It’s all been about mental steeliness for Aiden Markram these past few months.

The Proteas opener has indeed been forced to dig for new levels of resolve after two hand injuries wrecked his 2019/20 season, sidelining him for almost six months.

What made those setbacks particularly challenging is the context.

Last October, Markram, according to Cricket South Africa, “lashed out at a solid object” after completing an ignominious pair during the second Test against India in Pune.

He won the race to be fit in time for the Boxing Day meeting with England in Centurion, before fracturing a finger while fielding and missing the rest of the domestic international season.

That type of down-time is enough to drive any professional sportsman to distraction.

“The most challenging part of being injured is not letting your mind run off. When you’ve got so much time on your hands, you tend to not just overthink things but you delve deep into things which is often quite unnecessary,” said Markram.

“I think trying to keep your mind at bay and trying to keep your mind calm and strong when you have time is probably the biggest challenge that I struggled with.”

Markram’s ordeal though was compounded by the fact that he’d been teetering on the brink of a pronounced slump in form.

After cruising to 1 000 Test runs in his first 18 innings, the 25-year-old has only scored 424 in his last 19 visits to the crease at an average of just over 22. 

He hasn’t passed 50 in his last seven.

“I’ve had thoughts of giving up, but I have certainly doubted myself and doubted my abilities,” said Markram.

“At the top level, you’re just a few bad knocks away from people wanting you out of the team. I doubted myself quite a bit this last year, since it was quite a struggle for me.

“It’s a tough space to be in but it comes with the territory and if you want to be a top performer at a high level, you’ve got to find ways to deal with it.”

Two centuries in the domestic One-Day Cup for the Titans in March certainly hinted at him gradually stamping his authority again with the bat, before the Covid-19 pandemic cut things short again.

At least that’s allowed him that extra bit of time for proper mental rejuvenation.

“This time off has certainly been nice to reflect and find ways to not try and blow things out of proportion mentally and just crack on with what needs to be done,” said Markram.

READ | Markram doesn’t want to become ‘desperate’ over Test captaincy

– Compiled by Heinz Schenk

Springbok World Cup-winning star Makazole Mapimpi turned down a staggering R9-million net offer from Japanese club NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in a dramatic transfer deadline day on Thursday, according to sources close to the dealmakers.

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The Japan Top League outfit, who brought former Lions coach Johan Ackermann on board as their new coach, put down an offer of ¥80-million gross, which translated to about R14 million before tax.

After tax, the Sharks star was going to pocket R9 million per season, although it’s unclear what the duration of the contract was going to be.

“That was a massive shock,” a source told Sport24.

Mapimpi was part of heavy speculation linking several top Sharks players with moves abroad after SA Rugby announced it Industry Strategic Plan, which allowed players to opt out of their contracts by 14 May and take up other offers. Their parent unions were prohibited from putting in counter offers.

The move was the rugby mother body’s attempt to stave off a potential R1-billion revenue loss due to the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sharks chief executive Eduard Coetzee confirmed the interest in Mapimpi and the various Sharks players, saying they relied on the trust they had between management and the players to convince them to stay in Durban.

“First of all you can’t blame a player; they haven’t done anything wrong,” said Coetzee said.

“So I said, let’s debunk this theory of us being in a confrontation [between management and players]. There is no confrontation between us, I said to Mapimpi.

“I told him that he didn’t need to feel guilty about anything because he’s done nothing wrong. That’s our culture at the Sharks. We want to do things in the light and we don’t speak around corners but we sit around the table, look each other in the eye, and we have a discussion.

“Mapimpi broke through a little later in his career but maybe going to Japan right now, where it’s unsettling and it’s mid-Covid-19, is possibly not the best thing for him to do.

“Maybe we can accommodate him during a three-year contract by giving him a six-month sabbatical [to go play in Japan].

“That is stuff we can consider when things are more settled and things are normalised to an extent. A lot of the players were driven by fear: that if they don’t go now they’re never gonna go. But if you go now, what are you going to?

“What does Japan look like? What happens if you sign a contract now, and you get out of the security of a contract here where the Sharks business is solid, and you go to a country where there’s another outbreak?”

Fellow World Cup-winner and front row forward Thomas du Toit was another top target well into Thursday night’s transfer deadline, but he turned down offers to move to France or the UK.

Bath and Exeter Chiefs came in for flyhalf Curwin Bosch and Saracens put a substantial offer in for 22-year-old lock Ruben van Heerden but both players chose to remain at the Sharks.

NEC Green Rockets made an audacious attempt to prize promising young Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi but he also opted to stay and be part of the project underway led by head coach Sean Everitt.

Moreover, SA Under-20 star JJ van der Mescht received an offer from French club Stade Francais, Coetzee confirmed.

“If Fassie wanted to go, he would have gone,” said Coetzee.

“Curwin had a big offer from Bath but he phoned me and said, ‘Listen, I don’t want it.’ I spoke to Ruben van Heerden yesterday as well.

“I didn’t want to speak to the players before they made their decisions because I didn’t want to go into a position where I convince them to not go. Because if something goes wrong, they can always say, ‘Yeah but you said this.’

“We waited for them to make the decision. Obviously, Sean spoke to the boys. We emphasised what we offer them off the field and the environment that we create and how we will try and develop them as players on and off the field.

“On the commercial side we weren’t allowed to speak money. We weren’t allowed to compensate them or counter any offers. It was a bit of an emotional exercise.

“That was 21 days where you couldn’t control anything. You’ve almost got to trust in the strength of the relationship we’ve got and let things go.

“I’m stoked it’s done.”

However, the Sharks lost loose forward Tyler Paul to a Japan Top League side as well as Andisa Ntsila to the Cheetahs, as reported by Sport24. 

