South Africa might have been beaten in the first Test against Australia, but opening batsman Aiden Markram said after a career-defining century that his team’s hopes had been raised for the rest of the four-match series.
Australia yesterday took the final wicket of Quinton de Kock to dismiss the hosts for 298 and wrap up a 118-run victory.
Markram made 143 and led a stirring fightback after the side were reeling at 49-4 on Sunday, with their four most senior batsmen all failing to reach double figures.
Photo: AP
“It definitely does give us confidence,” Markram said. “It’s a long series and every innings is vitally important in the context of the series. We would like to have done it better in the first dig, especially with the bat, but we showed a lot of fight today.”
Markram praised Theunis de Bruyn, playing in his fourth Test, for taking on Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc in a highly-charged over in which De Bruyn hit three boundaries and received an earful of abuse from the left-arm bowler.
De Bruyn made 36 in a fifth-wicket stand of 87 with Markram, who was then joined by De Kock in a 147-run partnership which raised flickering hopes of South Africa achieving an improbable victory.
That hope was extinguished when Markram was caught behind by wicketkeeper Tim Paine, standing up to Mitchell Marsh.
Three overs later Starc took three wickets in five balls to have South Africa nine wickets down.
He was robbed of a possible hat-trick when the umpires told Australia captain Steve Smith that play would be ended for bad light unless slow bowlers were used.
De Kock and Morne Morkel survived for nine overs against Smith and Nathan Lyon before play was finally called off.
Markram said South Africa’s recovery from a disastrous start “showed a lot of fight and character, which is good going into the rest of the series.”
Markram had made centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, two of cricket’s lesser powers, but said performing against Australia in tough conditions was a personal highlight.
He said that although there was reverse swing there was minimal movement off the pitch.
“It was the sort of wicket where once you got in you could develop a plan,” he said.
He said he was not bothered by attempts to unsettle him.
“There was a lot of chatter on the field. It’s something I don’t mind, it really keeps me in the game and it never really gets out of line. It’s part of the game and makes success that bit more rewarding,” he added.
Markram also had to deal with being involved in an incident which saw star batsman A.B. de Villiers run out for a duck.
The opener turned a ball from Lyon behind square-leg and did not respond when De Villiers called him through for a run.
De Villiers had to turn and tried to go back, but could not beat David Warner’s throw to Lyon.
“It happens really quickly,” Markram said. “David Warner is one of the best fielders in the world and as soon as I saw it I didn’t think there was a run. It was very unfortunate. It wasn’t nice to be at the other end watching A.B. being run out.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
RSS