Ashwell Prince says Temba Bavuma scores the “difficult runs” more consistently than any other current Proteas Test batsman.
Bavuma has made just one century in 51 Tests since making his debut in 2014, against England at Newlands in 2016. Of his 19 fifties, two have been in the nineties, including 93 against Bangladesh in Durban earlier this year.
Over the past two years, Bavuma has scored 767 runs in 11 Tests, at an average of 47.93, including six fifties.
“Scoring hundreds is indeed important and if he does score another one, I don’t think it’ll make everything fine,” Prince told News24 ahead of the first Test between Australia and the Proteas in Brisbane on Saturday.
“The questions of how long before the third and the fourth one comes will be there and it becomes an issue of consistency.
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“It’s very tricky, but on the other hand, I don’t see the big deal with him not getting hundreds because the hardest runs to score in any cricket game are your first 10 to 30 runs,” the former Proteas batsman explained.
“You’ve got a lot of adapting to do, your feet aren’t moving and you’re prone to mistakes. The period where he’s getting out, between 50 and 90, those are the easiest runs to score.
“Temba, at the moment, scores the most difficult runs more consistently than any other batter in the team.
“Those first 30 to 40 runs are hard because the longer you stay at the crease, the harder it is to be dismissed.
“However, it is a tough one for me to explain why he gets out between 50 and 90.”
