Sizzling Stubbs 'can do some really special things' - Markram

If anybody knows what it is like to enter the international cricket stage surrounded by hype and expectation, it is Aiden Markram.

The 27-year-old, who captained the SA U-19s to victory at the 2014 World Cup in the UAE, started his Proteas career nearly five years ago in 2017 and was immediately positioned as his country's next big thing.

He probably hasn't quite delivered on that expectation yet - his Test average has dipped to 35, and he averages just over 28 in ODIs - but Markram's talent has never been in question, and he remains a vital component of the South African machine in all formats.

Left out of the first two T20s against England, Markram returned for the third in Southampton on Sunday, where his 51* (36) went a long way towards helping his side secure a series win.

That 90-run win was as close to the perfect performance you are likely to see in T20 cricket, and suddenly, the Proteas are looking like a force to be reckoned with ahead of the World Cup in Australia in October.

With bat and ball, there are players in serious form presently, but one player who commanded the most attention in the series was 22-year-old Tristan Stubbs.

In a losing cause in Bristol in the first T20, Stubbs crushed the England attack, carding 72 off just 28 balls in a 44-minute blitz that included 8 sixes and 2 fours.

It was the first time he had ever batted for his country, and almost instantly, there were calls for him to be included in the playing XI for the World Cup.

Then, in Sunday's series decider, Stubbs pulled off one of the greatest catches seen in Proteas colours when he launched himself to his left to dismiss Moeen Ali off Markram's bowling.

Earlier in the year, Stubbs was also drafted as a late call-up for the Mumbai