Aiden shines on gloomy day for SA
ANTI-CLIMAX: PROTEAS COLLAPSE AFTER BIG STAND Resilient Markram bats himself into the record books.
After an heroic century by Aiden Markram had dominated the dramatic fourth day of the first Test, play ended in anti-climax as Australia had just one more wicket to get when bad light stymied their charge.
Chasing 417 for victory, South Africa ended the penultimate day on 293/9.
They had slumped to 49/4 before Markram finally found some partners willing to battle for survival with him.
He and Theunis de Bruyn (36) added 87 for the fifth wicket, but the partnership which really had the optimistic believing was the 147 Markram and Quinton de Kock put on for the sixth wicket, a record for the Proteas in the fourth innings of a Test.
Markram said he had not really focused on whether they would be able to get to 417, but Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine admitted, however, that the visitors were beginning to get worried.
“I wasn’t really monitoring the scoreboard but anything is possible and we’ve done it in the past. It would have been great to be in the position where myself and Quinny were still at the crease, but I just tried to bat for as long as I can. We had to fight and a guy like Theunis showed a lot of character.
“Quinny as well, a lot is said about him being all talent, but today he really showed a lot of fight,” Markram said.
“It was a superb innings by Aiden on a really tough pitch, there was reverse-swing and lots of spin, and they were getting close to winning the game,” Paine said.
“We didn’t start to think they were getting away from us because we knew the new ball was around the corner, but I’m sure some guys were worried. Aiden and Quinton were playing really well, but we knew we were one wicket away.”
Markram eventually fell for an epic 339-minute 143 – the third highest fourth-innings score by a South African batsman – and marked by numerous marvellous drives. The 23-year-old was snapped up by Paine as he tried to run Mitchell Marsh down to third man, a fine catch that opened the door for the increasingly frustrated Australians.
Mitchell Starc then had his usual devastating effect on the lower-order, taking three wickets in five balls and leaving himself on a hat-trick.
But the typical Durban late-afternoon gloom had settled in by then and the left-arm fast bowler was denied the chance to bowl another ball due to the bad light forcing the use of only slow bowlers for the last nine overs without success as Morne Morkel survived 27 deliveries and De Kock reached stumps on a superb 81 not out, a great return-to-form knock that could have been a matchwinning one had the Proteas top-order shown more gumption.