Morris benefiting from a clear goal – just like Titans
CHRIS MORRIS is glad to be out of the national spotlight – for now.
Training and playing these past few weeks with his franchise, the Titans, has helped reinvigorate the explosive but too often – for national coach Ottis Gibson’s liking – erratic all-rounder.
At age 30, Morris’s career has reached something of a crossroads. He remains a highly valued player in the Indian Premier League – where his services were retained by the Delhi Daredevils franchise for over R12-million – but his international career, for now, doesn’t appear to be going in any specific direction.
When the two “white ball” series against India ended – with South Africa losing seven out of nine matches (Morris having featured in eight of those games) Gibson was forthright in his critique of Morris, saying he needed to work harder and more importantly decide what kind of bowler he wanted to be.
It hit hard with Morris. “There is some clarity for sure,” said Morris regarding his discussions with the national coach, “whether I like it, is a different story.”
Nevertheless he is trying to put in place what Gibson has demanded. “I’ve hit the gym quite hard, I’ve worked on my fitness. It essentially is up to me, but when the coach gives you a thing to do, you do it. If I want to put myself in the frame for the World Cup next year, then I suppose, I just have to try and do what he says, there’s really no other option, is there?”
Being back at the Titans has proved beneficial. “For one thing you don’t have every second person worrying about whether you’re losing against India,” he said, only half-jokingly. “But it is a much more relaxed environment, no one is fighting for places, all the goals are the same and I’m enjoying my game.”
Relaxed the Titans environment may be – certainly in comparison to the national set-up during those limited overs matches against India – but that doesn’t mean an absence of pressure. The Titans are right in the thick of the chase for the Sunfoil Series title.
Officially they sit fourth on the log, but they are separated from the Warriors in first by just six points. The Eastern Cape went top by defeating the Titans in East London two weeks ago, a match which the hosts won off the last ball. For Morris, who will miss the match in Paarl, as the Titans seek the right balance for their starting XI, performances with bat and ball certainly boosted his confidence; he claimed four wickets in the first innings and then a century as the Titans tried to save the game. He was the ninth man out.
“We know what we have to do now, and that is win our next two matches and if we do that, we will win the competition.”
The Cape Cobras, currently second, are also right in the hunt for the competition. The match is being played in Paarl, a venue notorious for producing slow and flat tracks that can make pushing for a win difficult, although Morris does have a different view.
“Funnily enough I’ve never been involved in a draw there – there’s always been a result. And with the Cobras also needing a win, I can’t see it being a flat track. ” THE world’s top-ranked Test bowler, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, has appealed the sanction which has seen him banned for the final two Tests of the current series against Australia. Rabada was named man of the match for his magnificent performance in the Proteas’ second-Test victory in Port Elizabeth on Monday. But he also collected three demerit points and a fine of 50% of his match fee for “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player” after he was deemed to have brushed Aussie captain Steve Smith’s shoulder after dismissing the righthander at St George’s Park on Sunday. The three demerit points, added to points accumulated earlier, took Rabada to eight points - an automatic two-Test suspension.
The ICC tweeted yesterday: “ICC confirms that Kagiso Rabada has appealed against the Level 2 breach following the incident with Steve Smith during the Port Elizabeth Test. ICC will now appoint a Judicial Commissioner at the earliest opportunity and hearing details will be confirmed in due course”.
Rabada admitted that he needed to rein in his behaviour, but was adamant that he “never felt contact at all” with Smith after the dismissal.
The third Test is set to start on March 22 at Newlands.