Taxing and draining —Aiden

● The dramatic cancellation of the fifth Test between England and India at a sold-out Old Trafford on Friday has brought into sharp focus the sustainability of bio-bubbles with Proteas batsman Aiden Markram saying touring is no longer hunky-dory.

On Friday it was announced that the game would not go ahead, with Indian players refusing to play after a Covid-19 outbreak among backroom staff.

The Proteas, who beat Sri Lanka by 28 runs in the first of three T20s on Friday, are on their umpteenth bio-bubble in Colombo and Markram said touring during Covid-19 is draining.

“Touring is now tough, it is something that we used to absolutely love but now you are spending months away from home and confined to a hotel room or just the hotel in itself and it gets quite taxing and draining,” he said after his knock of 48 earned him the player of the match.

“There are two sides to it, obviously we are incredibly happy to be playing cricket again and representing our country but in terms of it being sustainable it is always a tough one because you want to keep playing.

"But you also appreciate time with your family and friends back at home and when you’re spending long hours in a room and on your own, you can drive your own self mad. That being said, there are two sides to the coin but it is certainly not hunky-dory on tour and unfortunately it is what it is and we just go by with what we can.”

Looking closer to the Proteas camp, Markram spoke about how they are comforting players who missed out on selection for the World Cup.

In the current T20 squad in Sri Lanka, Andile Phehlukwayo, George Linde and Lizaad Williams narrowly missed out even though they will be travelling to the tournament as stand-by players.

Janneman Malan, who played in the T20 series against Ireland in July, missed out on selection completely.

“It is never a nice thing to be on the receiving end of bad news with regards to selection for the World Cup. If I am not mistaken, those guys that might be feeling the hurt and the pain have been getting quite a bit of love from the guys.

“Guys have been trying to take care and support them, I think they still appreciate the value that they have in the squad as a whole going to the World Cup.

“We have been brilliant in taking care of players who most of the times won’t be playing but are on tour and away from home especially now that we have a big squad because of Covid-19.

The Proteas return to action in the second T20 on Sunday where they will be looking to wrap up the series and Markram says there is room for improvement.

“I do think that there is room for improvement but I think maybe stretching to 30 more runs from 163 may be a bit much on a wicket like that. You look at the back end when I got out and I was followed by David Miller. If one of us is there maybe we might get an extra boundary or two away.

“That’s maybe 10 runs here or there, 30 runs is a bit much but I think 190 on that wicket was always going to be really a big challenge.

“It never felt like a 190 wicket but we will definitely look to improve and identify areas where we will look to score more. Ultimately we have to play the conditions and 160 in those conditions in my experienced opinion was still a good score.”

When you’re spending long hours in a room, you can drive your own self mad

Aiden Markram

Proteas batsman