The Rise Of Aiden Markram: A Look At His Top 3 Knocks, After WTC Final Heroics
South African Aiden Markram played an innings of a lifetime at the World Test Championship final at Lord's, justifying years of backing despite patches of inconsistency. His class and talent were all on display as he played a stroke-filled century while anchoring the innings from one end. Markram, making his Test debut in 2017, currently has 2,993 runs in 46 Tests at an average of 36.50 with eight centuries and 13 fifties. He has proven to be a paradoxical player. While he is an absolute treat to the eyes, his inconsistency can frustrate fans.
His composure and temperament stands amongst the very best in the game, but yet on many occasions, a rash hit has led to his departure from the crease. His not-so-remarkable numbers did attract calls from fans and experts to drop him, but the 30-year-old gave them all a befitting answer. Despite the patchy nature of his career, one thing is for sure, he is the man for the finals for his side.
It all started on January 2014, when a young Markram, 19 years of age, played a well-compiled knock of 66* in 125 balls, helping South Africa chase 133 against Pakistan to guide the team to the U19 World Cup title, South Africa's first world title at any level of the game. Along with the World Cup, he walked away with the 'Player of the Tournament' award, for 370 runs in six matches, with two centuries and a fifty. He was the third-highest run-getter in the tournament.
Then in 2023, he led South Africa to their only final appearance in white-ball cricket, during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at Barbados. While Markram was poor with the bat in the tournament and scored just four in the title clash, his leadership was top-notch, his bowling changes and field placements mostly brilliant. Proteas lost the final by seven runs thanks to a miraculous comeback scripted by the Indian pace attack, but it instilled in Proteas a self-belief needed for big matches.
Then during the WTC final, Markram headed into the title clash with not-so-impressive record. In preceding eight calendar years in Tests, five of them saw him average below 40. His record in the knockout matches for Proteas was not spectacular either, with just 68 runs in four matches.
However, with each classy drive and punch sent piercing through gaps, Markram proved his class. He dominated spin, continuing his unbeaten record against spin great Nathan Lyon. Even the pace trio of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were handed some meaty blows.
After a first innings duck, he displayed immense resillience, making a huge mental switch during the second innings. Instead of crumbling under pressure, Markram dropped the anchor and struck a fine partnership with skipper Temba Bavuma during a tough 282-run chase in a match which had seen both sides huff and puff to the 200-run mark.
Markram's knock is the first century during a tournament final by a South African cricketer. While the previous June ended in a heartbreak, in the month of June this year, Markram produced a career-defining knock that could usher a new era for Test cricket in South Africa, which once faced criticism for sending a B-team during their tour to New Zealand earlier last year during the WTC cycle 2023-25.
Best thing about time is, that it changes. Markram proved it in a way South Africans will remember for a long time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
16 minutes ago
- First Post
Temba Bavuma: The poster boy of 'racial quota' criticism inspires South Africa past the 'chokers' tag
Temba Bavuma, whose appointed as South Africa's first black African Test captain in 2023 was met with scepticism, led South Africa to their first ICC world title on Saturday. read more Temba Bavuma holds the ICC Test Mace poses with the ICC Test Mace with his son in his arm after leading South Africa to a five-wicket victory over Australia in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's. Reuters It's been more than three decades since the late Nelson Mandela was elected President of the Republic of South Africa, marking the end of decades of 'Apartheid' rule in the country. Race, however, continues to dominate nearly every aspect of life in South Africa, including sport. Therefore, it hardly comes as a surprise that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) government's push for racial transformation in sports in the last couple of decades, particularly in 'white-dominated' games such as rugby and cricket, has been met with scorn and has been in the news for negative reasons more often than not. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And while the likes of Hashim Amla and Kagiso Rabada quickly established themselves as stars of the game with their meteoric rise, with the latter still going strong, there were quite a few others, especially black Africans, who have struggled to shed the tag of being sport's equivalent of a 'diversity hire'. Fighting the 'quota' tag South Africa Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma happens to be one of those cricketers ridiculed for years as a 'quota pick', whose place in the national team in any format was questioned time and time again since he made his international debut in the home Test series against West Indies in December 2014. Bavuma was second in line to take over the reins of the South African team, albeit in the white-ball formats. Quinton de Kock couldn't quite handle the pressure of leading the Proteas across formats after Cricket South Africa (CSA) decided to move on from Faf du Plessis as their skipper, resulting in the board looking towards Bavuma for an answer. And just two years after replacing de Kock as the white-ball skipper, Bavuma raised even more eyebrows after newly-appointed red-ball coach Shukri Conrad backed him to lead in the Test format over opening batter Dean Elgar. Bavuma, who hails from the Langa township near Cape Town, ended up making history by becoming South Africa's first black African Test captain. Temba Bavuma made history in February 2023 by becoming the first black African to lead South Africa in Test cricket. Reuters The Proteas had been playing cricket since the turn of the 20th century and were among the founding members of the Imperial Press Conference, which is currently known as the International Cricket Council. