The bulldog and diplomat: Proteas leadership secure under 'fighters' Elgar and Bavuma

Whether Mark Boucher will remain the Proteas' head coach is a question that will only be answered in the coming months, but there can be little doubt that its two captains, Temba Bavuma and Dean Elgar, are the on-field leaders to continue driving the steady revival.

Eyebrows were raised last year when Bavuma, handed the captaincy in the limited overs formats, was installed as Elgar's deputy at Test level, a dynamic that some cynics believed would really become problematic in the aftermath of Cricket South Africa's SJN hearings.

Ironically, the duo only commenced their partnership in the series against India back in December as Bavuma had been injured for what would've been their first assignment against the West Indies in mid-2021.

While it's only been seven Tests, there's ample evidence that the team is responding positively to this arrangement, none more compelling than a record of five victories and just two losses.

It places the Proteas second on the ICC's World Test Championship table.

READ | Thriving Elgar loving the challenge of captaincy: 'We're in a very special place'

"They came in as leaders at a tough time," said Boucher.

"They've really gelled together and rub off on each other. They're completely different characters, but they have one collective goal and that's to get this team back to where it should be."

It's indeed remarkable that two such polarised personalities - Elgar the feisty bulldog who speaks his mind (perhaps too freely), Bavuma the diplomat with no qualms of still addressing the tough issues in a calm manner - can dovetail so prominently.

Yet Boucher is 100% right in pointing out that those differences fall away when the goal is the same.

Importantly, both men have flourished in terms of their own form