Markram loved crushing Australia

Aiden Markram, in his first season as a Protea, highlighted thrashing Australia as the best moment of the campaign.

The 23-year-old was phenomenal in Tests for the Proteas. He racked up exactly 1,000 runs in his whites at an average of 55.55 that included four centuries and three half-centuries.

Two of those tons, including his highest score of 152, came against the Baggy Greens.

‘It was definitely beating the Australians,’ he responded to CSA when asked about his best moments thus far. ‘It was a very eventful series, a very heated series, so it was nice to have gotten over them. It was brilliant to have been able to be part of this great series.’

He also spoke about his debut as ODI captain against India and categorised it as a learning curve. Markram was thrown into the role mid-series due to an injury to Faf du Plessis and the hosts ended up losing 6-1.

‘I learnt a lot in that month, probably the most I’ve learnt in my whole career,’ he said. ‘You get given the captaincy and you have to sort of make a plan and try to do well.

‘But I enjoyed the challenge and there’s probably a few things I would change if I could go back in time. Overall, I enjoyed it and relished the pressure. I was grateful for the opportunity.’

Despite his performances, which saw him rise to eighth in the Test rankings, he thanked Dean Elgar for playing a key role in his rise.

‘There’s no way that I expected the season to turn out the way it did. But I’m really grateful to have the first season go the way it did. At the end of the day, it’s the responsibility of an opening batter to try and get his team off to a good start.

‘A lot of credit must go to Dean for helping me settle into the spot. But there’s a lot of learning still taking place and I’m really fortunate how things panned out.’

His performance helped him pick up his first Cricket South Africa award, walking away as Newcomer of the Year.