Temba Bavuma will never underplay the broader significance of an innings like his career-best effort against the West Indies here on Friday and how it inspires hope. RECAP | SA v West Indies, Day 3 Yet it was heartening to hear how the phlegmatic Proteas Test skipper also enjoyed the more mundane, perhaps even fun elements to his unbeaten 171, which has put the hosts in a prime position to push for a series whitewash. After all, he later had so much fun that he even donned a baggy green cap. Bavuma, who's called the Bullring his cricketing home for the past 14 years, never scored a red-ball century at the ground until now. "I've actually never scored a hundred here in first-class cricket," he said at the end of his monumental, 369-minute effort to date. "It's definitely a monkey off my back. The guys are always teasing me that my name isn't on the honours board at my home ground, so I guess I can stick it to them. "[Jokes aside]. . . it's also special that it's against the West Indies, because, as I said leading to the series, it means sentimentally quite a lot because I grew up admiring their cricket too. That adds to the achievement. " READ | Heroic Bavuma’s first Test ton in 7 years puts Proteas on top at the Wanderers The classy stroke-maker could even bask in the manner in which he reached his century - a disdainful lofted cover drive that was never going to be at risk of finding a fielder. In fact, Bavuma had been going about reaching his milestone in a methodical, pragmatic manner, but once he caught sight of his mother Phumza and father Vuyo watching intently from the Unity Stand and an expectant crowd raising their noise level, he decided to get a move on. "I don't think there was a point where I felt I'd get over the line. When I got to 96, the crowd started picking up in anticipation of the milestone. My emotion started picking up too. I got a ball outside off-stump and I definitely wasn't about to keep it on the ground. I just waited for it," he said. And he's not about to let the tired Windies attack off the hook as a double century looms in the distance on Saturday. "I'm going to try and bat as long as I can. I need the rest to come back fresh [on Saturday]. I'm not about to give my wicket away at any point. The opportunity is there, I definitely want to take it. "I'm mentally quite tired more than physically. The adrenaline is still keeping me going. I have an ice bath waiting and I'm having a beer with the guys to celebrate. But after that, you have to put it behind you and look what's in front of you. " Most pertinently though, Bavuma has entrenched his reputation of being the man the Proteas can depend on when the pressure is well and truly on. His most significant knocks at Test level - 54 in Chattogram 2015, 74 in Hobart 2016, 89 in Wellington 2017, 65 in Melbourne 2022 - attest to that. Now he has a big century to add to that collection, one where he came in at 8/2. "In my Test career, I've found myself in situations where it's 20/4 or 10/2," said Bavuma. "You really have to soak in the pressure and release it. I believe I've done it well in my career even if the scores haven't been as big as today. Walking into today's situation is one that I'm mentally accustomed to. My game leans towards it too. " His team was grateful. .