Cobras finally assert themselves after some wayward bowling in Centurion
CHRIS Morris has a penchant for “misplacing” important things like when he arrived in the United Kingdom for the ICC Champions Trophy without any shoes or losing his passport days before joining the Indian Premier League for the first time.
Those who know him intimately convince themselves that it’s all part of the “Morris charm”. However, having to put up with this degree of negligence, for the best part of six months on a daily basis will test even the most patient of souls.
Morris’s family would have breathed a sigh of relief that he was at least allowed out on the golf course while recovering from a long-term knee injury that kept him out of competitive cricket since last July.
“I played a lot of golf. That was my first question to our physio ‘Can I play golf?’ and he said ‘If an 80-year-old can play golf, then I think you can play golf ’. That was my saving grace as it kept the hand-eye co-ordination intact,” Morris said.
“But the wonderful thing about the game is that it finds a way for you to miss it. After about six weeks I was missing the game horribly.”
Morris’s effervescent personality would have been pushing him hard on the inside to return sooner than expected. But the 29-year-old was in severe pain, often causing him to wake up during the night in a cold sweat, which saw him only play his first competitive match a fortnight ago when the Titans faced the Highveld Lions in a Sunfoil Series clash in Benoni.
Morris never set the world alight, scoring 39 and claiming five wickets in the match, but, more importantly, he had emerged pain-free coming through the four-day fixture “unscathed”. “I bowled 40 overs, welcome back Morris,” the all-rounder chirped.
The fact that Morris got through such a workload in his comeback match was enough to convince the national selectors that he was ready for an international recall and immediately included in the One-Day squad for the Sri Lankan series that gets under way in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.
This will be an important series in Morris’s road to full recovery. While he was becoming better acquainted with the Highveld’s finest fairways during his recovery, there were a couple of young all-rounders impressively filling the breach.
Former Lions teammate Dwaine Pretorius put in a couple of solid performances while Dolphins starlet Andile Phehlukwayo was outstanding during the 5-0 whitewash of Australia in South Africa’s last ODI series.
Throw the enigmatic Wayne Parnell into the mix and suddenly an area that South Africa were ailing in after Jacques Kallis’s retirement has become a strength again where there is healthy competition for places. Coach Russell Domingo has emphasised that the series against the Sri Lankans and the subsequent New Zealand ODI series will have a huge bearing on which all-rounders the Proteas take to the ICC Champions Trophy in England later this year.
Selection for the global showpiece would be extra special for Morris as his international career would have come full circle after making his ODI debut in the same tournament four years ago against Pakistan in Birmingham.
“It will be nice to be in the Champions Trophy squad, but if it’s not my time, it’s not my time,” Morris said philosophically. “I just want to play cricket. If I’m not selected for the Proteas, I will play for the Titans.”
In Morris’s own words “there has been a lot of noise around Kolpaks” and there is no doubt the fear that taking into account his age and current standing in the national team across all three formats, he could be a potential target to continue a career in England should national selection not be forthcoming.
However, the son of former Northern Transvaal allrounder Willie Morris, is not entertaining thoughts of an English county career and is committed to winning back his starting place in the Proteas team. “There has been a lot of noise about Kolpak everywhere. I don’t think it’s just hampered me, it’s hampered a few people. I had a good sit down with our coach, Mark Boucher, in terms of the Kolpak situation. There weren’t any offers on the table, just a lot of noise around it,” Morris explained.
“I’ve committed to Cricket South Africa. I’ve told the selectors, Errol Stewart, that I want to play cricket for my country and committed to CSA. I am going to give it a full go and if I don’t play more than I have already, then that’s my fate, but at least I’ve done my best to get there.”
Domingo will be listening closely to these words and will keep it at the back of his mind when teams are selected. It’s now up to South Africa’s “Million Dollar Man” to find that Midas touch again that made him such a hit in limited-overs cricket 12 months ago.
St George’s Park will be handy place to start tomorrow. PRETORIA: The Cape Cobras would have left the ground last night reasonably happy with their efforts after an afternoon that initially featured some drama over whether the match would have started at all following a malfunction with the covers, that left a wet spot on the pitch.
Morning rain had already washed out the first session, but the sun shone brightly after noon, although play couldn’t get under way because the ground staff were battling to dry out an area of the pitch just outside the lefthander’s off-stump at the West Lane End of the ground.
The concern for the match officials was that in the bowlers’ follow through they may further damage the surface and while there wasn’t a risk of physical danger, it would be unfair on the side that will bat last, which will be the Cobras.
The Titans had won the toss shortly before the morning showers, and chose to bat, but even though they are desperate to push for a result having already had one game completely rained out this season, they too had concerns over how the pitch and the damaged area would play.
As it was, the match officials and the two captains had some animated discussions and the Cobras skipper, Dane Piedt agreed that his side would play and at 2.50pm the teams took to the field.
At no point during the two and half hours of play was there any discomfort for any of the batsmen from the damaged area, while the Cobras’ seam bowlers did no damage to the spot in their follow throughs.
In fact, the going was initially very comfortable for the Titans openers, Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram.
Elgar was in sparkling form against some charitable bowling from the visitors with Lizaad Williams, in particular, struggling for rhythm from the Hennops River End.
Elgar, fresh off a Man-ofthe-Series display against Sri Lanka, played fluently, taking advantage of balls pitched on his legs, which he clipped through the on-side and when the Cobras drifted wide of his off-stump he nailed them square of the wicket in the point region.
Markram was initially happy to let Elgar dominate, but then used up a lot of balls himself, displaying some solid defence in the process. Together the pair put on 86 and for much of their partnership, the scoring rate was comfortably above five runs an over.
The Cobras eventually sorted out their lines and lengths thanks to Jason Smith and Tshepo Moreki, but even so the dismissals of the openers came as a surprise. Elgar top edged an attempted pull, providing Williams with a comfortable catch at midwicket. The left-hand opener was rightly furious with himself for wasting the opportunity to register something far more substantial than the 43 with which he ended.
Elgar was still chastising himself when Markram was dismissed off Moreki’s next delivery, edging to Smith at second slip for 32.
The Cobras bowlers were able to assert themselves thereafter and Williams returned to dismiss Henry Davids for 10, thanks to an inside edge onto the Titans skipper’s stumps.
The umpires called stumps when the dark clouds returned just after 5pm, with the Cobras certainly the happier team.
Heino Kuhn on eight and Grant Mokoena on five will resume for the Titans today.
l In Bloemfontein, the Knights ended the first day of their clash with the Warriors on 360/5.