In South Africa's greatest triumph, Markram makes an indelible mark

The Hindu

5 hours ago

Just before the heavens opened up at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on the afternoon of June 29, 2024, a distraught Aiden Markram was subjected to a barrage of unpleasant queries on yet another heartbreak for South Africa. In the aftermath of a seven-run defeat to India in the T20 World Cup final, it was incumbent on Markram as skipper to try and explain how his team could botch up an eminently favourable position in a run chase of 177 — 30 runs were needed off the last five overs with six wickets in hand — to add to the country's gut-wrenching history of near-misses. The dreaded c-word, of course, had haunted many previous South African captains including Hansie Cronje, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith.
Within a year from that day in the Caribbean, though, Markram has had his redemption, and how! At a sun-lit Lord's Cricket Ground in the heart of London on Saturday, the 30-year-old, in contrast to his emotions at the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, exulted with joy as South Africa vanquished old nemesis Australia in the World Test Championship final to lift its first major ICC title (it won the Wills International Cup in 1998 before the tournament was re-branded as the ICC Champions Trophy). Having produced a monumental 136 in the fourth innings to help the Proteas chase down 282, Markram, adjudged the Player-of-the-Match, was at the front and centre of South Africa's greatest triumph.
Over six hours at the crease spanning Friday and Saturday, Markram demonstrated class, poise and nerves of steel to defy not just a formidable Australian bowling attack but also his country's tumultuous past. The psychological toll of last year's T20 World Cup final played on his mind even at the end of day three, when he was unbeaten on 102 with South Africa needing just 69 more runs to complete an epoch-defining win. So much so that Markram endured a sleepless Friday night.
'I tried to take a sleeping tablet, it didn't work,' Markram admitted at Saturday's post-match presser. 'The mind just couldn't switch off. I thought a lot about the T20 World Cup last night and how hopeless I felt sitting on the side after getting out. I was like, I don't want to sit there again. So it gave me a bit of motivation to make sure I stay at the crease if I could. It was always about just trying to get the job done and trying to win.'
Markram didn't quite manage to be there in the middle right at the end when Kyle Verreynne hit the winning run off Mitchell Starc at the stroke of the lunch interval on Saturday. With six more runs needed for the result to be set in stone, Markram was attempting to draw the contest to a close in a blaze of glory with a flamboyant flick against Josh Hazlewood. For once in his masterful exhibition, he didn't execute the shot as desired and holed out to Travis Head at midwicket.
As he began trudging back to the dressing room in disbelief, every Australian player on the field walked up to Markram to pat him on the back. And every one of the 30,000-odd spectators rose from their seats in unison to applaud a truly majestic display. As Pollock would mention on the official broadcast, it was fitting in a way that Markram, peeved as he must have been to not be there at the close, got to walk off to a standing ovation from the Lord's crowd.
Standing out from the rest
With his exploits at a venue steeped in rich tradition, Markram has left an indelible mark in the annals of South African cricket. To be clear, the nation has produced an array of bonafide greats since readmission into international cricket in 1991 – from the likes of Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and A.B. de Villiers with the bat to Pollock, Allan Donald and Dale Steyn with the ball. But none of these iconic figures managed to experience the satisfaction of delivering on the big day and winning titles.
For Markram to walk an untrodden path and stand out reflects highly on his icy temperament. Going into the run chase of 282, the odds were understandably stacked against the South Africans. Just as they were heading into the final, not least because Australia was the defending champion. Yes, the surface eased up as the match wore on, but batting was evidently South Africa's weak link. It was noticeable in its first essay when it was shot out for 138 in reply to Australia's total of 212. Markram was dismissed for a blob in the very first over, inside-edging an inswinging delivery from Starc onto the stumps.
Second time around, though, Markram was in his element, allaying the tension in the South African dressing room with some exquisite boundaries early on. Languid and easy on the eye, he got going with a delectable punch off Hazlewood through point for four.
The delivery from the Australian metronome was slightly short of a good length, and Markram, with minimal transfer of weight onto his back foot, presented the vertical blade to pick the gap on the off-side.
When Starc went full in the search for swing in the fifth over, there was none as Markram leaned forward and unfurled a silken cover drive for another boundary. As the innings progressed, the deft late cuts, honed in the shorter versions where he is ever so adept, were just as regal.
If conquering the quicks is Markram's strong suit, he betrayed no sign of discomfort against Nathan Lyon's off-breaks either. With Starc's footmarks from the other end providing a few rough patches for the experienced offie to target, the threat confronting the South African batters was palpable. But the elegant batter from Centurion nullified Lyon with swift reading of length and precise footwork. Quite tellingly, in fact, Markram has now faced 270 deliveries from Lyon in his Test career without ever being dismissed. All of the Australian bowlers kept plugging away in the belief that the contest would turn, but Markram didn't allow any such thing to transpire.
Game-changing performers holding the 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒆 aloft after leading their sides to Test championship glory over the years 🤩#SAvAUS#WTC25pic.twitter.com/7lGjQN6yRN — ICC (@ICC) June 14, 2025
All of this is illustrative of a player with the ability to occupy a place in the pantheon of batting luminaries from his country. But like many confounding things about South African cricket, it is hard to put a finger on why Markram's average languishes in the mid-30s after 46 Tests.
It is, interestingly, against Australia that he seems to produce his best performances. Of his eight hundreds in the five-day version, three have come against the men from Down Under. 'The Australians and South Africans are pretty similar and they play the game in a similar way. Play the game hard, play the game to compete, and play the game to really win. I think it brings out the best in a lot of cricketers, and not just myself,' he said.
That Markram is cut from a different cloth when it comes to handling pressure could perhaps be gleaned even before his senior debut in 2017. Three years prior to that, he was the skipper of the South African junior side that won the U-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. In the final against Pakistan, Markram led the way with an unbeaten 66 in a meagre chase of 132. It remains South Africa's only U-19 World Cup triumph till date.
Is there something about the big games that supposedly brings out the best in Markram? 'I'm not sure. I got a duck in the first innings. So it's weird. I just think it's desperation to win, to be honest,' he answered. 'I've said it recently that I'm not here to chase numbers and stats and things like that. I really just want to win stuff for South Africa now. So I'm at peace with that. And I think it's quite a nice place to be in as a player because your full care is towards everyone in the changing room. If things work out then great, but the personal milestones and stuff like that will never be a thing now.'
Having tasted blood, Markram clearly wants to build on this moment of glory. Well, if he goes about his business as serenely as he did against the Australians at Lord's, the rest of the cricketing world better watch out.