A flick off the hips sent a delivery from Josh Hazlewood racing up the hill towards the boundary in front of the Grandstand pavilion, where one portion of this pro-South Africa crowd lost their collective minds for a moment. 

The ball touched the foam, sponsor-emblazoned cushion, in the middle of Lord’s Aiden Markram walked and then stopped.

This was not his usual celebration for a century — that includes a leap and a more animated wave to the crowd and teammates.

That’s because the circumstances at this historic venue were not usual, nor was this innings.

Markram removed his helmet, stared at the grey clouds above him.

He held his right hand in a fist, and then came the arm to his eyes, a gentlemanly wave to the crowd, that included his wife Nicole and his parents and then his South African teammates gathered on the home dressing room balcony. 

They were much more enthusiastic. Tristan Stubbs leapt to his feet, Kagiso Rabada — Markram’s long time teammate from back in their SA under 19 days — pumped both fists in the air without stopping. 

Markram, after being given room by his captain and batting partner, Temba Bavuma, barely cracked a smile as they embraced.

He wiped away tears. He was, he revealed, “overwhelmed with emotion.”

At the same time, there was an awareness that this job, this winning of a world title, was not yet done.

He blocked the next delivery in that over from Hazlewood. 

He did the same with the last two balls off the day’s final over from Nathan Lyon.

Then he and Bavuma punched gloves and left the arena.

Markram turned down a chat with the TV broadcasters and didn’t come — as is usually the case with the day’s best player — to the post match press conference.

Cramp was the initial reason given. 

But it was just the emotion of it all really.

Markram is, as Bavuma has often stated, the heartbeat of this Proteas team.

When Bavuma feels the players to be revved up, he lets Markram do the talking.

That so passionate a cricketer was overwhelmed by his performance is therefore understandable. 

It was an innings of the highest class.

The perfect blend of attack and resolute defence.

The shotmaking was breathtaking — cover drives with the back knee bent and touching the ground, back foot drives with a bat so straight it could be used by construction workers.

Or the delicate late cuts, one off Mitchell Starc the other off Beau Webster which were the marks of an artist and the straight drives, past both mid-off and mid-on, the work of a master technician.

The magnitude of this innings will only properly be determined by the outcome of the match.

It is one, that South Africa, heading into day four, with eight wickets in hand and only 69 runs more to get, must feel they can win. 

But as the sun set over this storied venue on Friday, as Markram stepped onto the Proteas team bus, it is the best innings of his life. 

“We certainly know he is someone for the big occasion,” said Proteas batting coach, Ashwell Prince. 

He mentioned Markram’s century on the sanctioned pitch at Newlands — when India won a two day Test in 2024 — as an example of the opener’s ability to play a “big innings.”

“That innings there was unbelievable.” 

There’ve been others; his highest Test score of 153 against Australia at the Wanderers in 2018 where he made even AB de Villiers look pedestrian and earlier in that same series 143 in the second innings of the Durban Test match, when the ugly side of that Australian team was starting to emerge. 

There was none of that here.

Just a master at work, but one, while overwhelmed with emotion, hwo knows there is more work still to do.