Proteas opener Aiden Markram still quite positive despite another low score, says Ashwell Prince

AIDEN Markram’s poor run of form continued on day one of the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in Durban yesterday.

The opening batter, as he has done on many occasions in the past, looked promising as he drove on the back foot very early in his innings to get South Africa’s first boundary of the day.

Shortly after, the right-handed batter went hard at a delivery that was outside off-stump, got an edge and found the safe hands of the experienced Angelo Mathews in the slip cordon.

The opening batter had only managed nine runs off 11 balls in his 10th Test innings this year.

Despite Markram’s series of low scores in whites this year, Proteas Test batting coach Ashwell Prince reflected on the century that the 30-year-old scored in tough conditions against a strong Indian bowling attack at Newlands earlier this year as a reminder of his quality and ability.

The 47-year-old former left-hander emphasised that Markram is mentally strong enough not to sink in his sorrows, having scored just a lone century and half-century in the Test arena this year.

“When you have a bit of a run of bad form or low scores, it would be nice to arrive here this morning and the sun is shining. The fact that they were taking off the covers and overhead there was a bit of a drizzle doesn’t help things,” Prince said after the day’s play.

“He’s (Markram) in a good space. In his mind, he’s quite strong, he’s still quite positive, and obviously he’d like to get a score.

“We saw this year against India on a very difficult pitch in Cape Town him getting a hundred.”

Rain saved South Africa’s batting innings as the visitors had the hosts reeling on 80/4 inside the first two hours of play.

At some point, due to the moisture in the air at Kingsmead and the pitch having been under covers overnight leading into the opening day of the series opener, it seemed almost impossible to survive at the crease long enough, let alone score runs.

Right-arm fast bowler Lahiru Kumara was lethal with his express pace and the sharp in-swingers that he was able to deliver at the Proteas batters.

As a result, the quick grabbed two wickets as he got Tristan Stubbs (16) caught in the slip cordon and uprooted David Bedingham’s (4) off-stump.

Opening bowlers Vishwa Fernando (1/17) and Asitha Fernando (1/22) also got the job done as they got Tony de Zorzi (four) and Markram (nine) packing caught behind inside the first four overs.

With the team in trouble, Tristan Stubbs and captain Temba Bavuma combined for a 32-run partnership that lasted almost 12 overs before Stubbs was dismissed for 16 off 38 balls.

Bedingham then followed for just four as he got an inside edge onto his stumps from Kumara.

Bavuma, playing in his first Test since August in the Caribbean due to injury, was exemplary in his approach, despite being given two lives by the visitors as he was dropped on one and had a decision overturned due to a front-foot no-ball.

The 34-year-old left the deliveries that were outside off-stump very well and played late, a combination that batting coach Prince deemed “sound”, given the bowler-friendly conditions.

The Proteas captain struck crisp drives to keep the scoreboard ticking amid the relentless pressure from the visiting bowlers to end the day on 28 not out off 47 balls (5x4), with Kyle Verreynne unbeaten on nine.

“There’s no one way of doing things. If you think about the different players and the different styles of playing, everybody’s got their own method,” Prince said.

“Having said that, a big part of Test match batting or batting in general, whether it’s a Test match, ODI or a T20, the big of that is assessing the conditions.

“Once we assessed the conditions this morning, there’s a bit of swing on offer for the bowlers and there’s movement off the surface.

“I think just walking and putting our fingers on the surface this morning, it’s a little bit softer as well compared to what we are accustomed to.

“The pitch is not as firm as it can be here, which immediately says that when the seam goes into it, it’s likely to deviate.

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“On Temba, the method that he employed was to play as late as possible, even the drives that he did get away to the boundary.

“Every time they missed on the full side close to him, he could play an attacking shot without his hands getting away from his body.

“He could play a drive on the ball pitching really close to him. Particularly on his front foot, his attacking strokes were close to him, so his method today was pretty sound.”

Prince added that despite the other batters having failed in tough conditions, there is no need to search for frailties in techniques in panic.

“As a general rule, our batters have decent techniques, so you don’t want (them) after every dismissal (to) think that ‘I have a technical problem’,” he said.

“You have to say if you calculate everything – the quality of the bowling plus the conditions, that sometimes those will just get you out. So, it’s not always a technical issue.”

Play is scheduled to resume at 9.30am today, and South Africa will be looking to score as many runs as possible before they unleash the Kagiso Rabada-led attack on the Sri Lankan batters.