'Chokers Not Our Tag to Carry' - Temba Bavuma Shades Australia, Reveals South Africa's Mindset En Route to WTC Final 2025 Win

South Africa winning the WTC Final 2025 was a historic moment for Temba Bavuma's men, as they ended a winless streak in ICC tournaments that went back all the way to 1998 when they lifted the ICC Knockouts Trophy, now known as the ICC Champions Trophy. Beating the Australian cricket team in the final was never going to be an easy task but they pulled off what many felt was impossible. 

However, the win did not come without reminders of their ‘chokers’ tag from the Aussies when the team was fielding. 

Now Bavuma has revealed how it is that the South Africa cricket team blocked out the noise coming from Pat Cummins' men. 

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Keep Going And Be Relentless - Bavuma's Message to Team

The skipper told his men to focus on the task at hand and that as long as they knocked hard on the doors, the opportunity to make history would arise.

"As much as the Aussies were saying we were chokers in the field, we never made it our thing. We just said we’ve got to keep going and be relentless, and the harder we knock, the doors will open. Chokers was not our tag to carry, we never spoke about it, although you always feel a responsibility when you wear the badge," said Bavuma when the team arrived back in South Africa.

It was a message that worked - Australia looked to be in control when they set South Africa 282 to win the Test, but the team made it there with 5 wickets to spare. 

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Bavuma & Co. Hungry For More

The skipper also said that he and the team are hungry to win more honours, talking about the need to establish a ‘culture of winning trophies’. 

“We don’t have a big legacy yet, but we can speak again in two or three years time when we have started a culture of winning trophies.”

It is a goal they may not be too far from either - they had a good run in the 2023 ICC World Cup by making it to the semi-finals and made the final of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, meaning they have the squad for success in white-ball cricket too.