Morris: We still give a damn
PAKISTAN delivered an inspired all-round performance to rout a ragged England team by eight wickets in a one-sided Champions Trophy semi-final yesterday.
Pakistan bowled and fielded tightly to restrict the hosts to a paltry total of 211 all out and the lowest-ranked team in the tournament knocked off the runs in style with a massive 12.5 overs to spare.
It was a major disappointment for England, who won all three group matches in their bid to claim a first global 50over title and had beaten Pakistan in 12 of their last 14 oneday internationals.
They collapsed, however, on a sluggish pitch from 128/2 in sunny conditions which normally favour batsmen and the bowlers failed to repair the damage as Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali shared a stand of 118 to lead Pakistan to their target.
“One thing we didn’t do was adapt to conditions, which I thought Pakistan did extremely well,” England captain Eoin Morgan said. LONDON: Chris Morris has always called a spade a spade. It is one of the 30-year-old’s most endearing traits because he’s not shy to voice his opinion.
Beyond the game, a career in the commentary box may well beckon, especially in the modern age of broadcasting fence-sitters.
So, who better to have the final word on the Proteas’ Champions Trophy woes, then advance the conversation to the upcoming T20 series.
“We’ve had our mourning but the sun came up again the next day,” he sighed.
“I don’t think we’re a bad side, though. We just played a bad game of cricket at the wrong time,” he said, referring to the India match.
He cut a frustrated figure, a man who knows he ought to be preparing for or playing in a semi-final instead of sitting in a plush London hotel defending himself and his team.
There is also the nasal grunt to his voice - the final kick of a bit of flu, he says - and the sirens of London police and ambulances are more persistent than usual.
But as ever with Morris, he is still sunny side up.
“You see England are struggling,” he smiles, keeping one eye on the first semi-final.
Morris agrees that the Champions Trophy is a cracking tournament and one that needs to stay on the calendar.
“I think it’s brilliant. I think the length of it is great,” he starts, before laughing at the irony of his statement.
“It’s two and a half weeks of intense cricket against the top eight sides.”
He also says it’s a wonderful breeding ground for new talent, individual or collective.
He then goes on to make a telling point, one that sort of - but not completely - explains South Africa’s struggles.
“Full credit to them, they outplayed us on this wicket. 211 wasn’t a good score. 250/270 would have been.”
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and England openers Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow, replacing the out-of-form Jason Roy, made a solid enough start.
Hitting boundaries proved difficult, however, and a clearly frustrated Hales, on 13, spooned Rumman Raees to cover with a loose drive.
Bairstow, dropped twice, accumulated 43 runs through good shot placement and quick running between the wickets before he pulled seamer Hasan Ali to Mohammad Hafeez at deep square leg.
Joe Root and Morgan continued to score at about five runs an over but Root, on 46, nicked leg-spinner Shadab Khan to wicketkeeper Sarfraz and Morgan (33) aimed an expansive drive at the lively Hasan and gave Sarfraz another catch to leave England in trouble at 141/4.
Jos Buttler (4), Moeen Ali (11) and Adil Rashid (7) fell quickly and Ben Stokes, one of the most destructive batsmen
“I’ve been reading a bit about bilateral series and how teams are able to prepare for one type of opposition. You can’t do that in a tournament because you are playing different teams every few days. So there have been a few upsets.”
“I know we lost to Pakistan by Duckworth/Lewis, but I still felt we could have won that game,” he says.
“There was still 100 runs for them to get, and at a good rate,” he pointed out.
He admits that rain is no excuse, especially considering the battles other teams had with the elements.
Ultimately, the door was still open against India.
“I think we also ran into an Indian side with a point to prove after they didn’t defend that total against Bangladesh,” he said.
“There’s a lot been said but you know, we were 140 for two. If our batting line-up kicks on from there, we score 300 plus...”
He hates talking in ifs and buts, but that is all that’s left.
“If Faf didn’t take the run, AB looked very hungry... If Dave didn’t get run out, as our in-form batsman... if Faf had batted through the innings... there are so many ways to look at it,” he sighs. in the world, failed to hit a boundary in a scratchy 34 as Pakistan’s bowlers dominated.
Fakhar hit Mark Wood for the first six of the match in the opening over of Pakistan’s innings and he and Azhar played some delightful strokes in a fluent partnership.
Fakhar reached his 50 off 49 balls before being stumped by Buttler off Rashid for 57 but Azhar and Babar Azam calmly continued to milk runs all around the ground as England’s bowlers ran out of ideas.
Azhar, on 76, dragged a delivery from Jake Ball on to his stumps before Babar (38 not out) and Hafeez (31 not out) guided Pakistan home.
“Credit goes to the bowlers and the batters who finished it very well,” Sarfraz said.
“We adapted to the conditions, we knew if we restricted them we could easily chase it down.
“Every game is a knockout game and I told my boys to play their game and not worry about the result.”
India play Bangladesh in the second semi-final at Edgbaston in Birmingham today. – Reuters
Indeed, but Morris refuses to use them as excuses. They got a klap from a team that was better than them that day and possibly hungrier.
But he doesn’t accept the thinking that it’s time for drastic changes to the SA approach.
“I don’t think we are a bad team. We ran into a good English side before this. We should have beaten them at Southampton, and we did at Lord’s.
“I just don’t think drastic changes are needed. I think we’ve got a great team, with a great spirit, and we just played a poor game at a bad time.”
Morris noted that they had let a lot of people down and they had to atone as a team.
“I know there are a lot of people irritated by us right now, but we are still here, still gonna give our all.
“We still give a damn about playing for our country.”
With that in mind, he says there will be no issue getting the team up for the T20 series against England next week.
“It’s an opportunity to play for our country, which is a privilege. I keep reiterating that point to the guys.”
It is that mindset the Proteas will need to turn around a tour that has not gone to plan.
The last few days have been especially frustrating and Morris can’t wait to get stuck in again.
The only way to atone for cricketing failures is through yet more cricket. The road to redemption is cobbled with runs, wickets and, as Morris and company hope, paved with a lot more success.
He has already cajoled the troops to get on that road with a city run this morning before they kick on with preparations for next week.
He has a bit of flu to shake off and this team have a point to prove - and some irritated folk back home to win back.
The road to redemption is under construction.