Test History Beckons...

But job not done yet

Aiden Markram was captain of the SA Under-19 team which won the junior World Cup in 2014. He would have been justified, and excused, for wondering how many more trophies there might be in the offing. ‘None’ was the answer, of course, and he endured the pain of captaining the T20 team in their World Cup final in Barbados last year when they lost having required 30 from 30 balls with six wickets in hand.

Before that he was dropped from the Test team for a tour to Australia involving the iconic Boxing Day and New Years Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Sure, he’s had a couple of decent (earning) years in the IPL but there was always a very strong sense with Markram that Test cricket was where his heart lay. But a ‘sense’ isn’t required. He says it straight up.

Markram was on 97 with nine minutes of the third day remaining at Lord’s. Josh Hazlewood and the rest of the Australian team had done everything possible to slow the pace of play and leave him stranded short of the cherished milestone overnight. A cruel but ‘legitimate’ ploy. The first four balls took five minutes to complete.

Ironically, the master dot-ball bowler then got it wrong and Markram whipped him to the midwicket boundary. When he tugged off his helmet the steel glint was still in his eyes but, suddenly, so were the tears. Briefly streaming. Bottle them and you’ll have the essence of sporting emotion. Big Aiden wiped them away with his sleeves, twice. And when his captain saw they were still clouding his vision, he prevaricated to allow him time for a third wipe.

We can’t even start on Bavuma. Let’s do that tomorrow. But we can smile at batting coach Ashwell Prince’s (entirely serious) whimsy: “History may beckon, yes, but the job is not done yet. It’s never done until the last ball.”

The Aussies sent ‘assistant coach’ and former New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, to speak to the media after the day’s play. “Remember, be bold, Dan, we never give up, anything can happen – and don’t ever praise the opposition!”

“There’s no desire to get ahead of ourselves,” said top three all-time-decent cricketing human being, Vettori: “One wicket, that’s the starting point. And because these two (Markram and Bavuma) are in such control, if we can get a new batsman to the crease, then that's the start of it.

“There won’t be any thinking about how to get eight dismissals. It will be simply about getting one and seeing what can happen from there.” Right. OK. Very Kiwi. Not very Aussie.

“Under those conditions, Markram and Bavuma were exceptional,” said Vettori. Stop it Dan, that’s not how it works with us. “They were able to navigate their way through any tricky situation and then be able to put pressure back on us at the most opportune time.” Daniel!!

“It was a pretty benign wicket and obviously conditions weren't assisting the ball, but that partnership was exceptional.” Right, that’s it. Who employed this guy?

*Meet Kux Kwinana and his friend, Cindy. Despite the frenzy of a packed concourse under the Mound Stand during the lunch break the joy and energy emanating from them was impossible to ignore. Actually, I think it was their smiles, so I introduced myself. Kux is based in the Netherlands where he has established a one-on-one coaching course called the ‘Powerplay Cricket Academy.’ He’s also the coach at a club called MOP in Vught. They travelled by ferry overnight and arrived in London for the third day. “I couldn’t bear it if we’re World Test Champions and I wasn’t here to see it,” Kux told me. Cindy, on the other hand, is still learning cricket. “But I’m loving it so far…”

*Talking of the Mound Stand, it’s where the CSA allocation of approximately 300 tickets for the Test are based. It is a veritable bouquet of the good and worthy in South African cricket with employees past and present being rewarded or thanked for their services to the game. And there are also a few others seated amongst them. Most have paid their own way and sourced their accommodation but others were flown and bedded at CSA’s expense. Frankly, given the waste and excess of past years and previous regimes, this is one occasion they deserve to enjoy. And they did.

*Definitely no space for anymore ‘price of Lord’s’ jokes. Anyway, it’s all about the occasion and being at the venue rather than the money. I did ask the kind lady serving in the Veuve Clicquot bar how many Jeroboams they normally sell during a Test match. “Oh, loads,” she replied. And Salmanazars? A snip at £1220 and the equivalent of six ordinary bottles: “Not so many of them, but we do sell a few each Test match.” Just two tours ago to this country I bought an extremely good second-hand car for that amount. And sold it afterwards for about £50 less.