The short and the long of Eden Park
DIMENSIONS: STRAIGHT BOUNDARIES ‘VERY DIFFERENT’
Survivors from World Cup semifinal exit will have to keep emotions intact, says Morris.
South Africa take on New Zealand in a T20 international in Auckland tomorrow morning and all-rounder Chris Morris has come up against enough of the Black Caps players during the IPL to know that it will be a stiff challenge.
Especially since the T20 format is the one that has lagged behind Test cricket and the one-day internationals in terms of performance by the Proteas.
“We’re going to have to bring our A game to beat them. I’ve played against a lot of the New Zealanders in the IPL, they are quality, they have some worldclass cricketers. It’s a serious team with very aggressive, attacking players.
“And I’m sure it’s going to be emotional for the boys who were at the last World Cup being back at Eden Park, it was certainly a very emotional day for me watching back home on TV,” Morris said of South Africa’s last game in New Zealand’s biggest city – their pulsating World Cup semifinal defeat to the Black Caps.
Apart from the emotional baggage, the Proteas also have to deal with the bizarre dimensions of Eden Park, which is predominantly a rugby ground and has extremely short straight boundaries of 55m maximum.
“It was a bit of a shock to the system to see the stadium for the first time and the straight boundaries. Every venue has its dynamics that you have to get used to, but this is really a very different field, I’ve never seen the straight boundaries so small before, so that’s going to be a challenge. We just have to try and hit the right areas, but as a batsman, if the ball is in your right area, you just have to hit it,” Morris said.
The 29-year-old took the new ball in the 5-0 ODI whitewash of Sri Lanka and was one of the standout performers, particularly in the last game when he took four for 31.
Morris was the most economical bowler in the series, conceding just 3.73 runs-per-over.