ICC trophy

‘Oh, here’s a beer’: Aiden Markram shares the story of having a drink with a fan after winning WTC final | Cricket News

Danijones21 hours ago04 mins

Aiden Markram having a beer with fans after South Africa won the WTC final. Aiden Markram played a pivotal role in South Africa winning the World Test Championship (WTC), beating Australia by five wickets at Lord’s.Markram’s superb 136 will go down as one of the most important knocks in the history of South African cricket. The 30-year-old opener took his side to the brink of the winning line, falling with his team six runs shy of completing the job, as they lifted their first major ICC trophy since 1998.Until this match, Markram was the only South Africa captain to have won a World Cup—the Under-19 version in 2014.After the historic win, the 30-year-old was seen having a drink with a fan post-match. Lobo Predicted It, Again: South Africa’s Historic WTC Win vs Australia “That was one of my mates from school,” Markram told Supersport.com.“He wanted me to come over and I said, ‘Flip man, I can’t, it’s too busy, it’s chaos.’“And then he was like, ‘Well, here’s a beer.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’m in.’ So, I’ve had my first one for today and I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few more.”Markram had led the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup final, and scarred by defeat when victory was in sight, this win was another tribute to his resilience. Poll How significant do you think Aiden Markram’s innings was for South African cricket? “I thought a lot about the T20 World Cup last night and how helpless I felt after getting out,” he said. “That gave me motivation to make sure I stayed at the crease. It was all about getting the job done.“This is as big and tough as it gets. All the questions that have been asked in the past have fortunately now been answered. It would be great to not hear it (‘chokers’) again, that’s for sure. To get rid of that tag is a big thing for this team.”Markram admitted he slept “horribly” but endured until six runs were needed. He was at the crease for six hours and 23 minutes.“It will rank up there as number one,” he said. “My Test career has been hard going, very stop-start. Weird how things worked out after a duck in the first innings. Need a bit of luck. It’s one of the most special days.”

Markram sets the marker for a South Africa cricket legend

Danijones1 day ago07 mins

Mumbai: Some narratives are hard to beat. It was said in commentary that South Africa had never won an ICC trophy. Until another expert corrected and said, “well, they did win the 1998 Champions Trophy, when it was known by another name”. Aiden Markram was immersed in the middle at Lord’s, else he might have wanted to scream out loud, what about the 2014 U-19 World Cup he led South Africa to a title win in? South Africa’s Aiden Markram, whose epic 136 helped the team chase down 282 in the fourth innings to beat Australia by five wickets in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s on Saturday. (Reuters) But then, Markram is not that sort. All through his 207-ball, 383-minute stay at the crease, in which he denied the greatest Test bowling attack there is, to help South Africa get over the line against Australia to the World Test Championship title, he never allowed himself to break into a smile. Lest his focus waver, resolve soften. Not when he got to his eighth Test hundred late on Day 3, not when the Player-of-the-Match was finally dismissed on 136, even though by then his team was within touching distance of history. Markram had walked in as opener in pursuit of a 282-run fourth innings run chase. When he was finally done and walked back through the Lord’s Long Room up to the storied balcony, the standing ovation, the unending applause, he received was in appreciation of the greatest knock by a South African batter. “Un-frickin-believable,” was teammate Marco Jansen’s description of Markram’s epic while talking to former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith, doing TV duties. Compared to Smith, South Africa’s third-highest run scorer, Markram is a lesser figure. Or to Hashim Amla, who scored more runs than Smith, or Jacques Kallis, who safely tops the chart. But none of those greats could fashion a masterpiece like Markram to exorcise the ghosts of the past. Test hundreds should not be compared to white-ball brilliance; the fabric of the two is entirely different. But the burden of the past weighed so heavily on South Africa, with their repeated losses in knockout matches at world events – two quarter-finals, 12 semi-finals, and the 2024 T20 World Cup final – that this knock had to circumvent challenges that went way beyond the usual vagaries of the pitch in a fourth innings run chase. Markram was among the crestfallen South African 15 who lost to India in the T20 final in Barbados last year. Markram, 30, never flinched when Pat Cummins was probing with the new ball. He took Mitchell Starc on. He had the answers to Josh Hazlewood’s nagging lengths. To Nathan Lyon, he played mostly off the backfoot, adroitly, so that the attempted spinning off-breaks from the rough would not run through the gate. Externally, stoic all the way through, the right-hander, in attack and defence, held such a sway over proceedings that even Australia could not penetrate. For eight years, Markram’s chequered career was of unfulfilled promise. A great batting hope from his U-19 days who had all the strokes in the book, he had never found the purple patch a great career must experience. If ever he needed an uplift, he has got one with the most defining innings of his career. Markram could not have done it alone. It was his 147-run third wicket partnership with skipper Temba Bavuma that took South Africa past Australia. Markram and Bavuma have been interchanged as captain across formats by the selectors, but the two have plenty of mutual respect. It was Markram who convinced Bavuma, hobbling due to a hamstring injury, to battle pain and continue batting in the post tea session on Day 3, according to head coach Shukri Conrad. “A lot of it came from him (Bavuma), he has always led from the front, found ways to score runs and these sorts of knocks are something people will remember you for,” Markram said about Bavuma’s 66. “Markram was unbelievable,” Bavuma said in admiration of Markram. “Stats are important, but character is what we look at and Aiden has that.” On his own innings, Markram agreed he “hadn’t scored more important runs”. Absolutely, no one in the rainbow nation would disagree.

