Markram doesn’t want to be labelled as someone who only does well at home
DURBAN: Last summer the test for South Africa’s batsmen came against the speed and swing of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but in the next few weeks they will have to contend with the wiles of left-arm spinner supreme Rangana Herath.
The Proteas play a two-day warm-up game in Colombo from tomorrow and opener Aiden Markram will hope to set the tone up front.
The delightfully diminutive, but destructive Herath, on his own patch, is a deadly operator, having taken over the baton of responsibility from the prodigious Muttiah Muralitharan.
Where the big-eyed “Murali” was all wrist and sorcery, Herath’s is a slow poison. His fingers do the work, and clever changes of angle, pace and flight do the rest.
“I have no idea what to expect in terms of conditions, but he is one of the best spinners in the world,” Markram noted.
If he can get through the new ball, Herath will no doubt be first change, and settle in for long spells with men around the bat. He appears innocuous to the untrained eye, but his persistence, beautiful arc and nagging consistency can wear down any defence.
“It’s going to be a great challenge and hopefully I can take some learnings out of the series,” Markram said.
If Markram can take those learnings in a hurry, and convert starts into the stellar contributions that he dotted across his honeymoon period in Test cricket, it will go a long way to securing a second successive series on the little island for SA.
Markram has already put his breakthrough summer behind him, and the Proteas opener now wants to establish himself as a player capable of delivering around the world.
Ten Tests into his career for the Proteas, Markram faces his first Test away from home.
“It’s really important to me. You don’t want to be labelled as a guy who only does well in home conditions,” Markram said to local media in Colombo yesterday.
Across battles against India, Australia and Bangladesh, Markram showed relish for the ball that came at pace, as spin took a back seat during a frenetic summer of fire on home soil. Markram revelled against pace, scoring significant hundreds that showed he belonged at the highest level. Now he is bracing himself for an altogether different challenge.
“Any sub-continent conditions are going to pose a completely different challenge to South African conditions and it’s something I’m really looking forward to,” Markram said.
Inevitably, Markram was quizzed about life without AB de Villiers, and he admitted that the outrageously talented former captain left a massive void with his retirement from international cricket.
“It’s never nice to lose a player like AB. The quality that we lose is massive,” Makram agreed.
But, life goes on. Markram’s positive intent at the crease has led to suggestions by some that he could be the heir to De Villiers at the iconic No 4 slot in years to come. Certainly, he scores at the kind of rate that unnerves attacks, and he has an appetite for scoring massive hundreds.
But, for the moment at least, Markram is settled into his role at the top of the order with Dean Elgar. He has backed those in the middle-order conversation to step up and make the position their own over the next few months.
The opening Test in Galle starts from next Thursday.