When Temba Bavuma took over the Test captaincy from Dean Elgar in 2023, few people expected a golden era. By late 2026, South Africa are the reigning World Test Champions, have just beaten Australia in a home series and have climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings. The statistics show how complete the turnaround has been.
Temba Bavuma has now led South Africa in 15 Tests. The results are 13 wins, one draw and one defeat. Only the draw (in Port of Spain in 2024) and the loss (against Australia in Durban in October 2026) interrupt a run of wins.
That Durban defeat, by 214 runs, ended one of the great streaks in Test history. Before it, Bavuma had won 11 Tests without losing, which is the most wins by any captain before a first defeat. He passed Mike Brearley, who won 10 before his first loss. Bavuma also began with nine wins and a draw in his first ten Tests, a record start for any Test captain in history, ahead of England’s Percy Chapman.
His team responded quickly to the setback. South Africa won the second Test in Gqeberha by an innings, with Temba Bavuma scoring a Test-best 179, and then took the series 2-1.
The World Test Championship Run
The headline achievement is the 2023-25 World Test Championship. South Africa finished top of the table, winning 8 of 12 matches with a points percentage of 69.44. They then beat Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s in June 2025.
The details of that win are remarkable. South Africa chased 282, their fifth-highest successful chase in Test history, and four of those five have come against Australia. Their first-innings total of 138 was the lowest in any of their away Test wins, and they still won. Aiden Markram scored 136 in the fourth innings, and Bavuma added 66 in a key partnership. Kagiso Rabada took nine wickets in the match.
The win ended a 9,722-day wait for an ICC title, going back to the 1998 Champions Trophy. It also capped a run of eight straight Test wins, which is the second-longest streak in South African history, behind only the nine in a row in 2002-03, and the longest in World Test Championship history.
In November 2025, South Africa beat India 2-0, winning the first Test at Eden Gardens by 30 runs and the second in Guwahati by 408 runs. Bavuma became only the second South African captain, after Hansie Cronje, to win a Test series in India. The Guwahati margin was one of the biggest in the country’s Test history, showing that the team can dominate as well as survive.
His Captaincy Transformed the South Africa Team
In his first 14 Tests as captain, Temba Bavuma scored more than 1,196 runs at an average of 54.36, with four centuries. That includes 172 against the West Indies and his Test-best 179 against Australia.
Before taking the captaincy, Bavuma was known as a solid but unspectacular middle-order batter. As captain, his average has risen well above his career figure, and he has delivered in the big moments, including the half-century in the WTC final. He also joined the group of nine South African captains with more than 1,000 Test runs in charge.
Rabada leads the bowling attack, Markram has become a match-winner at the top of the order, and Keshav Maharaj provides control in the spin department. Younger players such as Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis and Corbin Bosch have been brought into a stable environment.
After the Australia series, South Africa replaced Australia at the top of the ICC Test rankings. Having been World Test Champions, they are now also the highest-rated side in the format, a combination that few teams have achieved.
The numbers support the argument that South Africa have improved dramatically under Bavuma: 13 wins in 15 Tests, a world-record unbeaten streak, a first ICC trophy in 27 years, a series win in India and the top ranking in Test cricket. For a team that spent decades being described as chokers, those figures amount to a transformation.
FAQs
Q. How many Tests has Temba Bavuma won as captain?
A. Bavuma has won 13 of his 15 Tests as captain.
Q. Which major title did South Africa win under Bavuma?
A. South Africa won the 2023–25 World Test Championship.
Q. How did South Africa perform in the 2025 WTC final?
A. They defeated Australia by five wickets at Lord’s.
Q. How many runs did Bavuma score in the second Australia Test in 2026?
A. Bavuma scored 179 runs in Gqeberha.
Q. What position did South Africa reach in the ICC Test rankings?
A. They climbed to No. 1 in the rankings.
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