Marques Ackerman has opened the batting in two matches for Durban’s Super Giants this season, and on both occasions, he’s walked out with cricketing royalty. In the first instance, Ackerman was partnered with New Zealand legend Kane Williamson, and the opening pair got the Super Giants off to a flyer with 39 runs being struck within the first four overs. The left-hander was the aggressor in the partnership with 27 runs off just 17 balls.
“Yeah, very special walking out with him. I had a few dot balls and I mean, just his calmness and stuff in reiterating what good options are was really helpful,” Ackerman said of Williamson. At St George’s Park on Sunday, he had a new partner in Proteas T20I and Super Giants captain Aiden Markram.
But on this occasion, the 29-year-old had to take a back seat and admire Markram’s ball striking ability with the partnership yielding 49 runs in just 4.2 overs. “He’s a world-class player and I think he took a lot of pressure off me in the start of the Powerplay, especially those first two overs. He was flying and the cricket shots he was playing were out of the best seats in the house,” Ackerman said.
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“So, yeah, it just gave me nice confidence and good clarity when we were speaking. But he’s a great leader and heck of a player.” Although Markram’s cameo was cut short due to a brilliant one-handed catch by Marco Jansen on the boundary, Ackerman went on top score with 45 off 26 balls in DSG’s successful run-chase at St George’s Park.
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