Aiden Markram: It's not about me making hundreds

Markram, who last reached triple figures in the second innings of the second Test against India at Newlands back in January, has experienced a "frustrating" period, as he again lost his wicket for a well-played 89 runs against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Friday.

The 30-year-old, who has struggled particularly in the international white-ball formats over the past few months, however, insisted that his personal success takes a back seat to his aims of helping the team get into commanding positions to win matches.

"For me, it's not about me making hundreds. Obviously, making hundreds is great and it does feel good, and you know you're contributing, but it's more [about] the situation of the game you find yourself in, and when you find yourself getting out that frustrates you a lot," said Markram.

"So the hundred will be fantastic if it were to happen, but it's not about Aiden Markram scoring a hundred, if that makes sense – it's more about getting the team into a really strong position where we can hopefully win a game of cricket.

"So, ja, Test cricket is a beast, as we know, so you've got to respect that and pay attention to every delivery that's bowled to you, and hopefully it sort of ends out okay at the end of the day."

On his first innings performance, the Titans stalwart admitted he never felt too comfortable in the crease on his home turf, and hopes to continue improving on his mental fortitude as the series progresses.

"Sort of half-and-half. I think, while I was out there, it sort of ebbed and flowed quite a bit, so there were times where I sort of felt in a bit of a rhythm and moving well, and there's times where you're obviously fighting against yourself a bit," Markram added.

"But the plan was to try and leave as best as I could – it's a weird one with trying to balance your sort of attacking nature and sort of intent to score, but when a good ball was there and it needed to be played at, I sort of wanted to make peace with that.

"So half-and-half, I still think there's room for improvement, but it was still nice to spend some time there."

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