Free-scoring Bavuma laid platform for me to shine, says centurion Rickelton

Batting with skipper Temba Bavuma gave him the right amount of licence to play his natural game without being too risky, Proteas batter Ryan Rickelton said after notching up his maiden century on day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. 

The stylish left-hander, who came in as cover for injured Wiaan Mulder, made full use of his opportunity when he spent more than six hours in the middle and faced 250 deliveries for his 101 runs. 

A 77-run partnership between him and Kyle Verreynne further solidified their innings as SA ended day 1 on 269/7, having lost Rickelton and Marco Jansen shortly before the end of the day's play — but by then much of the damage had been done by the Rickelton/Bavuma partnership. 

The Proteas lost three of their top four batters with only 44 runs on the board before the DP World Lions teammates came together. 

The duo, and especially the skipper, took the attack to the visiting bowlers as they took SA beyond 170, with Bavuma's 78 anchoring their 133-run partnership, but Bavuma fell shortly before the tea break. 

Rickelton, who would go on to claim his milestone after play resumed for the final session, said the loss of the first three wickets made him knuckle down more at the start of his knock. 

“I think [the loss of the wickets] made me tighten up my plan a lot more. Being 44/3 we were in a bit of trouble, so I knew I had to tighten up more. 

“Cricket is funny. The better things are, the looser an individual tends to get and I am one of those guys. 

“Luckily for me, Temba was seeing it really well and playing well, so he took a lot of pressure off of me by scoring so freely on what was a tough morning,” he told the media after the day's play. 

Being in and around the Test group for the past four or five years with only seven Tests under his belt, Rickelton said he is always grateful to get an opportunity to represent the national team. 

“I've always believed I can do something useful at international level, but it was always going to be a case of can I do it and prove it to myself.”

Speaking about what a good first-innings score may look like, he said they had not yet had many discussions around that as a group. 

“Generally in Gqeberha, if you are hovering around 350, it is a really good score. 

“Our first prize tomorrow [Friday] would be to get closer to 300 — and if we get there, one partnership of 50-odd would take us beyond that 350 mark.”