Morne Morkel: My 300th wicket was a blur

When a fired up Kagiso Rabada and explosive Australian opener David Warner clashed in a showdown for the ages at Newlands on Friday, it was as riveting as watching a nuclear bomb go off.

And yet it was still Morne Morkel’s day after the second day of the third Test in Cape Town.

Morkel claimed four for 87 in 20 overs, including his 300th Test wicket, as Australia closed on 245 for nine, still 66 behind South Africa’s first-innings score of 311, largely extended by the ninth-wicket stand of 50 between Dean Elgar, who carried his bat for a world record equalling third time in scoring 141 not out, and Rabada (22).

The first half-hour of the Australian reply was a dazzling affair, the Rabada versus Warner battle being fit to rank up there with the great passages of play in Test history.

The belligerent left-hander hit Rabada for four fours and a six in the space of five balls, but the next delivery was the perfect riposte, a thunderbolt that pitched on off stump and straightened to send the stump cartwheeling backwards.

Morkel, who has announced he will retire from all international cricket after this series, sometimes goes unnoticed while Rabada is busy bowling firebombs and Vernon Philander is exhibiting his skills, but his noteworthy achievement on Friday seals his place amongst the best South African bowlers to have played Test cricket.

“It was a special feeling to get to 300, to reach that mark has taken a lot of hard work. There was a bit of extra bounce on off-stump and I just tried to run in hard and hit the right length, plus there are a few cracks. The actual wicket was a bit of a blur, but it meant a lot to me,” Morkel said after becoming the fifth South African bowler, and 32^nd overall, to reach 300 Test wickets when he had Shaun Marsh caught behind for 26.

Fast bowling is an extremely tough profession, but even at the age of 33 and with the end of his career in sight, Morkel bowled with great industry against South Africa’s greatest rivals.

“You do think about the end of the road especially with Lungi Ngidi bowling so well. But while I wasn’t playing in Port Elizabeth, I spent hours analysing my spells in Durban and thankfully I got an opportunity this week because of his small niggle. I wasn’t blessed with the natural talent to run up and just hit a length, so I’m proud of myself to get this far.

“To play in this group of players is something I will definitely miss, but my body still feels great and mentally I’m fantastic. Game-time is very important, so I felt a bit rusty at the start today, but I just tried to stay in my bubble, to focus and keep it simple. Once you’ve made up your mind to retire, there’s no turning back, but you’d rather go out on a high,” a satisfied Morkel said.

ALSO READ:

//

For more sport your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.