Bavuma, the first black African batsman to play Test cricket for South Africa, struck 16 fours in a superb exhibition of clean striking as South Africa made 627 for seven before declaring two runs short of England’s first innings total of 629 for six declared.
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Hashim Amla plays a shot during the fourth day of South Africa’s second test against England.
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The innings featured three partnerships of more than 150.
Standing five foot six inches tall, Bavuma is playing his seventh test and his innings will be a major boost for South African cricket as the authorities try to ensure the racial make-up of the team is more reflective of the country’s society.
His selection ahead of JP Duminy smacked of political interference – with the unwritten rule insisting that South Africa include four players “of colour”, one of whom must be a black African – and England clearly expected to dispose of him quickly.
But there was still some alarm for South Africa when three wickets, including those of Amla and Du Plessis, fell to the third new ball soon after lunch.
On the dropped catches, of which Bavuma was one when, on 77, an edge off Broad was grassed by the wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, Farbrace said: “If players were not practising you would be disappointed but I can assure we are”.
“I slept a bit on the balcony for some of those hours and I just tried to keep clam and wait for my opportunity and enjoy the success of the guys out there”, he said.
At 449-6 the home side still trailed by 180 runs but Bavuma, preferred to JP Duminy, steadied South African nerves with a fluent innings, scoring his first fifty runs off 52 balls to regain the momentum. “Stuart Broad was bowling well and I thought to myself if I don’t get a milestone, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be”.
The cheers that greeted the milestone, which came after an entertaining knock of just 141 balls, raised the roof at Newlands.
Bavuma was on the receiving end of some harsh words from England all-rounder Ben Stokes, but he was the first England player to congratulate the batsman when he left the field.
“He [Stokes] is a tough competitor. Afterwards he came up to me to say, well done, so I respect him for that”, said Bavuma of his rival.
“I couldn’t hear everything he was saying but the more he kept speaking, the more it fired me up to knuckle down”. On a pitch offering negligible assistance to bowlers, the errors cost plenty.
England assistant coach Paul Farbrace said: ‘Ben was the first to run after Bavuma when he walked off to shake his hand and tell him how well he had played.
“We’ve missed chances but on the upside we’ve created them”.
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That is simply not good enough from an England side who got away with missed chances to dismiss Amla and AB de Villiers in Durban but this time were made to pay a heavy price for their sloppiness.
