1st Test: 'It's the start of a new journey', says captain Bavuma as Proteas face West Indies

The Proteas will formally kick off a new era in South African cricket when they face West Indies in the first Test at SuperSport Park here on TuesdayTemba Bavuma will take the reins for the first time as captain with Shukri Conrad heading the hosts as redball coach for the twogame sequence the final assignment for the home side in their 20212023 World Test Championship WTC cycleThe Proteas are fourth in those rankings having been in the top three for most of the competition although they are now officially out of the running to reach the June final Nonetheless they still have plenty to look forward to under the new leadership group and plenty of new faces in a strong squad for the seriesI think its exciting times for all the guys involvedIts the start of a new journey Wed like to start with a clean slate and really go out there playing the way we want to play said Bavuma in the prematch press conference on MondayI think youre going to hear me saying that a lot how we want to go about our business Thats the exciting part Id like to see how it all looks on the field of play We come into the series against the West Indies wanting to win the series and that is what well be aiming to do he addedThe batting ranks have been bolstered by the return of Aiden Markram Keegan Petersen and Ryan Rickelton while Tony de Zorzi is also in the mix after an outstanding domestic season thus farAlso readWomens T20 World Cup final Invincible Australia stand between South Africa and their fairytaleThe bowling too has plenty of fresh options including the recalling of Senuran Muthusamy Wiaan Mulder and the uncapped Gerald CoetzeeLooking at the squad of 15 weve got resources whether we decide to go with a pace attack we have the guys to do that weve got the opportunity as well to go with the spin attack with guys like Kesh Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer Bavuma explainedWe also have the opportunity as well to go maybe with an extra batter at number seven That will still be decided by the coach But I think we have enough resources to back up whatever tactic we decide on he addedSouth Africa fell out of the running due to disappointing batting displays on difficult tours to England and Australia during the past eight months and Bavuma feels his side needs imrovement in that aspectWe know that we need to improve as a batting unit We had two tough series previously against Australia and England in my experience those are always tough tours to play in They are tours that separate the good guys from the really good guys so those matches came with challenges and we didnt meet up to those challenges he saidThat being said the guys are still here They still want to man up We know as a batting team that we need to score the runs to give room to the bowlers to do what they need to do Those conversations have happened with the guys from a personal point of view and we believe weve dealt with it as a teamHopefully here with the West Indies the guys will go out and show what they need to do from a team point of view he addedAssessing the West Indies who have never won a series in South Africa and only once beat the hosts back in 2007 the Proteas skipper feels they will still test the hosts significantlyLooking at the West Indies over the last while they play oldfashioned cricket Batters grind it out and bowlers are looking to hit their areas outside that off stump They have got guys who can stand up to the challenge and they are well led by Kraigg Brathwaite Bavuma saidI think weve prepared as best as we can to play them like we would have done against any other team They have good bowlers who can get the ball through nicely and thats what you need in a country like South Africa So we know we have our work cut out and we look forward to the challenge that awaits he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever