On The Path To Greatness
Aiden Markram is doing special things with the bat
Aiden Markram has found his groove, and it is beautiful to watch.
Picture this: both feet are off the ground, the bat is at a 45-degree angle and the ball is flying to the boundary. The batter in the picture is not AB de Villiers or 2016 Rilee Rossouw. It’s Aiden Markram.
Haris Rauf was hurling missiles. His bowling speeds were hovering around the 150kph mark. He banged in a short one, and cool as you like, Markram rose to meet it and deliver an uppercut over third man. The 2017 to 2022 version of Aiden Markram would never have pulled it off, he would have taken evasive action.
By the end of 2018, South Africa was deep in Markramania. The Aiden Markram hype train was barreling down the track. What made him an exciting addition to the Proteas was that he looked like an evolution of South African cricket greats. He possessed Graeme Smith’s strength, the natural talents of Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Pollock’s placement abilities, Jacques Kallis and Barry Richards’ technique.
Everyone and their uncle who has met or had a drink with a famous cricketer saw the future of South African cricket in him. Who couldn’t? He had captained the South African Under-19 side to a World Cup title in 2015 and had four centuries and three 50s in his first 13 Tests.
So when Ottis Gibson asked him to captain the Proteas in the series against India at home, no one batted an eyelid. Markram was the heir-apparent. There was an air of expectation as Markram took charge. Shades of Graeme Smith's maiden tour as captain come to mind.
But Markram was no Graeme Smith. The former Proteas captain went after his dream like a juggernaut from the day he placed his famous "I will be captain of my country" note under a fridge magnet at the age of 12. At 22 he openly trolled Shaun Pollock and made no secret of his desire to take over immediately from the latter.
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Markram is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He is the personification of humility. He doffs his cap when shaking hands with opposition players. He does the same when he meets you in person. It’s part of his nature. When fielding questions about his success, he dabs them off by speaking of the support he gets from his teammates and the coaches. This is Aiden Markram. He has always been like this, reserved and the embodiment of the natural good-natured humility.
In his first outing as captain, Smith’s team was subjected to a 153-run thrashing by India but recovered to win their next three matches in the Dhaka tri-series. Smith marshalled his troops like a general. In his first ODI series as captain, Markram struggled to drive his team to a standard that could match India's level.
He internalized his team’s failures and forgot to do his job with the bat. His game suffered as a result. His confidence suffered a knock.
In Centurion he spooned a half-tracker down the throat of a fielder in the deep; in Cape Town, he danced down the track and landed in a different area code to the pitch of the ball; in Port Elizabeth, he toe-ended an ugly swipe that saw him lose his wicket just as he was gaining steam. His 50-over game never quite recovered from that series.
From a distance, it seemed as if Markram's batting became something of an oxymoron, he was a free-flowing shot-maker who couldn’t play his shots. He seemed afraid of getting out the wrong way and was forever caught between trusting his instincts and playing responsibly.
Markram’s first two half-centuries were 17 innings apart and over an 18-month period. His collection of scores in the 20s and 30s between 2018 and 2022 became a metaphor for Markram’s once-promising career: one long unconverted start.
The 2023 version of Aiden Markram is a different gravy. He is in the right head space, and it shows. He hits the ball, defends, and leaves with intent. He is doing things the 2017-2022 version could only dream of. Against Sri Lanka, at the World Cup, Markram played a scoop shot that a batter low on confidence would never consider. Then there is the uppercut against Pakistan. It was so outrageous time stood still for a second.
It’s taken a while for this version of Aiden Markram to arrive in One Day Internationals, and boy has he made up for it. He has been so good he went from averaging 36.33 in five years to being the seventh-fastest South African batter to reach 2,000 runs in ODI cricket. At 58 innings, he has needed fewer innings than a few South African legends like Jacques Kallis (62), AB De Villiers (62), JP Duminy (65) and Faf Du Plessis (66).
When Ray Jennings bucked procedure and selected Markram for the SA Under-19 side, he was picking a free-flowing stroke-maker who had scored plenty of runs for Pretoria Boys High School but had failed to get a look in. That player has finally arrived at the Proteas ODI team. When compared to other South African batters with 2000 or more runs, Markram has the third-highest strike rate behind David Miller and AB de Villiers.
In the past 20 years, South Africa has employed 10 batters at number four at a World Cup and only two have scored 400 or more runs: AB de Villiers and Aiden Markram. They are also the only ones with centuries in that position. Three South African number four batters have scored at a run rate of 100 or more: AB de Villiers, Aiden Markram and Rilee Rossouw.
Of those three, Markram and de Villiers have more than 400 ODI World Cup runs, and Markram has scored the second-highest individual score and has hit the second-most fours.
When you zoom out and compare him to all number-four batters at the World Cup in the last 20 years, Markram compares favourably. He has the ninth-most runs and second-best strike rate by a number-four batter. When you zoom in to the current tournament, Markram has the most runs, most 50s and joint-most hundreds by a number four batter. He also has the highest strike rate among number fours with 200 or more runs.
But, Markram did not just discover form at the World Cup. From January 2023, there is no number four batter in ODI cricket who has scored more runs, struck as many fours and sixes or scored as many hundreds as Aiden Markram. He has belted the most 100s and second-most half-centuries. He has been unstoppable.
The best part about Markram's runs is that they are coming in periods that shape the game for the Proteas. South Africa has created a middle-order engine that scores at around a run-a-ball or more and doesn’t lose wickets in the guts of the innings. Markram has been the key to that in most matches.
This is the Aiden Markram the world hoped for when he made the step up to international cricket. He is finally here.
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Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS