself, for the coach, for the country, that is something we really want. Maybe there is desperation around it. We don’t need to skirt around that. But it’s from a healthy point of view. It’s not do or die.”
Except that the first session of the second day felt like it was do or die for South Africa and Bavuma looked in the mood to do a lot more with the bat than he did late on Wednesday. Andrew Miller of ESPNcricinfo described South Africa’s batting “as a trial by paralysis”, likening it to England against Australia in 2021/22. South Africa faced 132 balls on Wednesday evening and a telling stat was that almost half of their 43 runs were notched up from a mere five scoring shots. South Africa didn’t throw a feint never mind a punch of any, wait for it, intent.
If “slope” was the most over-used word on commentary on Wednesday, “intent” was Thursday’s word of the day. Miller felt there was “a certain dignity in South Africa's strokeless defiance, most particularly from the captain Bavuma, who will resume on three not out from 37 balls on Thursday morning with another vast burden to shoulder”.
Bavuma played with intent resolve in the first hour even as he and David Bedingham were beaten by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood respectively. An aggressive lofted cover drive by Bavuma for four off Starc in the third over of the morning brought a roar from the packed stands. The 50 came up with a single one ball later. Cue nervous applause from the packed stands. Another lofted square drive for four followed off the second-last ball of the over.
Bedingham had looked nervous, but found his timing to send a Starc in-swinger to the boundary as he and his captain clocked up runs. Then came Bavuma’s moment of luck as he was given leg before off Hazlewood, walked down the pitch and looked at Bedingham in confusion. With four seconds left on the DRS clock, he reviewed. To the naked eye there looked to be the smallest of gaps between bat and ball, but snicko showed a spike, there was the thinnest of inside edges and the captain lived on, but not for long.
Two more fours, both through the covers, a pulled six, the first of the Test, off Pat Cummins followed, but a barren, frustrating spell against Lyon enticed him to show a little too much intent and was well caught by Marnus Labuschagne off an attempted lofted cover drive that he looked to check too late. Cummins celebrated. Bavuma stood at the crease and practiced the shot, then walked off to think again.
On the first commentary sting of the morning, the chat moved from intent for a minute or two and on to how players over-think things. Kevin Pietersen sniggered to Graeme Smith that the great Jacques Kallis was not one of cricket’s great overthinkers.
“The man could stare at a wall for four hours,” laughed Smith. “He had a great ability to keep the main thing the main thing. To keep things simple. Batters fail more than they succeed.”
They do indeed. Bavuma should, perhaps, have blended his intent with some of the certain dignity of his strokeless defiance on Wednesday. Cricket finals – they are do or die. They need intent.
TEAMSAustralia: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey +, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne +, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
