Aiden Markram shares a drink with fan after WTC Final heroics, turns out he’s a friend from school

Aiden Markram is a freshly-minted South African hero, scoring 136 in a remarkable chase at Lord’s in one of the most famous fourth-innings batting performances in recent history to seal the World Test Championship with a victory over Australia. Following a determined, powerful display of batting, which earned him the man-of-the-match award, Markram was spotted by camera crews accepting a beer from some South African fans in the boisterous Lord’s crowd — maybe one of the most well-deserved beers any person has ever had.

Reflecting on the moment afterwards in the press conference, having led South Africa to a first ICC trophy in 27 years and first major tournament win in their history, Markram revealed that the veer was offered by an old friend of his, of which he took full advantage in order to kick off celebrations after a tense match that capped off a two-year long journey.

“Yeah that was cool. That was one of my mates from school. He wanted me to come over and I said, ‘Flip man, I can’t, it’s too busy, it’s chaos.’ And then he was like, ‘Oh, here’s a beer.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’m in,’” said Markram of the moment in the press conference, receiving a round of laughter for his honesty.