South Africa v England: Temba Bavuma thanks interim coach for mental validation

South Africa's white-ball captain Temba Bavuma has heaped praise on interim one-day coach Shukri Conrad for validating his "vulnerability" ahead of his century that helped secure the series win against England on Saturday.

The 32-year-old scored 109 off 102 balls to set the Proteas on their way to a five-wicket victory against the world champions, and Bavuma says credit has to go to Conrad, who was named Test coach alongside incoming one-day coach Rob Walter in January.

Bavuma said the two had had a critical conversation before the game.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster the last couple of months, and for me it was just being vulnerable to the coach and telling him where I see myself and how I feel about everything," he said.

"It helps that I've worked with Shukri before (in South Africa's national academy) and he helped me cut through all the nonsense that was happening in my head and make sure mentally that I was there for the game and the series."

The current three match one day series with England, which concludes on Wednesday, comes after South Africa suffered a crushing series defeat in Australia, losing the first Test inside two days, and that following November's T20 World Cup exit at the hands of the Netherlands.

Bavuma has had criticism levelled at him for his performances in both and was not selected by any of the six teams for his country's inaugural franchise competition the SA20, which is presently in a break while the series with England is played.

"It has been a crazy last couple of months and emotionally it can be draining - it can be taxing. As much as you try to block out everything that's out there it does find its way to get to you," Bavuma continued.

"The biggest one is when it affects people around you, with the family thats probably the biggest where it is quite tough.

"(Conrad) never really said much it was just him giving me an ear and hearing me out. It was more about validating the feelings that I had but then the biggest thing is getting your mind into the right state to play the game.

"So Shukri is not a therapist or anything like that but what I enjoyed with the conversation was the honesty and the clarity that he gave me in the chat.

"The conversations that I've had with Shukri and Rob (Walter) have been along the same lines. They speak the same language. I guess with Shukri maybe because I've worked with him I know him a bit more.

"I allowed myself to be vulnerable around him."

'Everyone wants a piece'

Bavuma became the first black man to score a hundred for South Africa when he helped secure a draw against England in 2016 but it remains the only time he's reached three figures in his 93 appearances for his country in the longest format.

Meantime, Saturday's century was his first in any international format since he scored 110 in the first one-day international against India more than a year ago. The Cape Town born right hander admits the strain has been huge but believes it's something that many people will be able to empathise with.

"As much as not all of us are athletes, not all of us play at international level, we all go through periods of ups and downs whether it's in your career or your family life. So I don't think its really too different its just with us its within the eyes of everyone and everyone wants to have a piece of you.

"With me its just trying to deal with it as much as you can, trying to be not as emotional as you can. It's probably a hard thing but really trying to see things as plainly as they are.

"Blocking out the noise is something you have got to do but its quite impossible especially for me in this situation being captain and a leader within the team. But I'm sure other people have gone through what I've gone through, they are going through what I'm going through.

"The biggest things is find a way to keep going forward don't give up and just find a way to keep going forward."

Self reflection reset

Although missing out on a lucrative deal in the SA20, South Africa's white-ball captain believes the break from playing may have been what he needed to revitalise himself on the field both as a leader and as a player in registering the match-winning innings, which was emphatically celebrated when he reached his century.

"It was quite emotional getting to that moment. The celebration wasn't planned per se but it was a reminder to myself and everyone else that I am still here and I still deserve to be where I am. It's (the celebration) not something I planned, probably just happened subconsciously, but it was just a reminder to everyone out there.

"It's up there with one of my better ones, as captain you want to be the guy who leads from the front and really inspires the other guys through their performances, so that was probably one of my best.

"I think being out of action for the last two weeks, being at home, being away from the game, has also helped me as well from a mental point of view. Being as fresh as I can - physically probably not in the best shape - but mentally I felt that I've been good.

"People always talk about self reflection and those things. I went through that process and have come in a bit more open towards the team and how we'd like to go about it.

"The last couple of months have been quite crazy so sometimes you plan for certain things that don't happen but from now its try to give my all to the team to everything out there and whatever happens happens really.

"We've definitely made it clear to ourselves that our focus is going to be on the 'how' or on the process and not so much on the outcome. The outcome is obviously important but how we are going to judge ourselves is how we go about our business.

"I know within the 50-over (format) we haven't done well consistently but performances like these will go a long way to give us that confidence and for us to believe that we can be amongst the best in the world."

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

Photo: BBC Sport