At Wanderers — Temba Bavuma’s tentative form will provide a serious headache for the Proteas selectors when the current series against Sri Lanka comes to an end.

After five innings of this series against Sri Lanka‚ Bavuma has only managed 21 runs‚ and this includes two consecutive ducks‚ and his position in the team will be threatened by the possible return of batting superstar AB de Villiers.

Bavuma has the second innings of this third and final Test to get back into form and silence the critics‚ and there will be no better place for him to do that than at his home ground.

 De Villiers‚ who has been out of action since August due to an elbow injury‚ is expected to play an amateur limited overs match for Northerns on January 22 to prove his fitness.

It is believed that if he comes through that amateur match without any discomfort‚ he will be considered for the third and final T20 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on January 25‚ which will also pave the way for him playing in the subsequent five match ODI series.

If De Villiers proves his fitness‚ it will be up to the selectors‚ coach Russell Domingo and captain Faf du Plessis to decide how they are going to accommodate him in the Test side that is to tour New Zealand in March.

Reacting to this situation‚ former Proteas player Robin Peterson said Bavuma has proved himself to be a quality player by scoring important runs for South Africa in the past and he must be backed during these difficult times.

“Temba (Bavuma) is a quality player and we have seen the important runs he has scored for South Africa in the past. You have to back him‚ you can’t just chuck a player away after a few tough innings.

 “Let’s not forget the 74 he scored in the second Test against Australia in Hobart that helped South Africa to win the series‚ and the 50 plus he scored in Perth.

 “Those were knocks under pressure which proved his quality under testing conditions. Let’s not forget them because they were worth a lot‚” he said.

“He has the ability but he is a little bit under pressure at the moment to get something on the board — that is the nature of Test cricket.

 “It happens from time to time but he is a hard worker and he will overcome this slump soon. Maybe he needs to get away a little bit and come back refreshed because he has played a lot of cricket recently.”

Peterson said Hashim Amla managed to turn his lean spell around with a century on his 100th Test on Thursday and he believes that Bavuma is also not far from returning to form with a big score.

“We have seen with Hash (Amla) that you are always one innings away from a big score.

 “I believe the conditions here at Wanderers were extremely tough for batting. He was a little bit unlucky in the other innings where he ran himself out and got given out in Port Elizabeth when he wasn’t out.

 “There is nothing wrong with his technique or the way he is playing.”

Peterson there is a lot of time before the New Zealand series in March comes around but it is a case for the selectors to deal with if De Villiers is available by then. — TMG Digital