Morne Morkel truly retires at the top of his game

Morne Morkel may not have picked up a wicket on his final day of Test cricket, but the big man was still beaming as he finished his Proteas career up there with the very best fast bowlers South Africa have produced.

The 33-year-old is literally retiring while at the top of his game, having moved up to sixth place in the International Cricket Council rankings with a career-best 800 rating points.

He finishes fifth on the all-time South African Test wicket-takers list, his average and strike-rate closely mirroring that of Makhaya Ntini.

Of course, ever the team man, Morkel was smiling because his side had just recorded their biggest win ever, thrashing their Australian arch-rivals by 492 runs.

“I’m very happy, I had to take quite a few painkillers and one or two injections for the oblique muscle strain, but I just wanted to be on the field whatever happened and I was happy to be able to do that. Newlands was so special and here at the Wanderers has been amazing too, I will miss it a lot, the banter and what goes on in the changeroom.

“I’m excited for the new guy coming in who can enjoy a fantastic journey with the Proteas now, but I will definitely miss the game. There was not one day when I did not enjoy coming to nets or warming up, and it was always very special walking on the field for South Africa,” Morkel said.

In the last 16 months, Morkel has taken 67 wickets in 15 Tests at an average of just 21.67 so he will certainly be missed by the Proteas. The bowler himself credits his late blooming to a challenge issued to him by former Test batsman and batting coach Neil McKenzie.

“The wickets column shows whether you’ve been bowling well but I’ve had different roles in my career depending on what the captain expects. For a high percentage of my career I was probably bowling for only one dismissal – caught behind. But when your strength is bounce and pace, then you must try and make the most of it.

“But Neil Mac challenged me and I thank him for that. He said he wanted me to hit a fuller length, even if at times you get a bit floaty and it goes for four sometimes. So I accepted that challenge and I’ve been able to get more wickets,” Morkel revealed.

The genial giant who said he was inspired by the tears of Jacques Kallis when they finally won in Australia for the first time (2008) and deeply moved by the tears of Dale Steyn at Eden Park when they lost in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, left the Wanderers field in tears himself but with the acclaim and love of all who were there ringing in his ears.

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