POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, (Reuters) – South Africa’s new opening batsmen Aiden Markram received another vote of confidence yesterday as captain Faf du Plessis predicted he could have a promising future.
Markram has been called up to partner Dean Elgar and will make his debut today in the first test against Bangladesh at Senwes Park.
“He has a very good head on his shoulders and I think someone like that generally learns quickly and if there was one or two things that he was going to learn in internationalcricket‚ he will make those decisions quickly,” said the captain.
“Players like that generally step-up to international cricket a lot quicker.”
Markram is the latest opening partner for Elgar after a number of players have struggled to establish themselves in an unsettled position for South Africa. Elgar said on Monday he thought the 22-year-old, who has a first class average of 44.33 and was recently appointed captain of his provincial team, was a special player.
“Enough has been said about Aiden in the past week or so and we know that he is a quality cricketer with youth on his side‚“ Du Plessis added.
“For me‚ it is important that he doesn’t listen too much to the things that are being said out there about him. It is really important for him to stay focused on the fact that he is just playing another game.”
Markram could be joined in the test line-up by 21-year-old all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, who has already played for South Africa in limited overs internationals, the captain added. The final line-up will be named just before the start of play today. South Africa host Bangladesh in two tests. The second is in Bloemfontein from Oct. 6-10.
