So what to do with Aiden Markram remains the big question for the Proteas to sort out, despite the talented batsman’s return to form (almost) by scoring 42 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday. While 42 is a big enough score to generally get a name in the scores in short from leading cricket publications, it’s also the kind of so-so score that doesn’t really answer questions, especially if it comes after you hit 10. have played in previous innings. only 97 runs achieved. Markram should get one more innings at the Hagley…
So what to do with Aiden Markram remains the big question for the Proteas to sort out, despite the talented batsman’s return to form (almost) by scoring 42 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.
While 42 is a big enough score to generally get a name in the scores in short from leading cricket publications, it’s also the kind of so-so score that doesn’t really answer questions, especially if it comes after you hit 10. have played in previous innings. only 97 runs achieved.
Markram should get another innings at the Hagley Oval, one last chance to send his case home, but then the Proteas return to South Africa and begin preparations for their series against Bangladesh, including two Tests in April.
Keegan Petersen should be available again after his Covid positive test stopped him from traveling, and he was the man of the series against India, so he should be back on the team straight away. And Sarel Erwee made his mark in his second Test by scoring a stellar century on the first day of the second Test, so he certainly can’t be removed.
If Markram then goes on to score big runs in the second innings, things could of course become very awkward for the selectors. Or the Proteas could go back to the far from ideal days when they had seven batsmen and just four bowlers.
Of course, putting too many batsmen in too few places is a really fun problem for any team.
International stage
Having exploded onto the international stage with 1,000 runs in his first 10 Tests in 2017/18, including two centuries against Australia, few could have predicted that Markram would be at a crossroads in his Test career by 2022, playing for his future .
But after struggling with spin on the subcontinent, scoring just 84 runs in eight innings in India and Sri Lanka, the seam bowlers now seem to have the wood on Markram too.
Part of the problem seems to be that the 27-year-old is a victim of his own enormous talent. He’s such a great stroke player, but you sometimes get the impression that he’s a little too excited to feel bat-on-ball.
That was certainly the case in the first innings of the second Test on Friday. After battling hard to get inside a Hagley Oval pitch that still offered some relief to the pacers, Markram was looking for the kind of big score he desperately wants to get behind his name when he dropped from 17 out of 69 deliveries shortly after. went tea to 42 from 103 balls.
The limits were approaching and Markram seemed to have the procedure firmly in his hands. And then he managed to get a wide half volley from Neil Wagner in the briefs.
New Zealand then managed to get through Erwee’s defenses in the next over, but the southpaw’s 108 had put some much-needed solidity in first place and propelled the Proteas to a dominant position.
It was an innings of tremendous maturity and composure from Erwee. There were shots, like the cover drive, which he refused to visit until he’d been in the fold for over an hour. New Zealand’s probing bowling also took him to some dark places, especially as he approached his first Test century for tea.
But the 32-year-old drove the ebb and flow of his innings superbly. He stuck to his determined game plan to play as straight as possible and leave well.
Sharp shot selection was the hallmark of Erwee’s innings. It’s a quality Markram will need to revisit, urgently, if he is to continue his testing career.