AB is ‘extremely impressed’ with the youngsters ...
JOHANNESBURG: The future of the Proteas looks bright, with the young, inexperienced members of the Test side all making significant contributions to the series win against India in the last fortnight.
Aiden Markram’s first innings 94 in the second Test, was a glorious display of fluency that highlighted his prodigious talent, and of course Lungi Ngidi, has captured the hearts of the nation with his infectious smile, as well as his searing pace when claiming the Man of the Match award for his 7/90 in the same match.
They are representative of the generational change that the national team is undergoing at present. Markram (23), Quinton de Kock (25), Kagiso Rabada (22) and Keshav Maharah (27) – which is very young by spin bowling standards) will form the core of the South African team in the next decade. Having achieved such noteworthy success already – in the case of De Kock and Rabada by also being involved in a series win in Australia – by beating Test cricket’s No 1 side, it will instil confidence and desire for more.
AB de Villiers appreciates the vitality the new generation has brought to the national set up. “I’ve been a part of a few of those (generational) changes in the last 13 years,” De Villiers chirped yesterday. “I’ve been extremely impressed with the youngsters who’ve come in, the maturity they’ve showed, guys like Aiden and Lungi... KG may be the No 1 bowler in the world, but in my eyes he’s still a youngster – he started just the other day but has the maturity of a guy who’s played for 10 seasons.”
Rather than rely too heavily on the experienced core – De Villiers, skipper Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel – the ‘kids’ have very much been doing it for themselves. Markram’s 94 on the first day at SuperSport Park was packed with lots of elegant shots, particularly his driving off both front and back foot.
It was an innings that caught the attention of no less a luminary than Virat Kohli, who was moved to pat Markram on the back after his dismissal, congratulating him on the quality of his innings.
Ngidi, who was a surprising selection, given he was only added to the squad after Dale Steyn got injured, left an indelible impression on the game, and even in a wider perspective, South African cricket.
“Lungi has been (doing well at franchise level) ... his stats are very good, and obviously he’s got x-factor and when someone has x-factor like that and they are young, you are going to fast-track them,” said Rabada.
Ngidi, Rabada and De Kock all fall into the category of players who’ve been fast-tracked. Greater caution, patience and more experimenting was needed before the selectors were able to settle on Markram and Maharaj. In the case of Markram, South Africa went through six different opening partners for Dean Elgar before eventually settling on the former SA Under-19 captain. He has quickly moved to alleviate any doubts about his readiness for the highest level, although he’s certainly been helped by the fact that he opened his international account against some soft opposition in the form of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
With neither Simon Harmer, nor Dane Piedt engendering much confidence in the spin department, Maharaj, utilising a disciplined diet, and a greater emphasis on fitness, took advantage of his call up to the side in 2016 to rapidly establish himself as the starting spinner. Maharaj has claimed an astonishing 57 wickets in 16 Tests, and is yet to play a Test on the sub-continent.
De Villiers said the strong leadership group within the national side, is playing its part in ensuring the dressing roomenvironment continues to allow those younger players to thrive. “’ It’s a great group of senior players at the moment; guys with good hearts.”