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, it took them more than a century – of which 22 years were spent in isolation – to appoint a non-white Test captain in the form of Ashwell Prince, who filled in for Graeme Smith during the 2006 tour of Sri Lanka. And even longer to appoint a black African. Then, of course, there was the question of how Bavuma would actually perform as the leader of a team whose fortunes had nosedived in the years following the retirements of legends such as AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, etc, towards the end of the 2010s. Elgar, after all, was removed as captain after losing away Test assignments against England and Australia, with the Proteas getting thoroughly outplayed in the latter and only escaping a whitewash thanks to rain. Bavuma silences his detractors in style Bavuma did prove his credentials as a leader by guiding South Africa into the semi-finals of the 2023 ICC World Cup on the back of a clinical round-robin campaign in which they won seven out of nine games, including a dominant victory over eventual champions Australia. As for the Test arena, his partnership with Conrad turned out to be an instant hit, with the Proteas going on to win eight out of their next nine Tests, with one draw and no defeats. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hardly anyone had backed the South Africans, who had sent a second-string team to New Zealand led by Neil Brand that ended up suffering a 0-2 sweep, to even finish among the top four in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle, let alone become the first team to qualify for the final. Also Read | After years of veering towards gates of cricketing hell, South Africa pitch up in paradise And that is exactly what they ended up achieving, on the back of seven consecutive victories – two of which came under Aiden Markram's leadership in Bangladesh. The critics, however, were still not satisfied and branded the Proteas as 'lucky' for progressing into the WTC final on the back of sweeping two-Test rubbers against teams that historically had struggled in South African conditions. Never mind the fact that CSA had little control over the scheduling of the WTC cycle in which the 'Big Three' arranged five-match series with each other and left precious little for other teams. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And for a moment, expectations of Australia steamrolling South Africa in the WTC final looked highly probable after the latter were bundled out for a paltry 138 on Day 2 following a dramatic collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for just 12 runs. This South African team, however, is a different breed – one that has the sense of belief that was the hallmark of the legendary teams led by Smith and Hansie Cronje. It was that sense of belief that helped Bavuma and Co keep their nerves in check in a high-voltage ICC final and emerge triumphant by a five-wicket margin with a fightback for the ages . And to give an idea of why Bavuma not only belongs to the Test level but deserves respect, the 35-year-old fought physical pain caused by a hamstring injury and continued batting despite hobbling between the wickets to score 66 crucial runs, which resulted in a match-defining 147-run stand for the third wicket with Markram (136) that allowed the Proteas to chase down a challenging 282-run target with relative ease. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We have prepared hard for this, we have worked hard for this moment. We came here with a lot of belief but also with a lot of doubters and we are happy that we were able to play well enough to get that type of result,' Bavuma said during the post-match presentation ceremony after masterminding what arguable is the greatest triumph in South African cricket history. 'For us as a country, here's an opportunity for us, as divided as we are at times to forget all of that, to rejoice in this moment and just be one. I'm sure the people back home will be celebrating it with us and you can trust that we will be celebrating it massively as well,' he added. The victory didn't just help South Africa bury the 'choker' tag for good, but has also forced the ICC and the 'Big Three' nations to take the Proteas more seriously as a Test nation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When @ProteasMenCSA win this apart from individual skills the leadership of Temba Bavuma has to be recognized. — Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) June 14, 2025 It also highlighted the fact that the country's racial transformation in sports didn't just bear fruit in rugby, where the Siya Kolisi-led Springboks have won the last two World Cups and have surpassed New Zealand's All Blacks as the most successful team in the sport's history. Cricket has joined the bandwagon, and it is two Persons of Colour (POC) in captain Bavuma and coach Conrad who get the lion's share of the credit for transforming the Test team's fortunes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The word 'Temba' translates to 'Hope' and that is exactly what the 35-year-old has instilled in the 'Rainbow Nation' with his heroics in London over the past four days.
