South Africa batter Aiden Markram insists there will be no mental scarring from his side’s previous failures when they face holders Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s.
The Proteas have suffered several agonising near-misses in major tournaments, including last year’s T20 World Cup final in Barbados.
They needed just 30 more runs to win, with 30 balls and six wickets remaining, yet somehow contrived to lose in devastating fashion against India.
But Markram, South Africa’s captain in that match and one of five survivors from the game in the WTC final squad, is confident there will be no hangover for a red-ball side led by Temba Bavuma.
“This team is a bit different,” Aiden Markram told reporters at Lord’s on Sunday.
“The few of us that have been a part of previous events that didn’t go our way have dealt with it, have obviously chatted to each other and made sure we’ve buried it nicely and taken some good lessons from it.
“But besides that, now, it’s more about the excitement of having another opportunity to actually do the job. So that’s pretty much where the mind is at the moment.”
As an opener, Markram will have the tough task of trying to blunt a formidable Australia bowling line-up in an eagerly anticipated final that starts on Wednesday.
But South Africa, with Kagiso Rabada leading the way, have an impressive pace attack of their own.
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“When you’re opening the batting, obviously your responsibility is to get the team off to a good start and get us ahead of the game. So that’s the challenge, that’s what excites us,” Markram said.
“But when you’re preparing against your bowlers, who are world-class, it can only help you as a batter, as uncomfortable as it can be at times.”
South Africa won seven Tests in a row to qualify for the WTC final, a run that featured several short series.
“A lot of our series have been two-game series. So in order to win that series, you can’t start slow,” Markram said.
“There’s no second dip at it, so we’re going to have to make sure we hit the ground running and are nice and sharp come day one.”
The 30-year-old Markram, a veteran of 45 Tests, is relishing the chance to make history on the hallowed turf at Lord’s.
“To play in a Test match here is really special, and then obviously for it to be a final is probably the cherry on top,” he said.
Markram, asked what made Lord’s so memorable, replied: “Probably just the history…You know how many of the greats of the game have played here.
“For us to have that opportunity to play on the same field and share that changing room that they once sat in is quite a cool thought.”
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