“To be able to stand up and perform like that when your team needs you the most is what reputations are made of. I think everyone’s always known how good a player Aiden Markram was,” Ponting added.

“And I must admit, a couple of years ago when South Africa toured Australia, I couldn’t believe that Aiden Markram wasn’t in that touring squad at all. He didn’t even make the squad.

“And here we are a couple of years later and he’s played one of probably his greatest knocks. I’m sure if you asked him, he’d probably say that that’s the knock that he’s most proud of in his Test career, and I am pretty sure his teammates who watched it all unfold would probably say the same thing.