Samuel Braithwaite | WI should follow Bavuma’s footsteps

“When I was growing up I had to look at the West Indies and Brian Lara for a hero to idolise. Today, young kids have more faces they recognise on TV. We’re showing that black people can bat and we’re not just meant to bowl.”

Temba Bavuma (Cricinfo Cricket Monthly, 2018)

On June 14, South Africa, the underdog, beat the number-one ranked Test team in the world (Australia) to win the ICC Test Championship.

Many did not believe South Africa deserved a place in that final at Lord’s much more to win the game. At the centre of that victory was Bavuma, captain of the Proteas. He got early inspiration from the West Indies cricket team, it is now the turn of the West Indies to take some inspiration from the Proteas.

The first Test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England at the MCG, 121 years before Makhaya Ntini took the red ball against Sri Lanka at Cape Town in 1998. The year 2028 will mark the 30th anniversary of Ntini’s entry into Test Cricket, it will also mark 100 years since the West Indies played its first Test match – a match against England at Lord’s.

Bavuma is the first black captain of South African cricket, and Ntini, the first black South African to play Test cricket. In the long history of cricket, class and race have been ever present and the divide between batters and bowlers a stark reminder of the game’s sordid underbelly. Gentlemen batted. Massa batted. Massa’s sons batted. The massa’s bowled. The labourers bowled. The enslaved bowled. In his book A History of West Indies Cricket Michael Manley wrote, “the young sons of the slaves were required to bowl at the young sons of the slave-owners, or to the army officers doing garrison duty, to provide batting practice.”

PREPARATION AND SUPPORT

To become a world class batter requires much preparation and support. Cricket gear, proper pitches and patient coaching are a must. None of these were available to Shamar Joseph and Ntini. Both men grew up in villages far removed from the lights of cricket stadia. Their days filled with arduous work, preparation for bowling marathon spells later in life. Both men would not have ventured into the world of Test cricket if it were not for the keen eye and kindness of cricket loving and knowledgeable strangers. Both men started playing organized cricket at the ripe old age of 15.

In their 2022 book, Crickonomics, Stefan Szymanski and Tim Wigmore noted, “[i]t is harder to identify fast-bowling talent at an early age than batting talent, because height and physique are crucial for bowlers and children physically mature at different rates.” They argued further that, “[t]he evidence suggests that a privileged education confers a greater advantage on batters than on bowlers.”

Brian Lara and Bavuma attended ‘elite’ high schools which provided critical coaching, equipment, infrastructure and opportunities to play organised cricket. Lara’s development started quite early in a village where cricket was as common as the fruit trees which dotted the land. Lara’s family, especially his dad, ensured that he was fully immersed in cricket from a very early age. Bavuma’s family, too, ensured that he played cricket as a child. His uncles played the game and were strong influences on a young Bavuma.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s experiences did not mirror the ‘elite’ schooling of Lara and Bavuma, but the unity of the villagers who helped raised him by bowling thousands of balls at him (no bowling machine, no problem) and more importantly the experience and persistence of his father, birthed a West Indian general, a West Indian batting legend.

South Africa’s victory at Lord’s, Bavuma’s victory at Lord’s, is a victory to be celebrated by all West Indians, especially on the eve of the Test series against the Australians, 30 years after we lost, and have yet to regain, the Frank Worrell Trophy. This is a celebration of diversity. It is a celebration of inclusivity.

CELEBRATION

It is a celebration of Test cricket. A game filled with stories of bravery, of grit, of determination. Innings like Lara’s 153 at Kensington against Australia in 1999. We all know exactly where we were, and who we were with, in those tense moments. Ambrose coming in at number 10, faced 39 balls but lost his wicket with six runs left for a victory. Walsh, under pressure, but with comedic flair, survived five balls, and with a comforting shoulder and word of advice, supported Lara as he drove the ball through the covers and scored the winning runs. Yes, Lara was dropped during his match winning innings but drops happen all the time in cricket. Steve Waugh was famously dropped on 42 at Sabina Park four years earlier, went on to make 200 and took from us the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Like captain Lara did at the cathedral of West Indies cricket (Kensington Oval) 26 years ago, captain Bavuma, at Lord’s, the cathedral of cricket, ignored the pain in his hamstring and led his team to victory. Test cricket is alive and well in 2025 and our current West Indian cricketers must recognize this. They must understand the moment. They must come out from the shadows of the old generals and let runs flow like water. They must understand the collective pain of these islands when in 1995 we relinquished the Frank Worrell Trophy.

This is our moment to beat the odds. To silence the naysayers. We must start the fight at Kensington, in the land of Malcolm Marshall, and with the spirit of Maurice Bishop continue the revolution in St George’s.

Then in the dark of night, with the beat of the djembe and tassa drums, in the second island home of Frank Worrell, we must finish the job at Sabina. Lara and Bavuma have shown us the blueprint, WI (we) only need follow.

Dr Samuel Braithwaite is a lecturer in the Department of Economics, at The University of The West Indies, Mona. Send feedback to braithwaite.samuel@gmail.com.