Reigniting the Protea fire: Decoding the secret behind Shukri Conrad and Temba Bavuma's success

Tough times never last, they say. But tough people do. Tough times then create strong individuals, and those strong individuals then create good times. The quote, in isolation, is enlightening and inspiring. Because life, in general, is not sunshine and rainbows. And as a great movie character (read Rocky Balboa) once quipped, it is not about how hard you can hit, but about the hits you can take.

When these situations actually come around, though, it is not as easy. Dejection is difficult to tide over. Despondency becomes a feature, and that sense of delight and delirium is lost between disappointment.

But the thing about time is that it changes, and those who instigate that change occupy a place all to themselves in folklore. And history - cricketing, South African, sporting – will forever remember Temba Bavuma and Shukri Conrad. As those guys who propelled South Africa back to the top. And did it like no one before them has probably done.

To grasp the enormity of their achievement, it is important to note the doldrums South Africa were in during the late 2010s. On the field, they were unable to replicate the performances their predecessors had become synonymous with. The dressing room environment, seemingly, felt broken.

They did not have an enormous talent pool to choose from either because of a Kolpak exodus, which is basically cricketers signing full-time English county deals that then makes them ineligible for international cricket. There were administrative issues to navigate around too.

The right men for the job

But for Bavuma and Conrad, those were not problems. Instead, they were opportunities. Opportunities to show the world and the nation that they were the right people for the job. Particularly pertinent because Bavuma has been fighting against the odds his entire life.

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As a batter, his lack of reach was painted as a disadvantage. But he has more than made up for that with exemplary temperament. As a captain, he was not given a lot of hope either. Especially as he became the first Black African cricket captain for South Africa (on Conrad’s request, it must be added). But he has since blown all of those notions out of the water. He also remains South Africa’s first Black African specialist batter in Test cricket, further indicating Bavuma’s propensity to break new ground.

Conrad, on the other hand, is reported to have had his eyes on a coaching gig since his school days. That may have been scoffed at back then, but his conviction to follow through with it, and persevere despite the obvious challenges confronting him and those around him, has been a trait this South African Test team has certainly picked up.

This captain-coach nexus has also ensured that this South African side is as united as ever. Things, obviously, are much better than they were when Conrad was growing up, but until very recently, South Africa felt like a team boasting the talent to go toe-to-toe with anyone, yet, a team pulling in slightly different directions.

Nothing of that sort anymore. As told by those part of the dressing room. As narrated by those who have watched the Proteas regain the fire that everyone knew they always possessed. Meaning this is now a team the whole of the country can relate to and get behind.

An increased sense of belonging

That increased sense of belonging has meant South Africa now know how to tackle tricky situations, and not baulk at pressure. Because each player knows the person next to him has his back, and that if things do not quite go to plan, they have the backing of a coach and a captain who are willing to build a team through inclusion, diversity, security and pragmatism, and not just on the mundane, old-school tropes of results and processes.

All of this has come through on several occasions in the past couple of years. Different players have stood up in different moments. Whether it be Aiden Markram in the World Test Championship final, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada with the bat in Centurion to get South Africa to said final, Tristan Stubbs prospering when given chances at number three, Tony de Zorzi living up to his billing as one of South Africa’s best batters against spin, or Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer (who only returned from a Kolpak deal recently) having the time of their lives in the subcontinent and specifically, in India.

And while these players, undeniably, deserve credit, the captain and coach’s role cannot be overlooked. In Bavuma and Conrad, who have pretty much been through it all, and have been written off more times than can be remembered – sometimes owing to their perceived ability in their respective fields, sometimes due to reasons beyond the sport – these players have a beacon. Someone they can take inspiration from. Someone they can look up to.

And that is precisely how Bavuma and Conrad have managed to turn things around. Their cricketing acumen is not up for debate. Their respective skill-sets as captain/batter and coach aren’t either. But their mentality, of believing, of overcoming the odds, of having the courage to not just compete on the biggest stage but also control the grandest of occasions, and of having the emotional intelligence to handle long-standing cultural differences, is what has truly set them apart.

Also Read | Bavuma has a ‘heart like a giant’, says South Africa coach Conrad

It may not have come across that way when Conrad, while explaining why South Africa batted as long as they did in Guwahati on day four, referred to a word with historical antagonistic and deplorable connotation . And once the dust has settled, and the adrenaline has evaporated, he might even be the first to admit that he made a mistake.

But it did speak to a certain ruthlessness. The kind where South Africa do not want to hand their opposition a route back, and want to make them toil and toil until their resolve is broken. Because until a while back, that is what other teams did to them. And that, as the cliché goes, is also what champions do. South Africa, under Bavuma and Conrad, are world champions. South Africa, under Bavuma and Conrad, are near-invincible in Test cricket too.

A team the whole nation can be proud of

There will, of course, still be those who say otherwise. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, after all. But just watch South Africa play, watch them devise solutions to each problem thrown at them, and you will soon realise this team is the real deal.

And that this team, of Bavuma and Conrad as protagonists, and of an ensemble cast, each secure in their own roles and each buying and believing into what the main characters profess and preach, is exactly where it should be. At the very perch of the most prized format in the game. As a team the whole nation can be proud of. And as the side that teams, around the globe, will now envy and ultimately aspire to be.

A few years back, that seemed beyond the realms of possibility. But time, as it so often does, did change. Bavuma and Conrad, entering the cauldron during a tough period, lasted long enough to turn them into good times.

Along the way, they did take their hits. But they kept coming back. They kept coming back wanting more. Because deep down, they knew they deserved so much more. That the fans deserved so much more. And that South African cricket deserved so much more.