Why The Proteas Need Aiden Markram At His Best Against Australia

The Proteas possess one of the most dangerous bowling attacks in Test cricket, but if they are going to beat Australia in their blockbuster three-match series, Aiden Markram and the rest of the batters will have to give Kagiso Rabada and company enough runs to work with.

ALSO READ: Kagiso Rabada vs Australia: A Test Cricket Love Affair.

Aiden Markram, South Africa’s senior opener, will have the unenviable task of taking on Australia’s new-ball attack and setting the tone at the top of the order. Against an Australian side packed with world-class bowling options, losing early wickets could expose the Proteas’ middle order before the shine has disappeared from the ball.

Fortunately, there is something about playing Australia that seems to bring out the very best in Markram. His first Test series against them produced a staggering 480 runs at an average of 60, including two centuries, while his most recent Test against the Aussies ended with him playing arguably the greatest innings of his career.

With Australia returning to South Africa for another heavyweight Test series, the Proteas need that version of Markram again.

Australia Have Always Brought Out The Best In Markram

Markram’s relationship with Australia goes all the way back to his first full year as a Test cricketer.

The right-hander had already announced himself as one of South Africa’s brightest batting talents when Australia arrived for their infamous four-Test tour in 2018, but that series showed exactly how good he could become.

Markram amassed 480 runs at an average of 60 across eight innings, a phenomenal return for a young opener facing one of the strongest attacks in world cricket. He scored two centuries during the series as South Africa recovered from losing the opening Test to secure a memorable 3-1 victory.

His first hundred came in Durban, where he struck a brilliant 143 in the second innings. South Africa were chasing an imposing 417 and ultimately fell short, but Markram’s innings gave them hope when the contest appeared to be disappearing rapidly.

He then went even bigger in the series finale at the Wanderers.

Markram scored 152 in Johannesburg, helping South Africa build the platform for a crushing victory that completed their 3-1 series triumph. The innings remains one of the finest examples of what Markram can do when he gets through the new ball and settles at the crease.

For a young opener still establishing himself at Test level, scoring almost 500 runs against Australia was an enormous statement.

It also established a pattern that has followed Markram throughout his career. Australia are among the most difficult opponents in Test cricket, but rather than being intimidated by the challenge, he appears to relish it.

Then Came Lord’s

Seven years after that 2018 series, Markram produced the innings that will probably define his career regardless of what he achieves from here.

South Africa faced Australia in the 2025 World Test Championship final at Lord’s with an opportunity to end the country’s long wait for a senior men’s ICC title. Markram’s match couldn’t have started much worse when Mitchell Starc bowled him for a duck in the first innings.

What followed was one of the great South African Test innings.

Set 282 to win in the fourth innings, the Proteas had to negotiate an Australian attack featuring some of the finest bowlers of their generation. Markram responded with a magnificent 136 from 207 deliveries, anchoring the chase and putting South Africa on the brink of history.

His partnership with captain Temba Bavuma was particularly important. South Africa had slipped to 70/2 when Bavuma joined Markram, but the pair absorbed Australia’s pressure and gradually transformed a daunting chase into a winning position.

Markram was eventually dismissed with only six runs required, but by then his job was effectively complete. South Africa went on to win by five wickets and become world Test champions, with Markram deservedly named Player of the Match.

It was a remarkable response from a batter who had made a duck in the first innings.

More importantly, it demonstrated once again that when Australia are standing between Markram and something significant, the South African opener has a habit of producing his best cricket.

Three Hundreds Against The Aussies

Put the two chapters together and Markram’s record against Australia becomes even more impressive.

He scored two centuries and 480 runs at 60.00 during the 2018 home series, before adding another hundred against them on the biggest stage of all at Lord’s seven years later.

That means three of the most memorable hundreds of Markram’s Test career have come against the Aussies.

The circumstances have also been completely different. His 143 in Durban came while attempting to pull off an enormous fourth-innings chase. His 152 at the Wanderers helped South Africa dominate the series finale. His 136 at Lord’s came with a world championship on the line.

That variety is important because it demonstrates that Markram hasn’t simply cashed in against Australia when conditions have been favourable.

He has hurt them in losing causes, dominant victories and under enormous fourth-innings pressure.

A Man For The Fourth Innings

The Lord’s masterpiece also reinforced another fascinating element of Markram’s Test record.

It was his third fourth-innings century in Test cricket, putting him alongside some extraordinary names. Among active Test players at the time, only Markram and England’s Ben Stokes had scored three or more fourth-innings hundreds, while Graeme Smith remains the only South African to have scored more, with four.

Fourth-innings runs are different.

The pitch is usually at its most worn, bowlers are attacking relentlessly, and every wicket changes the equation of the match. When you’re chasing a target, scoreboard pressure is constantly present as well.

For an opener, the challenge is arguably even greater because there is still a relatively fresh ball to negotiate.

Markram’s ability to produce hundreds in those circumstances says something about his temperament. His overall Test career has contained frustrating periods of inconsistency, but when he finds himself in some of the most pressurised situations the format can produce, he has repeatedly demonstrated that he possesses the game to respond.

South Africa Need Him To Win The New-Ball Battle

Markram’s importance in this upcoming series goes far beyond his history against Australia.

As an opener, he occupies arguably the most difficult position in the Proteas batting line-up. Australia possess the quality to destroy teams with the new ball, which means South Africa desperately need somebody at the top of the order capable of surviving the initial examination.

Markram doesn’t necessarily have to dominate from his first delivery. In fact, there could be enormous value in simply occupying the crease, leaving well and forcing Australia’s quicks into second and third spells.

The longer he bats, the easier life potentially becomes for the players behind him.

If Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Wiaan Mulder and the rest of South Africa’s middle order are walking in after 30 overs rather than five, the complexion of the innings changes considerably. Australia’s fast bowlers are older, the ball has lost some of its hardness and the Proteas have a platform from which they can begin dictating terms.

Conversely, if Markram disappears inside the first few overs, Australia immediately have an opportunity to expose South Africa’s middle order with the new ball.

That’s why his contribution to this series shouldn’t simply be judged by how many hundreds he scores.

A hard-fought 60 or 70 after surviving a difficult opening session could be just as valuable.

South Africa Can’t Rely On Their Bowlers To Do Everything

Much of the attention before the series will understandably fall on South Africa’s bowling attack.

Rabada remains one of Test cricket’s great strike bowlers, while Marco Jansen provides bounce and a dangerous left-arm angle. Keshav Maharaj gives the Proteas a world-class spin option, and South Africa have considerable depth behind them.

The Proteas already know their bowlers can hurt Australia. Rabada demonstrated that spectacularly in the World Test Championship final, taking nine wickets across the match as South Africa captured the mace.

But even the best attack needs scoreboard pressure.

If South Africa are regularly dismissed for totals around 200, their bowlers will have almost no margin for error. If the batting unit can consistently push towards 300 and beyond, suddenly Rabada, Jansen, Maharaj and company can attack with runs behind them.

Markram has a huge role to play in making that possible.

The ideal scenario for South Africa isn’t simply for him to survive the new ball. It’s for him to survive it and then cash in.

That is precisely what he did so effectively against Australia in 2018.