South Africa vs England: Aiden Markram ruled out of the Test series; replacement named

Aiden Markram has been ruled out of the Test series against Joe Root’s England. The South Africa opening batsman injured his finger while fielding and will now be undergoing surgery this week. It was confirmed by Cricket South Africa (CSA) in a release. Markram had a rough outing in the first Test against England at the SuperSport Pak in Centurion

The right-hander could manage a combined tally off 22 runs, and got out to Sam Curran and James Anderson. The broken finger came as an insult to injury for the youngster. In the meantime, CSA has named Keegan Petersen as Markram’s replacement for the upcoming encounter. The 26-year-old Petersen represents the Knights in South Africa’s domestic circuit.

“Knights Cricket batsman, Keegan Petersen has been named the replacement for injured Aiden Markram ahead of the Test match against England in Cape Town,” Cricket South Africa (CSA) put forth the developments via their official Twitter handle.

Peterson in impressive form

Peterson was a part of the South Africa A team that played a warm-up match against England in Benoni. The Paarl-born batted at number three and churned out 111 runs off 240 balls with the help of 12 fours. Petersen has an experience of 88 first-class matches in which he has notched 5,490 runs at an average of 40.66 with 15 centuries and 24 fifties. He has a top score of an unbeaten 225.

However, Petersen’s inclusion has been questioned by quite a few South African fans. The netizens reckon that despite having Pieter Malan in the Test squad, it was baffling to go for Petersen, who generally bats at number three. If Peterson makes the eleven then Rassie van der Dussen could be pushed up the order. Van der Dussen replaced an injured Temba Bavuma in the squad.

As far as the series is concerned, South Africa managed to win the opening Test by a margin of 107 runs. It also ceased their five-match losing streak in the format. Quinton de Kock was adjudged as the Player of the Match as he scored 95 followed by a useful 35. The Proteas will be looking to carry the same form even in the next encounter.