It seems the game and pressure sometimes get the best of the players. Something similar happened to Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock. Exchanging words, showing disagreement, and, to some fans, it even looked like a clash over authority.
What Happened Between Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock?
South Africa posted 365 and set Australia a steep target to equalise the series. But it was all but done and dusted when Lizaad Williams came to bowl the 48th over. A pinpoint yorker, and Xavier Bartlett had no answer.
The umpire said no. Bavuma went to the bowler, asked his opinion. Without consulting de Kock. The captain signalled a late DRS.
Then, while the third umpire took his time, de Kock and Bavuma engaged in an apparent tense argument.
de Kock could be heard saying, “Temba, have a look.” The captain, in response, said, “Don’t shout, man, f_____ relax. I’m f_____ asking him.”
The conventional wisdom says you go to the wicket-keeper. But Bavuma went to Williams and made his call. Was de Kock justified in showing his anger and disagreement with the captain after being left out of the discussion?
That’s subjective. But the two did have a reported fallout after de Kock pulled out of the game against the West Indies in the 2021 T20 World Cup after he refused to take a knee during the Black Lives Matter protest. A cause very close to Bavuma.
Since then, the reports have suggested an awkward relationship between the two. Is it going to get better or worse? No one knows.
Whether Bavuma was correct or not, whether de Kock was justified or not, is a secondary matter. It could hurt the dressing room.
Not to mention critical moments, where a zealous bowler persuades the captain to take up the review, and it goes to waste.
However, head coach Shukri Conrad didn’t see it that way. “We don’t want boring guys who just stand around,” he said. “Quinny is always going to give his opinion.
“The two of them are best mates. So, there was certainly nothing vindictive in it, and I hope it doesn’t get spun into some larger storyline.”
The Proteas won the game by 32 runs and won the series. Talking about the crowd and the Pink Day, Bavuma said, “I think the guys were talking about the chanting, all the cheers that everyone was getting.”
“Like I said earlier, it’s always a calendar that we look forward to, this game, playing for a good cause. And I think, yeah, we seem to play quite decently with the pink clothing as well,” he added.
Also Read: Part of Our DNA’: Temba Bavuma Defiant for Australia ODIs Despite Injury Crisis