This is what happens when Chris Morris doesn’t have ‘worms in the head’

Chris Morris produced an outstanding spell of fast bowling to take three for 13 against Afghanistan in Cardiff to continue his strong form in the World Cup, which he attributed to the absence of what he called the “worms in my head”.

Morris, who was a late replacement for fast bowler Anrich Nortje, has now taken six wickets in the tournament at an average of 20.33 and an economy rate of 4.66, as well as scoring a face-saving 42 against India.

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“It’s a long tournament and I just want to crack on and ride the wave now, there are less worms in my head these days and that’s because I’ve been given a clearcut job by Ottis Gibson … and I think I can do it. My role in the team has cleared up a lot and I’ve worked quite nicely with Ottis for the last two weeks, we’ve just changed my run-up a bit so I have a lot more rhythm.

“I have more balance at the crease now and the ball is coming out nicely. I just mustn’t try and bowl as fast as I can because that’s when I tend to break,” Morris said.

The win against Afghanistan has certainly lifted the Proteas’ spirits, although they are well aware of the magnitude of the task ahead of them if they are to sneak into the semi-finals.

“I think it’s spot-on to say it’s a quarterfinal every time we go out on to the field. It’s pretty simple, we have to win every game and hopefully it brings out the best in us because there’s nowhere we can afford to slip up. I don’t think the washout against the West Indies was the end of the world, Pakistan started exactly the same as us when they won in 1992.

“But it would have been completely different if we had been rained out against Afghanistan, then we would have been very upset. But the vibes in this team have never changed, it’s the World Cup, why shouldn’t you be happy?” Morris said.

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