Markram the thorn on day of olive branches

If the resurrection of Australian cricket was supposed to start this weekend it will have to do so with Aiden Markram starting off as a significant thorn in their side.

With little reverse swing on offer Markram’s splendid maiden 150 in Test cricket has left the Australians with a lot to do but it was difficult to invest in the numbers reflecting off the scoreboard on the opening day of the final Test on Friday.

You had to constantly remind yourself that some fine cricket had been played along the way in this‚ the most peculiar of test series. For that the tourists have to shoulder much of the blame.

Depending which side of the fence you’re on Advance Australia Fair never had more meaning‚ or sounded more hollow than it did here before the start of play.

Some will argue Australia taking to the cricket field after singing their national anthem is one of modern day sport’s great non sequiturs.

Others‚ who are perhaps partial to religious reflection at this time‚ recognise the value of extending an olive branch over capping the Aussies with something thorny.

At the very least there seems to be a thawing of the frosty relations between the two sides. The manner in which the teams shook hands after the anthems was almost symbolic.

The crowd too was imbued with that spirit. They seemed to have made peace with the fact that the larrikins had been extracted from this Australian team and that those who remain needed to be treated with dignity.

Well almost. Thankfully though‚ the Aussie bashing was only isolated.

It wasn’t as if the terraces weren’t well populated. More tickets had been sold for this match than for England’s last Test here. A shade over 16 000 made their way through the turnstiles on Friday.

It seems‚ though‚ Sandpapergate had already induced an unexpectedly welcome level of fatigue‚ not that South Africans were in a position to revel in the Aussie opprobrium.

Given what went down before and during this series South African cricket on and off the field has cause for its own introspection. The Proteas too have had their occasional brush with ball-tampering but their clandestine alterations to the Kookabura have been marginally more surreptitious than what the world witnessed at Newlands.

Off the field‚ too‚ there had been flirtations with the dark side. For a number of individuals this Australian series has had unexpected consequences‚ none more so than for CSA commercial manager Clive Eksteen and media manager Altaaf Kazi.

While on the face of it CSA seemed to go down the right path by suspending the pair for being photographed next to fans wearing masks bearing the likeness of rugby star Sonny Bill Williams in Port Elizabeth‚ the rights of the men in question seems to be overlooked.

Apart from slapping them with suspensions and failing to inform them of details around their disciplinary proceedings‚ the pair were also ordered not attend cricket matches. That’s preposterous.

Kazi‚ it has been widely speculated‚ has resigned‚ but Eksteen’s future appears to rest firmly in the hands of people who view cricket through the prism of dubious agenda.