Morne Morkel, the 6-feet 5-inch fast bowler, toiled hard for four for 60 and at times, felt like he was bowling on one of those fast-bowler crushing Indian pitches rather than at home
Morne Morkel
Morne Morkel, the 6-feet 5-inch fast bowler, toiled hard for four for 60 and at times, felt like he was bowling on one of those fast-bowler crushing Indian pitches rather than at home. "100% India," he said when asked if this was more of an Indian pitch than a South African one. "It's unheard of that a spinner bowls that many overs on the first day. We even took the option to open in the over before lunch with a spinner (yesterday). There's a very subcontinental feel to it. Tough scoring, tough to get people out. Luckily, we've got some experience of that in the bank. But they are not the conditions that we want here in South Africa." Morkel added that he had rarely had to work so hard for wickets at home.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I've played cricket here all my life, and I've never seen a wicket like this at the SuperSport Park," said Morkel. "It was really hard work. In the heat, with conditions really tough, it was right up there with one of the hardest spells I've bowled." Tall enough to be a serious prospect in most basketball teams, Morkel found it hard to get the bounce that makes him such a dangerous prospect.
So, what frustrated him most? "The pace of the wicket. You've got a small little window with the new ball. I think the first hour in the mornings, the reason might be because it's under covers overnight, but in the first hour the ball seems a little bit quicker off the deck," said Morkel. "But after that, there's actually been no pace in the wicket. Especially from the pavilion end, I found it's very tennis ball bounce. It's important to come out with different sorts of gameplans. You need to try a lot of things. But we had runs on the board in the first innings to try different things, but yes, from a bowling point of view, definitely not the ideal sort of surface."
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here
Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
