Aiden Markram’s brilliant innings of 90 set the tone for the morning session against Pakistan on day one of the third Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers.
The Proteas opener followed up his superb innings of 78 in the second Test in Cape Town with a scintillating 90 in the third and final Test at the Wanderers, displaying the type of form that earned him Wisden’s vote as the third best U23 cricketer in the world.
Speaking to the media at the end of the first day at the Wanderers, Markram described his innings was ‘probably up there with the best I’ve moved in a session’, as he and Hashim Amla added 126 runs for the second wicket.
‘I thought it was quite tricky up front. In the first 5-6-7 overs their seamers made it really hard for us and the ball was going around a bit, but it was nice to get a good partnership with Hash. It was quite important to get through that first hour and allow us to set up a chance to go big after that.’
While Markram’s stroke play was of the highest order, the way he composed his innings was also top drawer.
‘It’s important to still respect good balls and identify good balls that you can’t be getting out to and need to be showing respect towards … but when a bad one does present itself or [you get] a ball in your zone to score, you need to be in the frame of mind to put it away. That’s important for me. It’s a bit of the intensity as well, and a lot of the natural and instinctive things take over as well,’ he said.
Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
