Markram finds form at the perfect time for South African cricket

Aiden Markram seems to have found form at the perfect time for South African cricket, and the question now is whether he can become the player that he was always expected to be.

After being dropped for their previous Test series in Australia due to poor form, Markram returned to the Proteas fold for the Test series against the Windies under new coach Shukri Conrad and new captain Temba Bavuma.

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Markram returned the faith placed in him by putting in a player of the match performance that helped the Proteas win the first Test by 87-runs.

Although it was a bowler dominated Test with four five wicket hauls taken across the match, Markram’s runs proved extremely vital for the home side, as he top scored in both innings with him scoring 115 in the first innings, which was his sixth Test century, and 47 in the second.

Speaking after receiving the player of the match award Markram said: “I am happy. It’s always nice to get a Test win. On hot days and long days it’s always quite rewarding as well.

“It was pretty much what I’ve done my whole Test career, so I felt quite comfortable going back up to the top (of the batting order). I think a lot of credit must go to the coach and captain who backed me in that position and you take a lot of confidence from that.

“Ultimately we all want to score runs and sometimes it doesn’t work out, but when it does work out it puts the team in a good position and you are really happy.

“It helped being back at Centurion. I have obviously played a lot of cricket here, so it’s nice to come back here and front up for the first time at home. So I am grateful that it worked out on a tough wicket out there, and I am glad that as a batting unit that we had enough runs in the Test.”

Batting order exposed

The Proteas brittle batting order was again exposed in both innings of the Test, after they crashed from 219/1 to 342 all out in the first innings, while they only managed a paltry 116 all out in the second.

Can Markram’s stunning return to form inspire the rest of the flaky Proteas batting department and could he become the leader in the batting unit?

Ever since Markram led the SA U19 team to the World Cup title in 2014, a lot has been expected of him, and his impressive recent form across multiple formats suggests he may finally be coming into his own.

Leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title and being named captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the IPL will have given him a lot of confidence, and that could receive another massive boost if he is named the new Proteas T20 captain.

At the age of 28 Markram still has many years of cricket left in him, and if he can continue impressing with his all-round capabilities and leadership, he could even become the future Test and ODI captain for the Proteas, in what could become a glittering career.