Temba Bavuma: Newspaper Criticised for 'Misuse' of Award-Worthy Photo of Proteas Captain's Dismissal

• A photograph worthy of being nominated and possibly winning an award has become the debate of a minor controversy
• The photo in question was that of Proteas One Day International captain Temba Bavuma being dismissed by Sam Curran
• It was used as one of the main pictures on the front page of Beeld in response to his magnificent match-winning century, but the context came under fire from critics

In news writing, context is everything.

An innocuous and amazing photograph of Proteas captain Temba Bavuma being dismissed by England bowler Sam Curran, a sideshow on its own, has left a sour taste in some cricket fans' mouths. The photograph, used by the Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld on its front page, is award-worthy, but its use by the publication has come under criticism.

The caption read:

"Captain gets hundred.

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"Sam Curran of England makes the wicket of Temba Bavuma, Protea captain, during the second one-day match at the Mangaung Oval. Bavuma scored 109 runs from 102 balls yesterday and the Proteas won by five wickets."

Twitter user Squinting Tarantino (@whamzam17) snapped the front page and shared it on his account with the response:

"Could have used a hundred other images from this game, but they choose this one. Bizarre."

As observed by Sports Brief, this is about the divisive figure that Bavuma has become among critics and supporters in the local and international discourse.

Photographer Theunis Stofberg (@stofjas) responded:

"The inherent bias notwithstanding you have to understand that this is an award winning pic. Getting the batters face, the wickets and the balls in the image like this is quite rare. They had to run it just cos the pic will be used for award entries. It one of those things."

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Quarantino responded - during a lively debate beneath his post - to Stofberg:

"I get the meticulous artistry in timing this precise moment. But, tonally, to stick this image on front page, after all the defeats (personal and collective) that Bavuma has taken recently, smacks of a deep detachment. It's like using a pic of him laughing after Holland defeat..."

Curran lambasted for Bavuma celebration

Sam Curran has not endeared himself to the cricketing world.

The English bowler behaved poorly following his dismissal of South African One Day International captain Temba Bavuma at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Sunday. With Bavuma on a match-and-series-winning 109* in the second ODI, he attempted to paddle a Curran delivery into the on-side, only to misdirect the ball into his stumps.

Curran made it a point to run in Bavuma's direction, screaming at him to show his relief and happiness. This did not go down well with those who witnessed this at the stadium and at home.