Injuries are often termed as the biggest adversaries of pacers. That has been the precise case of South Africa’s towering seamer Morne Morkel. With the Test series against England spicing up with the Proteas taking the second Test by 340 runs, Morkel opened up on the future of his international career. With injuries plaguing him for quite a while now, the veteran admitted that he could concentrate purely on Tests to prolong his international career.
Morne remains one of the most successful pacers for South Africa, and with a staggering 186 ODI wickets in just 112 games, his numbers are simply magical. However, having played barely a handful of ODI’s in the last 12 months, time is running out for Morkel. The likes of Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris have done exceptionally well, leading with the ball in the shorter forms.
At a press event in England, Morkel hinted about his likely future with the team.
“I don’t know. After this tour, we’ll see. I’ll speak with Cricket South Africa and see where they see me featuring,” Morkel said. “I love playing for this team. But it’s not rocket science that they probably want to start looking, in white-ball cricket, at the 2019 World Cup.”
“Am I going to part of those plans? If I can be around to help the younger guys find their feet, so be it. I’ll do that. For me, the main focus is this tour and then we’ll go back and see how we go,” said Morkel.
Speaking about his conditioning and fitness, the seamer said, “My conditioning’s been good over the years and I really look after my body.” “Mentally and physically I feel strong. But the World Cup is two or three years down the line and those are decisions they need to make.”