Batting performance in tour-game loss ‘not ideal’, says Aiden Markram

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat, but were bowled out for just 173. Aiden Markram (47) and David Miller (43) were the only top-order batsmen to get some runs, while Dale Steyn (20) and Kagiso Rabada (28*) did well towards the end.

The local side cruised to victory in 36.3 overs, though Rabada and Lungi Ngidi picked up two wickets apiece.

“It was not ideal. It would have been nice to get off to a winning start and for the batsmen to find some form. Their bowlers bowled incredibly well, they struck upfront and put us on the back foot from the start,” said Markram after the game.

“The most obvious (area of concern) is building partnerships. We weren’t able to build partnerships and you won’t post a big score without partnerships. That is one of the big learnings, guys need to identify their game plans and strengths in these conditions and must be able to do it for long periods of time.”

Markram was in good touch. His opening partner Quinton de Kock and one-down Reeza Hendricks fell for ducks, and Faf du Plessis didn’t last too long either – Jason Behrendorff picked up all three wickets – but Markram got close to a half-century before falling in the 17th over. Behrendorff finished with 3/35, while leg-spinner Usman Qadir got 3/28.

“It was nice to spend some time out in the middle. As a batter, the runs are never enough and in that sort of situation in the game it would have been ideal for me to kick on and to drag the partnership out with David. I am not entirely happy about getting out but looking back I’m happy with the little bit of time I managed to spend out there,” he said.

It was a decent bowling performance, though. While Rabada and Ngidi got two wickets each, Steyn and Imran Tahir got one apiece, and they kept things tight. But with Josh Philippe and captain George Bailey scoring half-centuries, the target was always within range.

“I thought with the ball we were there and always asking good questions, it’s important to be able to do that for 50 overs. From a bowling perspective, we were decent tonight,” said Markram.

“For us, it is about what we want to get out of a game like this, and it is different for each individual. From this game, the guys can see how much work still needs to be done going into the first ODI. We can fine-tune it going forward and hopefully when the first game comes we are hitting our straps.”

The action now moves to Perth, where South Africa will take on Australia for the first of three one-day internationals, which will be followed by a one-off Twenty20 International.