Markram wary as Proteas prepare for Ireland test

Proteas batter Aiden Markram is looking forward to facing Ireland in the opening T20 International (T20I) of their two-match series starting in Bristol on Wednesday, saying that South Africa can take plenty of heart from the progress they made in their recent series win over England.

The tourists impressively overcame a formidable English outfit 2-1 in their three-game sequence, which came on the back of a 1-1 scoreline in a rain-affected one-day international (ODI) series.

Now they will be hoping to build on that success at the Seat Unique Stadium, although Markram is wary of the threat posed by the opposition.

“I think it will be a new and exciting challenge for us,” he said. “We played them quite recently in Ireland and we saw exactly what they could do and they're certainly a team that is improving series by series.

“We've witnessed that (when Ireland played) against India recently and certainly they're a team that you can't take for granted.

“I think it's just about us now working on our plans, trusting those plans that we've now got in place and that have been working for us.

“We know that if we sort of take care of our space and play at the right intensity, then with the right plans in place hopefully that's enough to get us over the line again against Ireland. “

Because of the form of some of his teammates, Markram only featured in one of the three games against England. Rilee Rossouw, Reeza Hendricks and Tristan Stubbs were in fine form, meaning he had to bide his time on the sidelines.

When his chance finally did arrive, the allrounder struck a fine half-century to illustrate the strength in depth that the Proteas currently possess.

“The form we saw from Rilee, Reeza and Tristan is exciting for us as a team and it creates some good competition among the squad which is certainly something healthy for us to have,” Markram stated.

And regarding his role in the team, he added: “If I come in after them I'll play as the situation needs me to, if they start well with good intensity then it will mean coming in and matching that intensity and if not then adding more intensity.

“It's great to have those guys in front of me in good form, guys putting their hand up in different games and it's exciting for us as a squad to have that around us.”

PROTEAS T20I SQUAD AGAINST IRELAND

David Miller (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Gerald Coetzee (ITEC Knights), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Rilee Rossouw (ITEC Knights), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tristan Stubbs (Gbets Warriors), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions).