Markram ‘is sheer quality’

Senior statesman Hashim Amla (below) yesterday praised Aiden Markram as a top-class captain and batsman as the Proteas prepared for the final game in the six-match ODI series against India they have already lost, at Centurion today.

Depending on how Faf du Plessis’ hand injury is progressing, today’s game will probably be Markram’s last taste of the Proteas captaincy for a while, but it is a role he will almost certainly return to one day, especially after a glowing testimonial from former captain Amla.

“I’ve been very impressed with Aiden on the field, he’s very composed and has a good idea of what he wants. When a captain doesn’t score runs, the first thing that gets brought up is the same old cliche about the captaincy affecting him. I can certainly remember it happening with me,” Amla said at Centurion yesterday.

“But this has been a great opportunity for him and he will have learnt so much. The more he captains, the easier it will get. He’s been getting starts in this series and he is a quality batsman, who’s given us decent starts inside the first 10 overs.”

Apart from Markram, who has scored 103 runs in five innings, Amla confirmed that there have been a lot of lessons for everyone in the squad after a chastening 4-1 scoreline in the series thus far.

“Now that we’re 4-1 down, we want to end the series on a good note and the coach has a longterm vision and a few things up his sleeve. In ODI cricket, we haven’t been in this situation since 2008 in England when we lost four in a row, so a few of the younger guys think one-day cricket is really tough.

“The silver lining from losing is that it highlights your mistakes and motivates you to get better, to be better prepared for the World Cup. We’ve won so many series back-to-back, we’ve been very fortunate, but now our feet are back on the ground,” Amla said.