Over the past few years, the world has seen players in the peak of their careers leave international cricket. Nicholas Pooran, Heinrich Klaasen and Quinton de Kock, to name a few, come to mind. The recurring reason is fatigue and an increased desire to spend more time with their families.
When De Kock returned from his almost two-year retirement, he reiterated he was not enjoying playing international cricket before he retired and, having spent time away from it all, he missed playing with his teammates and representing South Africa again. When he returned, he looked the De Kock of old, dominating bowling attacks and doing so with a smile.
Some players go on involuntary breaks due to an injury or a conditioning block, which coaches around the world tend to enforce on players for workload management. Marco Jansen is an example, as he ended up missing two series, the tour to the West Indies and Bangladesh in 2024. When he returned during the Sri Lanka series in the same year, he took a seven-for in his first bowling innings and also bowled faster.
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma has also been through similar breaks, mostly due to recurring hamstring and calf niggles. He played the West Indies series but missed the Bangladesh series despite touring with the team.
He also came back against Sri Lanka at home and put on a player of the series performance, scoring one century and three fifties in four innings, before dominating Pakistan here at home shortly after.
When South Africa toured Pakistan last year, he did not play due to an injury, with Aiden Markram captaining the team to a series draw.
Domestic cricket is also a factor. But I think in international cricket, there’s a different dynamic in terms of the pressure, the scrutiny you’re under. Think about it from my side: the responsibility of being captain, it kind of doubles up all of that.
He returned during the India series and displayed remarkable technique and mental fortitude to persevere in difficult batting conditions in Kolkata to set the foundation for what was South Africa’s first Test series victory in India in more than two decades.
This suggests there is magic in resting or taking breaks from international cricket, be it voluntary or not.
“Mental fatigue is a thing, especially when you’re playing international cricket. I think domestic cricket is also a factor. But I think in international cricket, there’s a different dynamic in terms of the pressure, the scrutiny you’re under,” Bavuma told SportsBoom.
“Think about it from my side; the responsibility of being captain, it kind of doubles up all of that. So having these opportunities where you’re in the thick of things and then you get pulled away, I think that does help in terms of making sure you come back fresh.
“It also gives you an opportunity to refine your method of doing things. Sometimes when you’re playing, you don’t really have that opportunity to work on your game. So I guess I do benefit from that.
“From a training point of view, it’s tinkering around with that, seeing how I can do things better, how I can extend my career and how I can improve myself from the training and nutritional point of view.
“But I think the downside to it is that it does take a bit longer to get your skill to the level you need it to be. For you to be attuned to international cricket, you have to be playing international cricket.”
While there is an increasing number of young star players retiring from international cricket, they are continuing to apply their trade in domestic cricket all around the world. Many — including Klaasen, whose recent form in the IPL has seen many call for his return to international cricket — make it very clear international cricket presents an amount of pressure that perhaps cannot be matched by domestic leagues.
The biggest thing with international cricket is that your every move is under scrutiny. There’s a certain level of expectation that you have to maintain, sometimes even exceed.
— Temba Bavuma, Proteas captain
Bavuma knows the pressures of international cricket well, perhaps more than others, and he, too, finds it hard to put into words how tough international cricket is.
“International cricket, that’s the ultimate. The biggest thing with international cricket is that your every move is under scrutiny. There’s a certain level of expectation that you have to maintain, sometimes even exceed,” he said.
“You’re also carrying the pride but sometimes also the burden of the country in terms of the emotions and their sentiments towards the sports and how you perform. Those are the type of things you have to counter.
“I think of us playing against Australia at Lord’s. I prepared as much as I could coming into the game, and we figured on day 1 the ball was going sideways. It felt as if there was nothing I could do to actually prepare.
“It was a case of, in that moment, fight or flight. You throw a couple of punches and you see where that lands you. That’s international cricket, and there’s a certain level of joy and satisfaction that comes with performing at that level.”
Bavuma hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the conclusion of domestic cricket almost two months ago.
The 35-year-old is preparing for the EUT20 Belgium in Belgium next month, where he will get to dust off his T20 cricket skillset, having not played the format in a while.
After the side quest in Belgium, Bavuma will lead the Proteas in important Test and ODI series against Australia, Bangladesh and England at home later this year. — Sportsboom
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