Markram, Smith, De Villiers and Duminy all with memorable knocks

It’s entirely reasonable that Temba Bavuma doesn’t know where to rank his nine-hour, seven-minute epic at St George’s Park.

“I haven’t had time to kind of let it all sink in,” he said on Tuesday evening. He was in the middle of a Test after all, one he correctly feels his side can still win.

But it is the fact that he believes that which makes his career-best 179 so special, and worthy of ranking among the best Test innings by a South African player.

But where exactly?

It is worth recalling the circumstances surrounding Bavuma’s knock. The Proteas are 1-0 down in this, the first of three series on home soil this summer. The defence of their World Test Championship crown was significantly damaged by that 214-run loss against Australia in Durban, where Bavuma himself didn’t contribute with the bat, and was among the South African batters who gave their wickets away too easily.

The second Test saw South Africa in trouble at various stages; 20/2 in a short 12-overs session in the drizzle on day one when Bavuma had to survive a hat-trick ball from Scott Boland, then 40/2 midway through a tricky 30-over session on a truncated day two and then 110/6 half-an-hour after the start of the third day.

The mental fortitude required to survive, the patience needed to build partnerships and then the management of those partnerships for seventh and eighth wickets, allied to his technical skill, allowed Bavuma to dig South Africa out of those various trouble spots and push ahead to put his side in the ascendancy.

If the Proteas are able to win, Bavuma’s innings will certainly climb the ladder as one of the country’s very best.

Aiden Markram’s 136 in the fourth innings to win the World Test Championship arguably holds top spot, given its historical significance, the quality of the Australian attack and just the general shot-making seen over the course of the six and half hours he was at the crease.

Any hundred made in a final will always carry greater lustre, and Markram’s innings will be hard to top.

AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith and JP Duminy all delivered innings that helped South Africa claim historic series triumphs. Smith and Duminy, made theirs to decide the series.

Smith’s 154 not out against England at Edgbaston in 2008 was a supreme display of composure and fierce concentration, that helped South Africa claim a first Test series win in the UK in 43 years.

The Birmingham venue has long been a fortress for the English with the vociferous support making it a cauldron where visiting teams have often imploded. In that Test Andrew Flintoff had delivered a fiery first innings spell against South Africa’s right-hand batters, including Jacques Kallis. He’d created havoc by bowling from an angle, which made judging the trajectory of the ball difficult because of a window above the sightscreen.

It didn’t affect Smith, nor did Monty Panesar spinning the ball out of the rough. After South Africa had slipped to 93/4 in pursuit of 281, Smith forged partnerships with De Villiers and most crucially Mark Boucher, before smashing the winning runs off Kevin Pietersen, and thrusting his arms aloft in the gloom of Birmingham.

Duminy’s 166 five months later at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw the Proteas claim a first-ever Test series win in Australia. There are multiple reasons that innings holds such fondness for Duminy’s teammates and South African supporters.

It was his second Test, in what was then still the biggest venue in the sport. Australia had posted 394, and when Duminy arrived at the crease the Proteas were 121/4, a position which got worse by the end of the second day, when they’d lost seven wickets and were still 200 runs behind.

But on one of the most magic days in South African cricket history, Duminy and Dale Steyn shared a 180-run partnership for the ninth wicket, that unbelievably saw the Proteas claim a first innings lead.

Duminy’s driving that day was reminiscent of Brian Lara at his best and the elegance with which he dissected Australia’s attack drew praise from many Australian greats including their former captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud.

It was an innings that turned Duminy into a star and paved the way for a decade of intense rivalry between the two countries, which saw South Africa claim a further two series wins Down Under, with Duminy playing another significant role in the 2016 success.

De Villiers’ unbeaten 126, also at St George’s Park, eight years ago saw him benefit from hard graft from Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla, who took the sting out of the same Australian attack Markram overcame at Lord’s last year.

It was a thrilling attacking innings from De Villiers, whose straight driving against a reverse-swinging ball was jaw-dropping. He hit 20 fours and one six, ripping the initiative away from the Australians, and turning what was a feisty series on its head before the drama of Cape Town. South Africa would eventually go on to win its first series against Australia on home soil in the post-isolation years.

A bit like that innings from De Villiers, the importance of Bavuma’s innings may only become clearer in the months and years ahead.

SA’s Top Four Test innings —

• Aiden Markram 136 — vs Australia, Lord’s 2025
• Graeme Smith 154* — vs England, Edgbaston 2008
• AB de Villiers 126* — vs Australia, St George’s Park 2018
• JP Duminy 166 — vs Australia, Melbourne 2008

Best of the rest -

• Hashim Amla 311 — vs England, The Oval, 2012
• Faf du Plessis 110* — vs Australia, Adelaide 2012
• Ashwell Prince 149 — vs England, Headingley, 2008
• Hashim Amla 253* — vs India, Nagpur, 2010
• Gary Kirsten 76 — vs New Zealand, Wellington, 2004
• Jacques Kallis 161 and 109* — vs India, Newlands 2011
• Temba Bavuma 179 — vs Australia, St George’s Park, 2026