AUSTRALIA TOUR TO SA
Zaahier Adams|Published
Test centuries are a commodity, and Marques Ackerman may come to appreciate their true value as his career develops.
But for now, the new Proteas opener is willing to “live and die by the sword”.
Ackerman, playing in only his second Test, thrilled the Newlands faithful with a sensational 95 at less than a run a ball. His innings contained 12 elegant boundaries and two mighty sixes as he cut ferociously, reverse-swept with conviction and danced down the wicket to the spinners.
He even broke the record books by smashing Mitchell Starc for four consecutive boundaries — the first time the Australian left-arm seamer had conceded four successive fours in his Test career.
But Ackerman’s cavalier approach eventually caught up with him. Despite being offered a life immediately after the lunch interval when he smashed a straight drive through Nathan Lyon’s hands, the stylish left-hander had no intention of applying the handbrake.
The adrenaline was pumping through Ackerman’s veins as he approached his century, and it surged when he charged down the track to a Lyon floater, missed it entirely and offered Alex Carey an easy stumping chance.
Was the Test rookie disappointed to miss out on a maiden Test century? Would he lie awake mulling it over?
“You live by the sword and you die by the sword. I’ve learnt that throughout my career,” Ackerman said.
“To be honest, it wasn’t really about pacing it; it was just in the heat of the moment, really. I do tend to bat on the quicker side most of the time, but I think they tried to bowl a lot of short balls at me. That challenge allowed me to score a lot quicker.
“But, yeah, I left a Test hundred out there. So I’m not really happy with that. It’s good motivation for hopefully trying to get my first one.”
Ackerman’s dismissal opened a door that had appeared permanently shut after Australian captain Pat Cummins had elected to bowl first on a pancake-like Newlands deck.
But once Lyon removed Ackerman and his opening partner, Aiden Markram, also fell for 78, caught on the boundary off Josh Hazlewood, South Africa lost five wickets for just 29 runs in the afternoon.
David Bedingham and Marco Jansen tried to steady the Proteas’ ship with contrasting half-centuries, but the momentum had swung dramatically in Australia’s favour following Starc’s second-new-ball masterclass.
The veteran left-arm seamer recovered from his earlier mauling by Ackerman to finish with 6/72 as the Proteas collapsed to 329 all out.
Ackerman, though, remained philosophical about South Africa’s position at stumps.
“Yeah, I think before today’s play, if you’d given us 329, we probably would have taken it. But, in saying that, I think all of us would agree that we probably left a little bit out there today,” he said.
“I think maybe a few soft dismissals among all of those. We just lacked a little bit of a big partnership after myself and Aiden got out. We just needed someone to stick around with Bedingham for maybe a session or so.
“So unfortunately, we just lost wickets in clusters, which obviously put us on the back foot. But we did come back nicely with Plank (Jansen) and (Ryan) Rickelton’s little partnership there in the middle.”