Aiden Markram Ready To Bat At Number Four But Not To Replace AB de Villiers

Aiden Markram has fully justified the hype surrounding him before his international debut. Seen as the next big thing in South African cricket, Markram Test statistics are almost too perfect to believe.

In just 10 games, the right-handed batsman has scored exactly 1 000 runs at an average of 55.55. The performance helped him win one award on a night which belonged entirely to Kagiso Rabada. Markram was named Newcomer of the Year at the Cricket South Africa awards.

The stunning start to the Test career has also helped Markram reach the ninth spot in the Test batting rankings. He was the top run-getter in the series against Australia, scoring two tons as the Proteas thrashed the visitors 3-1.

Markram’s stunning start to his international cricket career has coincided with AB de Villiers’ retirement. With less than a year to go until the World Cup, South Africa have a big task at their hand to find de Villiers’ replacement. Well, Markram has the ability to bat at number four and the right-hander said he is ready for the challenge.

“It’s a little bit foreign to me, having opened for most of my life, but there have been a few white ball games with the Titans and in the Indian series where I have batted at No 4,” he told Sport24. 

“It’s a little bit different, but at the end of the day it’s the ball and the situation you’ve got to play. If I ever got given that opportunity I would take it with open arms.”

At the same time, Markram made it clear that trying to find out the next de Villiers is not a wise option.

“I don’t think it’s a case of trying to find the next AB de Villiers because we will never manage to find another player like that,” he said.

“It’s still quite important that whoever does fill that role makes it their own and plays their own game in that role,” he said.

“Whether you get the job done like AB does or whoever … as long as the job gets done.

“It’s going to be an interesting selection headache, because there are a lot of good players coming through. You’ve got a guy like Heinrich Klaasen and a guy like Temba (Bavuma) who might come into the mix now. It’s going to be interesting,” he added.