Aiden Markram says he felt “relief” after hitting a century on his return to Test cricket for South Africa on the first day of the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park on Tuesday.

Markram hit 115 out of a total of 314 for 8 for South Africa. He then said he had wondered if he would get another chance after South Africa dropped him last year.

“It was the biggest sense of relief – and belief that I can still compete in this format,” he said.

Markram had a great start to his Test career, scoring 1,000 runs in his first 10 Tests. However, he was dropped from the team last year after a long slump in which he failed to score a half-century in 15 innings and only scored 30 or more twice.

“You do wonder if you will get the opportunity again,” he said. “I’ve always loved red-ball cricket and I’m glad the coach and captain backed me.”

The South African team’s new coach, Shukri Conrad, made a lot of changes, including putting Temba Bavuma in charge and bringing back Markram.

Markram recently won the first SA20 franchise tournament with his team, Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

“It might have helped from a confidence point of view,” he said of his Twenty20 exploits.

“If you get tentative you can dig a few holes for yourself.”

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