Mint
20 minutes ago
- Mint
Lionel Messi hits crossbar as Inter Miami, Al Ahly play goalless draw in FIFA Club World Cup 2025 opener
Luck denied Lionel Messi in the extra time as Inter Miami and Egypt's Al Ahly settled for a goalless draw in the opening game of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 opener at the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. Unlike the previous seasons, the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is being played in an expanded 32-team format. The defining moment came in the 96th minute. Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and a Barcelona legend, Messi kicked a long, curling shot from the right side only to see the ball being tipped by diving Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy and brushed off the crossbar. The Argentine World Cup winner also had a chance at an hour mark when his left-footer free-kick shaved the post when everyone thought it had gone in. Earlier, Inter Miami survived a first-half onslaught by 12-time African champion Al Ahly, with goalkeeper Oscar Ustari saving a penalty from Trezeguet just before the break. Inter Miami had to rely on veteran Argentine goalkeeper Ustari to keep the game level in the first half, with the 38-year-old pulling off a number of saves as Al Ahly dominated the chances. He produced a crucial double save just before halftime — blocking Trezeguet's 43rd-minute penalty and then getting up quickly to deny the forward again on the rebound. A draw leaves both teams with a battle to advance from Group A with tougher tests likely to come against Brazilian giant Palmeiras and Porto from Portugal. The top two advance to the round of 16. Inter Miami can be encouraged by their performance in the second half after being dominated in the first half. Inter Miami had the better chances after the break, with Messi's free kick and curling long shot both hitting the woodwork. "It was a good party for football. It's a new competition and the chance to play teams we don't play normally in our league, so it can be very good for us. You can prove what we can do." – Javier Mascherano, Inter Miami coach. "I'm disappointed with the result. We could have taken all three points. We respect Inter Miami and their big-name players, but we could've finished the game in the first half by scoring three or four goals." Wessam Abou Ali, Ah Ahly forward.
Mint
20 minutes ago
- Mint
An Argentine named Usari, not Messi, shines for Inter Miami and earns MVP in first CWC game
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — An Argentine not named Messi was the MVP for Inter Miami in the Club World Cup on Saturday night. The hero in the tournament opener was goaltender Oscar Ustari. Ustari made eight saves, including a penalty and goal-line intervention, as Miami played Egypt's Al Ahly to a scoreless draw in the Group A tournament opener. Ustari's save of a header in the 33rd minute was second only to stopping Trezeguet's penalty just before halftime and making sure danger was averted when the ball bounced back to Al Ahly's forward. The 38-year-old Ustari returned to a World Cup stage in this new Club World Cup format for the first time since winning the U-20 World Cup in 2005 — with none other than Messi, Inter Miami's captain. Before joining Inter Miami, Ustari was captain of C.F. Pachuca, also in the tournament, but faced controversy because Grupo Pachuca also owns Club León, which was removed by FIFA and had its appeal rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Ustari made 124 appearances with the "Tuzos" before playing briefly for Audax Italiano in the first division of Chile. He was signed as a free agent in September 2024 by Inter Miami. He has played 22 games, including eight in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. 'I don't like to talk about myself. The team did a great job defensively and that is what I most care about.' 'I remember being retired and knew that my return would come on a field, so I'm very happy about it (being back).' 'I thought we were superior, that's what I think. The game left me with good feelings, but our next rival is very different.' 'We didn't think their keeper would make so many saves, he was the key player in the game along with Oscar in the first half, but that shows that goalkeepers can earn you points as well.' — Luis Suarez, Inter Miami forward.