South African players who remained in the country could face up to 43% pay decrease, for a maximum period of May to December, depending on the severity of the coronavirus on the rugby economy.

In the meantime, Japanese clubs put a siege on South Africa’s resources during the time uncertainty around contract negotiations. Docomo’s shopping spree extended to the Lions, where they found success in convincing 22-year-old former Monument High School lock Ruan Vermaak as well as assistant coach Neil de Bruin, Swys de Bruin’s son, who will now assist Ackermann in his new role.

Docomo are also rumoured to be interested in signing Rory Duncan as Ackermann’s forwards coach.

A deal involving Bulls flyhalf Manie Libbok to go to Durban was said to be concluded well in advance of the deadline for the 21-day opt out period. Libbok apparently also drew interest from the Stormers, who have lost flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis and fullback Dillyn Leyds, but the approach came too late.

Notable statistical landmarks by leading cricketers worldwide for the specific 2020 calendar year look like being in short supply … the ongoing coronavirus crisis should ensure that.

Quite when South Africa’s own household names will swing into action again, either at international or domestic level, is a firmly unanswered question.

But there is every likelihood that certain of them will be waiting rather longer than would have been anticipated a few weeks ago to complete looming personal milestones.

One is star strike bowler Kagiso Rabada, currently on 197 Test wickets and who would have confidently expected to complete the task of getting to 200 in the two-Test series against West Indies, scheduled for July and August in the Caribbean but now unlikely to take place.

Already the holder of 43 caps, if he were to do the necessary in that series he would become the third fastest South African to 200 scalps, behind only Dale Steyn, who got there in his 39^th Test, and Allan Donald (42): Shaun Pollock is currently third, having got there in his 49^th Test.

As the fastest Proteas player to the mark, Steyn is also sixth best from any nation in history; Pakistani leg-spin ace Yasir Shah is comfortable leader after reaching 200 in only his 33^rd appearance in 2018.

Rabada would still be in quality company if he hits the mark in his 44^th Test – whenever that now may be – as he would have emulated Alec Bedser (England), Richard Hadlee (New Zealand), Joel Garner (West Indies) and Ravindra Jadeja of India.

Two now-retired former Proteas icons, Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, meanwhile, are in a holding pattern to complete notable domestic-level landmarks.

Philander had his intended UK summer contract with Somerset cancelled this week (though it may be restored in 2021), given the increasing probability that no significant county cricket is played in 2020, with the veteran all-rounder on 4,941 first-class career runs – only 59 shy of 5,000.

Amla is earmarked for a two-year Kolpak deal with Surrey, and awaiting completion of 10,000 runs at List-A limited-overs level: he is presently on 9,973.

Here are some other Proteas players close to landmarks:

*Temba Bavuma (7,915) needs 85 runs to reach 8,000 first-class runs.

*Quinton de Kock (2,934) needs 66 runs to complete 3,000 at Test level, and (on 191) requires nine more catches to reach 200 in the same format.

*Faf du Plessis, on 3,901, needs 99 runs to reach 4,000 in Tests.

*Dean Elgar (13,940) is 60 runs shy of 14,000 first-class runs.

*Dwaine Pretorius (99) is just one wicket short of reaching 100 at List-A level.

*David Miller (6,900) needs exactly 100 to complete 7,000 in all T20 cricket.

*Aiden Markram requires 55 runs to achieve 3,000 at the List-A crease, and another 45 to crack the 1,000-mark in T20 international cricket.

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing …

Incoming Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White believes after the team’s poor showing in last year’s Currie Cup and this year’s Super Rugby tournament, change is inevitable.

White said that while the extent of the restructure hadn’t been decided yet, a lot would depend on the exodus via the clause in the current collective agreement about salary cuts, where players have until 14 May to take up a better offer if they get them.

For that reason, he can’t quantify just how big the changes at Loftus Versfeld will be, but there will be change.

Keshav Maharaj admitted that he’s been enjoying the downtime associated with lockdown, but it’s become abundantly clear too that he utilised it to ponder the next phase of his international career.

The Proteas left-arm spinner surprised the broader cricketing fraternity on Thursday by revealing that he’d be more than keen to become captain of the national team, particularly in Tests, where there’s currently a vacancy.

His leadership qualities have come to the fore this season after shepherding the Dolphins to the One Day Cup title though that should hardly be the cornerstone of his candidacy.

The reality is that while Maharaj is an important player for South Africa, he’s not become indispensable yet.

If that were the case he wouldn’t still be left out of playing XIs in home Tests and only appear sporadically in the limited overs formats.

To his credit, Maharaj has identified a potential way to bolster his case: become a fully-fledged all-rounder.

110 wickets at 33.19 compares favourably to South Africa’s other Test spinners post-isolation, but whether it’s world-beating numbers is a matter for debate.

As a result, Maharaj would need to nudge his batting average – still a lowly 15.30 – up significantly.

“I really want to take my batting seriously and move to a bowling all-rounder or a full one so I can contribute evenly,” he said.

“I know I am capable of scoring bigger runs.”

The past season certainly provided some encouraging signs in that regard.

Both Maharaj’s Test fifties came in that time – a composed 72 against a vaunted Indian attack in Pune and a more swashbuckling 71 off 106 against England in Port Elizabeth after his first 73 deliveries only yielded 19 runs.

“In India, I got a taste of what it’s like to score an international fifty. I wanted to really kick on but it was a bit unfortunate to get out,” he said.

“My biggest problem was getting the first fifty so I now I want to try and kick on from that and get big hundreds and match-winning hundreds.”

No-one will complain if that starts happening.

– Compiled by Heinz Schenk