Aiden Markram shares a drink with fan after WTC Final heroics, turns out he's a friend from school
Aiden Markram kick-started celebrations for the Proteas by sharing a beer with a fan at Lord's, and gave a glimpse at what led to it.
Aiden Markram is a freshly-minted South African hero, scoring 136 in a remarkable chase at Lord’s in one of the most famous fourth-innings batting performances in recent history to seal the World Test Championship with a victory over Australia. Following a determined, powerful display of batting, which earned him the man-of-the-match award, Markram was spotted by camera crews accepting a beer from some South African fans in the boisterous Lord’s crowd — maybe one of the most well-deserved beers any person has ever had.
Reflecting on the moment afterwards in the press conference, having led South Africa to a first ICC trophy in 27 years and first major tournament win in their history, Markram revealed that the veer was offered by an old friend of his, of which he took full advantage in order to kick off celebrations after a tense match that capped off a two-year long journey.
"Yeah that was cool. That was one of my mates from school. He wanted me to come over and I said, ‘Flip man, I can’t, it’s too busy, it’s chaos.’ And then he was like, ‘Oh, here’s a beer.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’m in,’” said Markram of the moment in the press conference, receiving a round of laughter for his honesty.
‘First one for the day…’
The video of the moment shows Markram making his way over from the edge of the boundary, where the South African players were enjoying a lap of honour around the home of cricket, over to a group of fans. He then proceeded to embrace his friend, before chugging the beer — a picture that truly got the party started for the Proteas and all their fans who had arrived in droves to London to support their team.
“So, I’ve had my first one for today and I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few more,” said the man without whom this party would never have found solid footing.
South Africa’s cause for celebration was guided home by Markram, captain Temba Bavuma, and a 9-fer by Kagiso Rabada, three of the more experienced and senior members of a unit who have now gone on a true hotstreak of winning Test matches. Once the raucous celebrations from this historic moment calm down, attention will turn to defending their WTC title, with an eye on many more ICC trophies in the years to come.
