Aiden Markram is having a stellar year in ODI cricket.
Since late March, he has scored two centuries and averaged 90.20 runs in seven innings. One of his hundreds was against the Netherlands, who crushed South Africa, while the second was against Australia in Potchefstroom last week.
South Africa built a big lead in the first half of the innings through Quinton de Kock and Themba Bavuma before losing both in successive overs by the time Markram reached the crease. Since then, he has scored an unbeaten 102 off 74 balls to ensure South Africa total over 300 runs. No player who batted under Markram scored more than 32 points.
South Africa won this match by 111 points. They overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the series and started a three-game winning streak. After the first two ODIs, fears that South Africa would be eliminated from the World Cup group stages seemed to become more concrete. But the tournament favorite had even more reason to be optimistic after winning one in the series.
Markram’s return to the 50-over format this year was long overdue. Despite being South Africa’s golden child, his ODI career has been mediocre since his international debut in 2017. Until the start against Holland, he had never scored his hundred in this format, averaging 30.11 in 46 innings.
It’s not like Mr. Markram suffered a series of poor results or inconsistency. During that period, he scored 30 or more runs in 19 innings and scored six half-centuries. However, he never really got into the swing of things and achieved great success. This had a significant impact on South Africa.
It took Aiden Markram 50 ODIs to make his first hundred, and now he’s added another three games later 👏
At 98*, he had four strikes before the last ball of the innings and reached a brilliant three. He needs 339 for Australia to win.
スコア: https://t.co/kAaNzww2vV#SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/OHKICTo6qa
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 12. September 2023
From the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2022, South Africa’s top four averaged 43.58 runs per wicket. In matches involving Markram, who finishes exclusively in the top four in ODIs, this average drops to 37.66. However, since the start of the year, South Africa’s top four have averaged 47.31 runs per wicket, second only to India’s leaders. Markram played in all but one of his ODIs for South Africa this year.
David Miller and Heinrich Klassen are also in great form, giving South Africa one of the most dangerous numbers 4-6 in the World Cup. Miller and Klassen promise to provide fireworks from the first pitch, as evidenced by the win over Australia in Game 4 of the series, while Markram should be seen as a dual threat. His innings this year shows he can secure both innings.
Only Harry Tector has hit more sixes than Markram in ODIs this year. Markram also boasts the highest batting average among players who have played at this position more than four times this year, and his batting average ranks him second behind only Shy Hope.
Besides his running ability and consistency, there are other benefits to Markram’s recent impressive run of form in South Africa’s World Cup campaign. They have the usual formidable pacers and big batsmen in their squad, but there are few all-rounders who can balance the team. The only real option in this department is Marco Jansen, but although he has had an impressive international career so far, he has little experience. Against Australia, Janssen finished seventh, with Andile Phelkwayo below him, but he was not included in the provisional World Cup squad. Gerard Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi all proved vulnerable at the tail and were dismissed for ducks in the final ODI against Australia.
Markram is far from a true all-rounder, but a break in India could come in handy. He has 16 wickets in ODIs and bowls and has a decent economy rate (5.87). South Africa have named two spinners in the team, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. If both players are included in the squad, South Africa will likely only be able to use three-seamer players, including Jansen. If Markram can prove to be a reliable option to get through many overs with the ball, he could be incredibly useful.
There is no guarantee that Markram’s extraordinary year will continue at the World Cup. Given how recent his rise in runs is and how many records he set before then, there’s a good chance he could find himself in trouble again. But South Africa can use it in many ways to put on a good tournament, and the chances of that happening seem better now than before.
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