A young prodigy who shot through the ranks, Aiden Markram was a flamboyant stroke-maker from an early age and rose to fame after he had a dream run as captain of South Africa and led them to the U-19 World Cup title.

Having been picked on a selection whim after unimpressive numbers in the lead-up to the tournament, he repaid the faith of the selectors and contributed handsomely to end the tournament as the Proteas’ highest run-scorer and lifted the cup in a nation frustrated and haunted by the c-word. Markram looked confident from the outset - when asked to list three words that best described him, he mentioned ’Positive, confident and responsible,’ and he went on to live up to it in the tournament.