Aiden Markram | South Africa Captain | Afghanistan Vs. South Africa | ICC T20 World Cup | Post Match

VIDEO COURTESY: ICC
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain) post-match Press Conference - 26th June 2024
[Reporter:]
Aiden, the most obvious question, World Cup final - what does it feel like? I mean, has it even sunk in yet?
[Aiden Markram:]
Probably hasn't, no. The bits that we're realising now, it's obviously a really nice feeling, really good feeling. This team's been together for a long time now as a white ball group, both formats, and it's nice for us to get to a final. We feel and we believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. And it's nice for us to now have that opportunity and make it into a final.
[Reporter:]
But was that even, like, does that even get discussed in the dressing room, the fact that you never made a final leading into a semi-final? I mean, you were part of a semi-final just five months ago in a different format. Do you even talk about it or is it now that you've got there, you will talk about it?
[Aiden Markram:]
No, we haven't spoken about it to be honest. I think it's a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final; to earn the opportunity to hopefully lift the trophy but we all understand this game and how it works and things can go for you, things can go against you, and you take that in your stride so you reflect back to five months ago we couldn't get over the line in that semi-final and you look at tonight, a few things went our way. We managed to win the game and we found ourselves in the final.
It's a really good feeling, it's a pleasing feeling but more importantly the group of guys there in the changing room, I'm extremely happy for all of them.
[Reporter:]
I know it was a long time ago you spoke about reflection - you have been a captain in a World Cup final what ten years ago when you were a boy, I guess so you reflect back on that at all like you've been there actually?
[Aiden Markram:]
If I'm very honest with you, no. It's a really long time ago and my memory is not great, but you get a little bit of confidence and a little bit of belief knowing you have done it on a certain level before. I don't think it's the exact same here at men's cricket but there are similar pressures that you have to deal with being in a final and we would have experienced that in 2014 so the bit of confidence the bit of belief that we can take from that we'll try use to the best that we can
[Reporter:]
And just the way you did it today as well obviously you got an opportunity to bowl first on that pitch - what did it make of the pitch and just of? Way the fact that you were able to be that ruthless that you could just blow them away for 56?
[Aiden Markram:]
Yeah, the bowlers, not just today, but the whole competition, they've been really good. Probably saving the batters on certain occasions, but conditions I would say have been in their favour. But even if you say that, they still have to get it done right. And that's exactly what they've been doing for us game in and game out. So, you have to give a lot of appreciation towards them. They've been really good for us. Tonight was an exceptional performance by the whole bowling unit and the pitch was obviously quite challenging as we saw and like I said you do still have to get the ball in the right area so you give credit to your bowlers they've used the conditions really well and managed to get us into a winning position.
[Reporter:]
So you have never lost a World Cup match as a captain? Under-19, ODI, T20?
[Aiden Markram:]
I have no idea about stuff like that, no.
[Reporter:]
Just coming back to the pitch, of course pitches don't win or lose you the matches, you have to still go out and do the job. But if I were to ask you as a neutral observer, would you say this is a good pitch for a T20 game and that to a big semi-final of a World Cup?
[Aiden Markram:]
Yeah, I mean T20 cricket as a whole, you want entertainment.
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