To captain the national rugby or cricket team you need a specific personality type.
Jy weet, daai manne met ‘n dik vel – die job is nie vir almal nie.
Now you might be asking why I didn’t include Bafana.
My answer would be that there is less pressure on the national soccer team captain, because there is less expectation when it comes to this sporting code.
In 2019, our manne got a stewige bonus just for making it past the group stage in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Anyway, I want to get to the Proteas naming their two captains in five-day and limited overs last week.
Former captain Quinton de Kock just didn’t have the thick skin to deal with the pressures of leading an under-performing cricket team.
Daai mannetjie se vel is so dun, you can scrub it off with cotton wool.
Now in Temba Bavuma (limited overs leader) and Dean Elgar (Tests), we have two players I believe have the right mentality for the job.
Elgar has been around long enough to have seen the mental impact this job has on a person and at 33, and with his strong mental game – proven as a batsman – I am not too worried about him leading the team going forward.
As for Bavuma, the pint-sized Langa-born player has been fighting the odds his entire life and has proven his ability to lead with the Lions.
All in all, I reckon they are good decisions in the respective formats.
Now go and fetch us some gold, manne.