T20 WC: ‘Good leader’ Markram knows when to step it up, says SA consultant Morkel

New Delhi, Feb 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) South Africa’s coaching consultant Albie Morkel feels in-form captain Aiden Markram is someone who invariably finds another gear when the stakes are highest in tournament cricket, adding that he’s a good leader who’s earned the respect of the entire team.

Markram went on the offensive in South Africa’s pursuit of 176 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, smashing a 19-ball half-century on his way to making an unbeaten 86 that set the tone for a comfortable victory. Markram has now amassed 150 runs in three innings, averaging 75 with a strike rate of 179.

Since the start of 2025, Markram has amassed 1,557 runs in 48 T20 innings at an average of 37.1 and a strike rate of 148, with 13 fifties and a century. But his batting returns as South Africa’s T20I captain have shifted markedly.

After going without a fifty in his first 33 T20I innings as skipper, Markram has struck four half-centuries in his last eight innings, signalling a sharp recent upswing coinciding with South Africa’s run rate in this competition being 10.1, the highest amongst all teams so far.

"It's a difficult one, you have to go and look back why. But in big tournament cricket, Aiden is a big tournament player. Most of our players had good tournaments during the SA20. So you come into a World Cup with guys in form and I think that's important. Then, like I said, he knows when to step it up.

“I don't want to play it down, but sometimes, playing a T20 series after a Test match series, the guys are a little bit fatigued and that can obviously have an influence on their performance. But even if you look at his record in the previous World Cup, he's one of the best batters. He's a good leader and well respected. So I think that's the big difference," said Morkel, while replying to a question from IANS in the press conference ahead of their final Group D clash against the UAE on Wednesday morning.

Much of the pre-tournament conversation around South Africa has also centered on the mercurial Dewald Brevia, whose explosive hitting has made him one of the most exciting names in their batting line-up. But he is yet to hit top form in the World Cup, though Morkel expressed confidence in him coming good.

"There's no chats. I mean, we see him as an x-factor player. We feel if you sort of ask him to play a certain way, you take away that x-factor. He's going to break your heart at some stage, but he's also going to win you games.

“So the best way for us with him is just to let him be that guy. We've got enough guys around him who can play the situation if needed, but he's certainly our x-factor player."

On the bowling front, Morkel, a former seam-bowling all-rounder for South Africa, spoke at length about how varied and excellent South Africa have been with their seam-up and slower balls, with the key to success being going back to basics rather than attempting to outfox batters with an ever-expanding repertoire of variations.

"Look, we've been based in Ahmedabad and the wicket there has been really good for batting. So, as a bowler, you don't have too many options and batters these days thrive on hitting sixes. So it's all about trying to take that length away, be a little bit unpredictable to stop them scoring those sixes.

“The days are gone where guys just rotate either boundary or a four-here and there. So that's mostly been the focus. But like I said, Ahmedabad, out of all the venues, I think it's the best we could bat on so far that I've seen and it's been tough work."

Morkel was candid about the limitations that South African pitches impose on bowlers to execute their plans in the death overs before they go for a global event. "Look, you first have to start where our guys play the T20 cricket most in South Africa. The wickets there, how do I put it nicely, is not the best or not best suited for T20 and guys get away with a lot in South Africa.

“When you get over here, especially this time of the year when the wickets are still good, before the summer - your variations, slower balls and all those type of things sort of, they don't play such a big role. It's really focusing on nailing your yorkers. I feel that's a skill that's sort of disappeared, not only with us but most teams in the world.

“If I were to ask you right now who's the best death bowler in the world, you can probably name one, which will be Bumrah. He's got a very good yorker. It's really just focusing on those skills that I wouldn't say bowlers forgot, but with all the variations that come into play, bowlers can get clouded by that. It's basically focusing on those basics and then using ground dimensions. We had a one small one big boundary and then just small adjustments like that," he elaborated.

South Africa's pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada endured a difficult time so far, though he showed signs of coming back to his best through 0-27 against New Zealand. Morkel, however, was unwilling to read too much into his performances so far.

"It's not a concern. If you look around T20 cricket, that can happen to any bowler at any stage where the pressure just gets to you and you maybe have a day, but he's still our premier fast bowler and we're going to double down on him and back him all the way.

“So that's the only way to go - if you get too tactical or technical now with guys like that who knows what they're doing, you can confuse them. For him it's just a fact of accept that performance, move forward and be better next time."

In contrast, fellow right-arm pacer Lungi Ngidi has been in fine touch, taking eight wickets at an economy rate of 7.6 and Morkel was effusive in his assessment of a bowler he believes has become almost impossible to read at the highest level.

"If you look at his T20 record, he's got a really good record in taking wickets. He's developed a very deceptive slow ball which he knows when to use and how to use. I think that's what makes him successful. He's not someone you can really line up as a batsman.

“He's got some good skills with the new ball to swing it and when a pressure is on he knows how to keep the batsman guessing. So it's not a lot of talking to him. I think he knows what he's doing. He also understands that sometimes in T20, you can go the other way. But lucky for us that those first two games, he was on top of his game."

Source: IANS