“I think for us as a country, you know, here’s an opportunity for us to – as divided as we are at times – to forget all of that, rejoice in this moment, and just be one. You know, I’m sure the people back home will be celebrating it with us, and you can trust that we’ll be celebrating it, Temba Bavuma said after leading South Africa to the pinnacle of Test cricket on Saturday, June 14.

Lord’s Cricket Ground was thick with emotion—triumphant chants echoing off its historic stands-as South Africa were crowned World Test Champions.

Sport, like life, often has a poetic rhythm. It rewards the right act at just the right time. And on Saturday, when South Africa clinched its first-ever major ICC trophy under the leadership of its first Black African captain, Temba Bavuma, it felt fitting in more ways than one.

For a nation long scarred by racial division, its maiden title in a traditionally Anglicised sport came under the stewardship of one of its most powerful symbols of transformation.

The parallels with Siya Kolisi-captain of South Africa’s dominant rugby side-are unmistakable. Yet Bavuma’s journey is singular, and no less stirring.

On Sunday, South Africa lifted the World Test Championship title, defeating Australia at Lord’s. Aiden Markram produced a sublime century, while Bavuma contributed a gritty 66 as the Proteas chased down 282-the joint second-highest successful fourth-innings chase at the historic London venue. As Kyle Verreynne struck the winning runs, millions across the country erupted in celebration.

Trailing by 74 after the first innings, despite a Kagiso Rabada special, South Africa appeared out of the contest. But inspired spells from Rabada and Lungi Ngidi in the second innings turned the tide, before Markram and Bavuma stitched together a partnership for the ages.

The ghosts of the rain-ruined 1992 semi-final, the haunted faces of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn in 2015. At last, they can be laid to rest. South Africa shed the long-standing ‘C’ tag, outclassing serial winners Australia when it mattered most.

LANGA’S SACHIN TENDULKAR

At the heart of this redemption stood Bavuma, adding yet another stirring chapter to his already remarkable story.

South Africa’s triumph at Lord’s resonates on multiple levels. It is a tribute to the greats undone by the near-misses of the past. More than that, it represents a step forward in their ongoing struggle for recognition-and relevance-in a Test landscape often dominated by the ‘Big Three’ and their luminous spotlight.

Temba Bavuma, the man in the spotlight, has had to shoulder expectations like few others.

When he started out, he idolised Sachin Tendulkar. In fact, in his township, some of his friends nicknamed him Langa’s Sachin Tendulkar. He believes it was likely due to his height-his “short stature.”

As he climbed the ladder, earning a place in one of Cape Town’s elite schools and eventually becoming one of the few Black African batters to represent South Africa, his admiration for Tendulkar took on deeper meaning. He still marvelled at Tendulkar’s elegance against the world’s best, but what truly fascinated him was the Indian great’s ability to carry the weight of a billion expectations every time he walked out to bat.

“Yeah, I think it was more just-I mean, I enjoyed his technique, how he went about his batting. Also, where I was from in Langa, affectionately, the guys would call me that. Probably because of the stature-so I always kind of grew up with that. My uncles were always pushing me to try to model my game around him. They played cricket at the time that they could, so that’s why it kind of came about,” Bavuma told the Test Match Special podcast earlier in June.

“Obviously, the more you get into the game, the more you appreciate the player-for his ability to perform the way he did, how he went about his business. If I were to meet him again, now being a lot older, there are questions I would like to understand-how he was able to still continue on with his game irrespective of the expectation that he carried, which was of a different nature,” he said.

Since South Africa’s readmission to cricket in 1991 after apartheid, the country has produced several Black African bowling greats. Yet only a handful of batters have truly broken through at the highest level.

SA vs AUS, WTC Final: Highlights

When South Africa returned to the international fold, its team remained overwhelmingly white. In 1998, a quota system was introduced, requiring at least four players of colour-including Black Africans, Coloureds and Asians-in each playing XI. Though scrapped in 2007, transformation targets were later introduced in 2016, mandating 25% Black African representation in squads, later rising to 33%, with a requirement of six players of colour in national teams.

