Bavuma set to establish himself

Cape Town - While there are a number of Proteas batsmen under a bit of pressure heading into this week's Boxing Day Test against England, there are also opportunities to be taken. 

And one man with a fantastic chance to establish himself as a regular in the side is Temba Bavuma. 

The 25-year-old played just the one Test match in India, where he was thrown into the deep end at the top of the order in testing conditions in Delhi. He showed good signs in those two knocks, carding scores off 22 and 34 as the Proteas crashed to their third defeat of the series. 

On Boxing Day, he will be moved down to a more familiar position in the middle order. 

This, according to coach Russell Domingo, is a decision that makes sense given the pace and bounce that is expected early on in Durban. 

It also allows Stiaan van Zyl a real opportunity to convince selectors that he possesses the goods to open the innings for the Proteas. 

Bavuma will likely come in at No 7, behind JP Duminy at No 6, and Domingo has been really pleased with what he has seen from the compact Lions man so far.

"I’ve been very happy with Temba’s progress. He’s a very mature young cricketer … he really goes about his business like he’s been playing for a long time," the coach said.

"He’s very calm, very good technically … he will slot back into the middle order for this Test match, which I think is where he’s most suited.

"He’s playing really well at the moment."

Bavuma has played in five Test matches for the Proteas so far, scoring 135 runs at an average of 27.