TEMBA ON THE CHARGE The leadership and performance of Temba Bavuma could be one of the reasons the Proteas come away victorious in the World Test Championship final against Australia. Picture: Rodger Bosch / AFP
Image: Rodger Bosch / AFP
Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma is set to feature in the final round robin games of the Cricket South Africa Four-Day competition when the Lions travel to Bloemfontein to play against the relegation-threatened Free State Knights later this week.
Bavuma's return to domestic cricket is certainly a good feat for domestic cricket, however, the Knights will most certainly not share the same sentiments.
Who could blame them, considering the red ball form Bavuma is carrying from the summer of Test cricket?
A quick glance at his numbers, which include two centuries and three fifties in seven innings, would give any bowling attack sleepless nights without the name Bavuma being attached to the numbers.
The Knights are in a desperate situation with the nightmares of the 2022/23 season, when they were relegated for the first time, back to haunt them once again.
Having been penalised one point for a slow over-rate in their match against the Warriors, even if the Knights beat the Lions this week, an unlikely result considering the form of the Lions, they still could find themselves in Division Two next season.
They need to finish at least fourth in the Four-Day standings to avoid relegation.
They would almost certainly need to beat the Lions to have a chance of this, but even if they do, if two of the Titans, Dolphins, Western Province and Boland win their games, the Knights will not be able to finish fourth.
However, they could finish ahead of any of these teams with a win with substantial bonus points and losses or low bonus point draws by the other teams.
In Gqeberha, the Warriors are in a slightly better position, relative to the Knights. However, it is still a possibility that if the Knights finish fourth or higher in the standings, the Warriors are most likely to be relegated.
Equally, the Warriors have a tough opposition this week as they take on the in-form Dolphins at St George's Park.
While the Warriors enjoyed a break last week, the Dolphins were proving to the Lions that they are just as good away from home as they are at home at Kingsmead Stadium.
They walked away with a draw from the Wanderers last week and had a number of their players, including opening batter Tshepang Dithole who scored 157 in the first innings, put on impressive performances.
The Warriors will need a win with substantial bonus points and a loss by North West Dragons with a few bonus points to go ahead of the Dragons on the Four-Day Series log and keep their Division One status.
Should this happen, coach Robin Peterson's troops and the Dragons will finish on eight promotion/relegation points, and the Warriors will be placed higher due to a better position in the Four-Day Series.
This week, the Dragons will host Western Province in Potchefstroom. While Province beat second-placed Titans at SuperSport Park in Centurion two weeks ago, they were humbled by Boland at Newlands last week.
Even after scoring a mammoth 592 in the first innings at home, Boland proved that Province are just a normal team, forcing them to bat again as the match eventually resulted in a draw.
In the unlikely event that Province finishes seventh in the Four-Day Series log, they, too, could be relegated.
At Centurion, the Titans push for a possible home final as they are set to host Boland.
All fixtures are scheduled to get underway on Thursday, 03 April 2025.