As Varsity Cricket gears up for an electric and colourful week in Potchefstroom, two former stars of the tournament pull on the classic white as Aiden Markram and Lungi Ngidi join the Proteas in the second of their three-match series with India.
Aidyn Markram not only won the title with Tuks just three years back, but walked away with the Player of the Tournament award after notching up four fifties, ending as the second-highest run scorer and claiming a number of wickets with the ball.
Making history, Markram became the first Varsity Cricket player to represent South Africa in Tests when he made his debut against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom last September. Making 97 in his first-ever knock, he soon notched scores of up 143 and 125 in the following two Test matches.
Lungi Ngidi could make his Test debut for South Africa when they face India in Pretoria on Saturday. The Titans fast-bowler played two seasons for Tuks and his performances with the ball paved the way for consecutive Varsity Cricket titles. He made his senior debut for SA in a T20 series against Sri Lanka in 2017.
In 2015 both players represented Tuks as they won the Varsity Cricket tournament under Markram’s captaincy. They went on to win the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals later that year in India.
Can Markram and Ngidi give South Africa the edge once again, this time against India rather than in India?
A just as exciting prospect – will we see the next Markram and Ngidi emerge from the 2018 edition of Varsity Cricket. Both answers could very well be a resounding “yes”.
Varsity Cricket kicks off on 29 January 2018.
