Centurion - Former Proteas captain Shaun Pollock has backed Aiden Markram to continue in the number four batting position in Tests for the Proteas, despite a lack of recent form.
Pollock, 48, was speaking on SuperSport’s Wake up and Smell the Cricket show after the conclusion of the second Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Tuesday. South Africa won the second Test by 198 runs to end the series 1-1 in Christchurch.
Markram, though, and his position in the side has been the subject of debate due to his loss of form as he averages 16 in the four Tests he’s played in 2022, after averaging 34 in six Tests in 2021. To date, Markram has played 31 Tests and averages 35 with five centuries scored.
For Pollock who played 108 Test for South Africa, taking 421 wickets and scoring 3781 runs, it was between Markram and Rassie van Der Dussen for the number four batting position. The 33-year-old Van der Dussen has played 15 Tests for South Africa, scoring 824 runs at an average of 32.98 with a highest score of 98.
Pollock said: “From a selection perspective, sometimes you have to look short-term and sometimes you have to look long-term. For me if I’m chief of selectors with big series against England and Australia [coming up]… what do I want from my Test lineup?
“From what I’ve seen I like [Dean] Elgar and [Sarel] Erwee at the top. I’d go Keegan Petersen at three for what he did against India. I think it’s a shoot-out between Markram and Van Der Dussen at this stage [for number four].
“Van Der Dussen is another one of those guys that has got some good 30s and 40s but hasn’t really kicked on. You have to ask what you want from your middle order? You want someone who if they can get themselves in, they can then take the attack to the opposition. Like what AB de Villiers used to do with his counter-punching. Between the two of them, Markram does that for me.”
Pollock cited Markram’s performance against hosts Pakistan last year when he scored 227 runs, including a century and a 50, in the two Test series, as proof of his ability against spin.
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“Yes, he’s not in form and making runs… but who plays spin better between the two? I’m probably going with Markram as his tour of Pakistan showed. Then you’ve got [Temba] Bavuma and [Kyle] Verreyne.”
Markram has also been earmarked as a future captain of South Africa, as he has previously led the country to glory in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2014. Therefore, Pollock believes Markram should remain in SA’s long-term plans.
“Also when Elgar retires, who’s the person who replaces him as captain? There’s been a lot of talk that Markram could be the one to lead South Africa for five or so years.
“In the One-Day arena, from the T20s and the One-Dayers he could be the guy we bat our whole innings around. He played really well in that T20 World Cup [last year]. I don’t think it’s as easy as saying he’s out of form we should let him go. I think the bigger picture needs to be taken into account.”
Series tied🤝
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Another former Proteas allrounder - Vernon Philander - suggested that Markram may need time away from the national setup to work on his game.
“When you’re struggling at that level it’s very difficult to pick yourself up, especially still being in the setup,” said Philander.
“There has to be an acknowledgement of the struggle with your technique. It’s probably [about] taking him out of that setup to go work on his technique and go and work on eliminating certain dismissal modes. He’s probably going to play for South Africa for a very long time and I’d much rather they address those issues now.”