South Africa thought about retiring Temba Bavuma but Aiden Makram resisted the move: 'We had to make a big call'

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Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, two of South Africa's Test batting mainstays, added a game-altering partnership of 147 runs for the fourth wicket, which brought the team to the doorstep of victory. But did you know that it almost did not happen? You heard it. The South Africa captain was batting on 6 when the team management thought of retiring him hurt. Bavuma, just two overs before Tea, on Day 3 of the World Test Championship, went down with a hamstring injury, one that required long medical intervention on the ground.

Hamstring injuries can be tricky. In the worst-case scenario, if not treated urgently, it can rule a player out for months. With South Africa chasing 283 to win, and Wian Mulder just dismissed, the next partnership could have been make-or-break. At that moment, a decision had to be made, whether to keep Bavuma going or call him back given his hamstring. Thankfully for South Africa, Markram, the century, convinced the coaches to go with the courageous option. The move worked wonders as South Africa beat Australia by five wickets to win the third edition of the World Test Championship and their first ICC men's title in 27 years.

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"We had to make a big call whether he continues to bat and how it will affect his strokeplay, how that might affect Aiden's rhythm. If twos are being turned into one or they can't run the twos or the threes. Both of them were adamant that Temba was going to continue. He wanted to continue," South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince said.

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"Aiden was adamant that the partnership is the key. Obviously, had Stubbs gone in, we would have still had Temba's wicket intact, but you start a new partnership. They were feeling pretty good and they wanted to continue. Aiden was well aware that he'll have to curb his intensity just in terms of running between the wickets to allow Temba to ease his way through it."

If there's one thing you know about Bavuma, it's that he is a fighter, a warrior. Underneath that diminutive physique is some lion-heated bravado. He knew what was at stake. An ICC trophy. One that the South African cricket and the Rainbow Nation have always dreamt of. In front of them, waiting to snatch it away from them are the Aussies, who are famous for sneaking a win out of nowhere. No way was Bavuma going to let this one slip. This was his time. South Africa's time.

"Temba is tough. Aiden has great respect for Temba. In fact, I think this team's greatest strength is the unity that they have in this camp... they are well aware that South Africa have had much greater individual players, but they've got something special going on in that dressing room, and that sort of helps them to drag each other along," added Prince.