For years, my colleagues up on the Highveld have been boasting that Joburg is where it's at.
Being a true-blue Capetonian who lives off the fresh breeze of the ocean, I’ve always put up strong resistance. It’s not that I haven’t spent time up in the Big Smoke before, but this past week has had me hustling from West, East, South and North of this vast metropolis.
Each day, there’s been a sporting event/launch/match that requires my attention. From Jonty Rhodes’ birthday celebrations with Mahindra to MTN8 and Betway Premiership season-opening affairs to the grand Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards, this Jozi town is certainly a sports journalist’s Mecca.
The CSA Awards were certainly top of the list. While media are no longer flown up and lodged on the CSA account as in previous years, it was an event I simply could not miss.
After attending the “Oscars” of South African cricket for the best part of 15 years, there was something to finally truly celebrate: the Proteas’ Men’s team breaking a 27-year curse when Temba Bavuma and his team defeated Australia to win the ICC World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
Much to my disappointment, I only discovered at a later stage that the WTC final fell outside of the adjudicators’ calendar year that ran from May 1, 202,4, until April 30, 2025. But that had nothing on the vexation that filled through my entire body when Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma was overlooked as the SA Men’s Cricketer of the Year.
A night that had ironically started gloriously with Bavuma walking out with the golden Test mace to the standing ovation of everyone inside the Emperors Palace banquet hall, to one that was stunned into silence when Keshav Maharaj was awarded the biggest prize in South African cricket.
Don’t get me wrong. Maharaj is a fantastic, hard-working cricketer who deserves every ounce of his success after another splendid year. The left-arm spinner claimed 40 Test wickets and was the Proteas’ second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 format.
But unfortunately, Maharaj claiming the prize does not move the needle one inch. It's a travesty that CSA missed out on a golden opportunity to make a significant statement.
Bavuma enjoyed a magical Test year with the bat, scoring 609 runs at an average of 60.90, which included two centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, en route to the Proteas’ march to the WTC Final. Equally, Bavuma’s leadership skills have been immense with the Proteas, boasting a 100% series record under his guidance.
And those questioning his performances across formats, Bavuma scored three ODI half-centuries at the ICC Champions Trophy, leading his team to the semi-final.
The Test Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year awards that Bavuma won on the night were only further justification that he was deserving of the main prize.
CSA has continually adjusted its guidelines, investing millions in attempts to transform the game, though often at the cost of clarity and common sense. On this night, they had the opportunity to honour the first Black African national captain, igniting hope for the next generation of cricketers, yet they chose to look past this historic moment.
It’s frustrating to speak of Bavuma in these terms; he is undoubtedly a finely skilled international cricketer whose success at the awards should reflect merit. Instead, the night ended as a bittersweet reminder of what might have been.
