7 October - Delhi - South Africa player Aiden Markram post-match press conference
[Reporter]
I just wonder when an inning takes flight like it did for South Africa tonight and you know all those runs and what not, how much of that is planning and plotting and thinking? And is there some point where your instincts and your desire just take over?
[Markram]
Yeah, I think you do a lot of planning and stuff like that before the game. I think it's natural for most teams to speculate how conditions are going to play, especially South Africans coming over to India. Not always 100% sure. And then I think you get out there, and the wicket starts playing really well. And it's initially a big sigh of relief and then secondly I think what you mentioned now a lot of instinct does take over. And sort of see-ball-hit-ball sort of mentality. So marrying the two of them I suppose is quite crucial but yeah we're thankful that we got a belter of a wicket there tonight.
[Reporter]
Aiden, yourself, Quinton and Rassie, all three of you had not emotional, but quite big celebrations when you reached the milestone. Why do you think that is? Is that just because it's the World Cup stage and you guys wanted to start well?
[Markram]
Yeah, it's quite strange because you almost get this thing that just takes over your body at certain moments. I think there's a lot of passion in this team to give our absolute all at this World Cup and see how far it can get us. We're known to start pretty slowly, be it in a series or maybe world events and things like that, so we put a lot of emphasis on today's game; to start well and play the same cricket we've been playing that's managed to sneak us into this comp. So I think it's all of those emotions sort of mixed up and building up. That sort of just comes out and a lot of pride naturally for the three of us as well. When it's your day try to cash in and really make it count. So a mixture of quite a lot of things I would say.
[Reporter]
Obviously you’re very satisfied with the century itself, but just also how chuffed are you in the manner that you played? It was proper orthodox cricket shots. And how satisfying is it for you as a, I always want to say, top order technician to actually go out and actually hit a 49 ball 100 without actually really resorting to many fireworks?
[Markram]
Yeah it was a strange one I mean certainly didn't wake up this morning thinking today would turn out that way. But gave a couple of balls up front to get a feel of the wicket and eventually realized watching Quinny and Rassie bat and having that initial feel that it was a really good wicket. The outfield was really fast. So value for shots is always there. And that's almost what I was thinking the whole time; was if you're setting up to hit really strong, hard cricket shots, the outfield and the pitch helps you out quite a lot as well. So it worked. Luckily, tonight, balls hit gaps. I mean, they don't always hit gaps. And it could be a different story but yeah thankful it worked out that way and again it was a really good pitch so that definitely assisted.
[Reporter]
Do you think as a team you've sent a message to everyone else in the tournament having hit the highest score ever in a World Cup?
[Markram]
I'm actually not too sure. The way batters are playing nowadays, you wouldn't be surprised if that record is broken in this comp as well. So it's nice for us to be able to go through the gears as a unit. I think a lot of credit has to go to Rassie and Quinny for setting up that platform. It's hard work always up front. They bowled well the back end of the power play. And their spinner actually started bowling really well just outside of the power play or whenever he came on. So for them to put the hard work in like that and then to allow the middle order to free up nicely. They might not get as much credit as they deserve. So I certainly hope that they do get that credit after tonight.
[Reporter]
I know you've been doing this for a while, scoring big runs in the middle overs. But can you just talk us through the process of firstly, as somebody who was a top order batter, firstly to realize that you can do it in the middle overs, and then the process of what went into becoming that batter?
[Markram]
Sorry, the last bit of the question?
[Reporter]
What kind of work went into actually doing it?
[Markram]
Yeah, I think you do try evolve as a batter and it's weird when you bump your head a few times, maybe exploring options that are not your plan A and are not necessarily your strengths. But you try to explore them in the nets, sometimes get confidence from it, try to bring it out in the game and it doesn't work out and you go back home and you think: "Why am I doing that instead of sticking to your strengths?" But ultimately, that's what it's about. You have options as a batter, and each batter's options will be quite different. But it's about really committing to those options and backing them. And if it comes off, it's fantastic. But if it doesn't come off, at least you can sleep a bit better at night knowing you stuck to your strengths and to your options.
[Reporter]
You were exceptional with the bat as a unit, but do you think you conceded some runs with the ball? Which can be a problem, you know going into a tournament if the target is not that high. Can that create a bit of a concern for you guys, the bowling bit?
[Markram]
Yeah, not too much of a concern. I think like I've mentioned, it was a really good wicket. It probably came on even better under lights as well. And in the back half of our innings, there was dew as well. So it was a belter of a wicket. I think there were certainly phases throughout our bowling innings where we could have been better. We created a couple of opportunities. And that's good to see, when you're on a really good wicket that we're still able to create opportunities in the middle. Hopefully going forward you take those opportunities, you keep the pressure on, you keep momentum on your side and maybe you reduce them to 40-50 runs less. But the bowlers, it is tough on a wicket like that, a ball that's travelling and not a really big outfield. So I think you try to look at it from both sides and see how you can improve still going into the next game.
[Reporter]
Do you think it's becoming more of an extension of T20 batting? And also that we talked about the anchor role in T20s when you were here during the IPL. So do you think you have designated roles in ODI cricket too or is it just a tempo that the entire team has to maintain from start to end?
[Markram]
I think when you get off to really good starts like that, it's on the next guy to maintain that intensity if not increase it. But in terms of it being an extension of T20 cricket, it's a tough one because each conditions or each venue will have different conditions and you still have to be able to adapt to that. We might have luck now and then the pitch might be really tough and then you certainly won't be playing 'T20 cricket' necessarily on a wicket, that's tough. So assessing those sorts of things, developing game plans according to those conditions is still quite vital I feel in 50-over cricket.