'Relief' as Proteas snap out of winless stagger: 'It affects the human and player'

Aiden Markram might've had a cold expression on his face in the aftermath of the Proteas' fine victory in the third ODI against Australia - one he attributed to the bitterly cold snap on the Highveld - but there'll be little doubt his and his team-mates' hearts will be warm.

Squeezed to respond in a series where they've barely landed a punch, South Africa did so with a collective effort that truly did deserve reward.

Markram himself was one of the protagonists, unleashing his special brand of elegance and power to race to a 74-ball century that allowed the hosts to reach an imposing 338/6 on a JB Marks Oval surface in Potchefstroom that was deceptively on the slower side. 

But his platform was set by a fluent opening stand of 146 by Quinton de Kock (82) and Temba Bavuma (57) and, after opening the bowling, he saw the tweaking duo of Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj bowl their team into contention after another suspect start with the ball.

"Ultimately, we played better cricket as team," said Markram.

"It was a tricky sort of wicket, you never really felt in. There are obviously still areas to improve on, but we're much closer to the standards we set ourselves. If we're playing close to those standards, we'll be competing well and doing nicely as a team.

"It was a nice turnaround."

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However, given the severe doubts that some quarters of the local cricketing fraternity were beginning to harbour over the Proteas' potential challenge at the World Cup in India starting next month, as well as a winless lurch stretching back five matches against the previously rampant Aussies, it's not surprising Markram picked up on the mental