Despite these initiatives, Black African players were often unfairly branded as “quota players,” with their abilities questioned. Makhaya Ntini, South Africa’s first Black African Test cricketer, criticised the system for devaluing achievements. Others, like Ashwell Prince and Ethy Mbhalati, recounted feelings of isolation and humiliation.

In 2020-21, Cricket South Africa launched the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings, which exposed systemic racism in the team environment. The resulting report highlighted entrenched discrimination and pushed CSA to commit to structural reform and improved support mechanisms.

Bavuma is one of the many who lived the struggle.

BAVUMA BATTLES AGAINST BARRIERS

Failure in professional sport is difficult. The knives come out. Questions are asked. Doubt creeps in, even among the very best. For Bavuma, the scrutiny has often been more than just professional. His place in the side was questioned-not on form alone, but on merit. The insinuation? That he was there as a “quota player.” Racism dressed as cricketing critique.

“You know, as players-when things are not good, when you have these scores and you’re not taking wickets-you face the type of criticism where you are labelled as a quota player, which obviously has a negative connotation to it. And, look, I guess when I scored that hundred (maiden hundred), I don’t think it really dispelled it, you know? Because I think as players, we all go through runs of poor form-that’s just how the game is. That’s just how being a batter is-you fail more than you succeed.”

Bavuma prevailed. When he scored the first century by a Black African batter in 2016-ending a 126-year wait-he and those closest to him hoped the noise might die down. It didn’t. It took another six years for him to hit his next century. Coincidentally, it was also only the second century by a Black African batter.

What drove him was the realisation-of what it meant. Of the impact he could have. Of the power his story could hold for the marginalised majority.

“I think my first emotion, to be honest, was the fact that I had just scored my first hundred as an international cricketer. I think that’s always something that kind of hangs over you as a young cricketer trying to make your mark at any level. So a lot of my emotions were around that-the fact that my family was there: my parents, my sister, my brothers, my late cousin-they were there.

“Every day that they were present, I think that’s one thing that I noticed while I was batting. Most of those kids-some of those kids-they came from Langa. I could hear them chanting my name, and I guess the way they were saying it, I could tell that they were from Langa.

“I think that was almost like a realisation for me that, you know, one day I was also one of those kids-taken from the classroom in Langa, going to Newlands Stadium, waiting for lunch or tea to run onto the field and dream of being out there.

“So I think that was one of the realisations. And then obviously, around the significance of it all-which I finally understood after the occasion-the significance, considering our history, all the effort, sacrifices, our struggles that people went through so that I could have that opportunity,” he said.

Bavuma learned not just to live with the chatter. He rose above it. He showed what consistent opportunities and timely backing can do for talents from his part of the country. He earned the captaincy after a sensational run in the post-Covid era and became one of the most dependable batters in a South African Test side navigating a period of transition and uncertainty.

Since 2021, Bavuma has averaged 49.77. With 711 runs, he was South Africa’s highest run-scorer in their most successful World Test Championship cycle.

On Saturday, he also extended his perfect record as captain: nine wins, including the big one, in 10 Tests.

On Sunday, Bavuma and his team won it for their country, for their communities, and for the belief in a better future. It was also about whispering to the world, and shouting to themselves: this cap still matters in an era dominated by franchise-based T20 leagues.

Bavuma didn’t punch the air in triumph. While his teammates raced onto the field after the winning runs were struck, he was seated at the Lord’s balcony, letting it all sink in. The weight of centuries. The wait of 27 years. All of it, finally lifted.

“(I want) to be recognised as more than just a black African cricketer, and to be seen as someone who has done something the country has wanted. I will walk around with my chest out and hope it continues to inspire our country,” he said.

Bavuma’s boys have given South Africa a moment to believe in. A reason to come together. And perhaps, a new way forward.