Markram backed by Amla
He will only get better because he is a world-class player, says senior batsman
SOUTH African cricket will in future reap the handsome rewards of the investment they have made in rising star Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla says. Cricket South Africa (CSA) selectors took the bold decision to hand the captaincy to Markram, 23, when Faf du Plessis was ruled out after the first one-day international in Durban and Amla says he made a good impression on him.
In the four matches in which Markram has been the leader of the side‚ South Africa suffered three heavy losses and won the Pink ODI.
He will be in charge again in the final encounter at SuperSport Park today, while JP Duminy will captain the side in the subsequent three-match T20 series which starts at the Wanderers on Sunday.
It is a match the Proteas will be keen to win so that they can finish off the series on a high note against the tourists.
“I have been very impressed with how he goes about his business on the field because he is composed and he has a good idea of what he likes‚” Amla said in Centurion yesterday.
“Obviously as a captain if you don’t score runs the first thing, it gets attributed to the captaincy. It happened to me.
“But he is still young at international cricket and this is a great opportunity for him to captain the senior national team.
“I am sure he has learnt a lot from batting and captaining at this level.
“He will only get better because he is a world-class player.
“He got starts in this series and did not go on to score big.
“However, I have no doubt that over time he will get better as he is a quality player.”
Amla admitted that the top order had not managed to put together decent partnerships and score big.
He tried to identify what had contributed to their struggles in the series, and conceded that they had struggled against the Indian wrist spinners.
“The top six have not managed to score big hundreds‚ click or get the momentum‚” he said.
“We have managed to get decent starts, but their spinners have bowled well and they have been better.
“We also missed the influence of Du Plessis‚ Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers‚ who were not available at some stages of the series.
“Faf has been a brilliant captain and one of our most consistent performers in this ODI team.
“It has been a huge loss not having the guys around.
“But while I say that‚ it has given opportunities to other guys on the peripheries, [looking towards] the 2019 World Cup.”
The Proteas were thumped by 73 runs in the fifth one-dayer in Port Elizabeth. – TimesLIVE