‘It’s been outstanding batting performance’: Graeme Smith hails South African batters in WTC Final | Cricket News

Danijones2 days ago05 mins

Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma of South Africa (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Former South African cricket captain Graeme Smith praised his team’s batting performance against Australia at Lord’s as they moved closer to winning their first ICC trophy in 27 years. With just 69 runs needed for victory in the World Test Championship final, South Africa’s Aiden Markram (102 not out) and Temba Bavuma (65 not out) will resume their 143-run partnership on Day 4.The match saw dramatic shifts in momentum over the first two days with bowlers dominating and claiming 28 wickets. South Africa’s bowling unit helped finish Australia’s innings during what was considered the best batting period of the Test.“We’ve seen such ups and downs, ebbs and flows in this Test match. The game going back and forth, and South Africa fighting back from 75 behind in the first innings, bowling well, getting themselves back in the game. It’s been an outstanding batting performance. I think your instinct always tends to lie when you’ve seen the pitch play a certain way for the first two days, your instincts are always going to back that Australian pace attack on that surface,” Smith said while speaking to ICC’s Digital Daily. Bold prediction! Astrologer Greenstone Lobo picks winner of Australia vs South Africa WTC Final 2025 Smith noted that the pitch appeared to lose its life on the third day, though South Africa had to work hard for their two wickets. He highlighted the crucial partnership between Markram and Bavuma that brought them close to victory.Markram’s century was the highlight of Day 3, with both batsmen appearing composed despite the pressure of playing in a World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“I actually picked him at the start of this innings. I said, ‘If South Africa are going to go on to do this, he’s the man’ because he scores. He takes the game on, and you’ll keep the scoreboard ticking all the time. And he’s certainly done that today. It’s an occasion like this to see him own it and to perform. Coming off a nought in the first innings, coming out second innings under pressure,” Smith stated.The former captain was particularly impressed with Markram’s performance, especially considering his duck in the first innings. He emphasized how Markram looked confident from the start of his innings.“The performance that he put in, (it) was incredible to watch right from the get-go. He looked at good positions. He had one punch of the back foot. You thought, ‘Okay, the man’s here today.’ Him and Temba will be feeling drained tonight. They still have got 69 to get. But I think tonight it’s important to celebrate a great partnership and an incredible hundred,” Smith concluded.The third-wicket partnership between Markram and Bavuma has put South Africa in a strong position to secure their first ICC trophy since 1996.