Champions Trophy: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma "frustrated" after rain washes away Australia clash
Feb 25, 2025
Rawalpindi [Pakistan], February 25 : South Africa captain Temba Bavuma was left "frustrated" after relentless rain in Rawalpindi washed away their Champions Trophy fixture against Australia on Tuesday.
Australia and South Africa's clash was a prospect where fans expected to experience a gripping affair. However, rain played spoilsport, and after a continuous downpour since morning, the match was eventually called off.
"Yeah, it is frustrating - well, we'd have obviously loved to get a game of cricket. Like I said, you would have had two sides who were confident coming into the game. So, I think as a fan, you would want to see who the winner would have been at the end of the day," Bavuma said after the match.
Australia and South Africa have delivered some thrilling fixtures over the past couple of years in the ODIs. In their previous encounter during the ODI World Cup 2023, Australia dug deep and marginally got past the Proteas in the semi-final in a low-scoring affair.
Bavuma and his troops were pumped and looking forward to the opportunity to take on Australia again. He felt that if his side had gotten past the Baggy Greens, it would have given them a big confidence boost for the rest of the tournament.
"Yeah, I think you don't really have to say much, honestly. From a motivation point of view, the minute you mention Australia, that gets the guys jumping. But like I said, we were looking forward to it. I think, obviously, from a confidence point of view, just building on the work that we've done," Bavuma said.
"The previous result that we caught against Afghanistan, which I thought was quite clinical and obviously now against a tough outfit in Australia to get over the line then would have done well for the confidence point of view," he added.
Bavuma ensured that the entire squad, including Henrich Klaasen, was fit. The 33-year-old explosive batter missed South Africa's campaign opener victory against Afghanistan due to a left elbow soft tissue injury.
"Yeah, everyone is good; Henrich Klassen's recovered from the fitness- that obviously adds a lot of value towards our team; spirits are good within the team," he said.
With three points in their kitty, South Africa will bolster their preparations for their final group stage clash against England on Saturday at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
