South Africa haven’t exactly had a ball in the middle in the Test series so far. But despite being 0-1 down with two Test matches to go, the Proteas have not lost heart. Going into the third Test in Nagpur, Morne Morkel said the mood in the visitors’ dressing room is upbeat and they are determined to bounce back in the series.
“We are the number one Test team in the world, so our language in the change-room is really positive,” Morkel said. “Yes, the first two Tests didn’t go our way, but we are starting fresh on Wednesday and we are hungry to go and deliver the goods. We speak the right language in the change-room amongst the boys. It’s really important to put our peg on the ground now and stand up. We’ve had some injuries on this tour, but that’s no excuses for us. We need to deliver and come and play, hopefully, five days of good Test cricket.”
The strength of South Africa’s bowling attack is their incredible quality of pace bowlers. However, it is unrealistic to expect them to run through batting line-ups like they do in seaming, bouncing conditions back home. And Morkel said the pace unit is geared up for playing a different role on spin-friendly pitches.
“Coming here, we expected no favours as a fast bowling unit. Mental preparation was going to be key to bowl the reverse swing ball and it’s been a big strength for us in the past couple of years on how we have reached success in India,” he said. “If I bowl well in partnerships then I am doing my job; keep pressure, and the spinners are toiling away that’s what I am aiming to do, in same breath hoping to get one or two myself. If we can execute our game-plans well, we can keep our heads up high.
Elaborating on the pacers’ plans to bowl on Indian wickets, Morkel said, “Trying not to bowl any wasted deliveries, make the batter play. From a mental point of view, you try to put yourself under a lot of pressure. The margins are quite small in these conditions, but you just need to enjoy those types of things. It’s a once in a lifetime experience to play in these conditions. Something we will talk about for the rest of our lives. From a personal point of view, (you) gain from that. Landing the ball in the right area, get it to reverse, benefit more than that, go back home. If things don’t go my way, people say wickets were flat. For me, it is important to keep my mental side really refreshed, and go into the Test match, look to execute, try to bowl at a good pace and knock a couple of guys over.”
The last time South Africa played a Test match in Nagpur, Dale Steyn rattled the Indian batting order, taking 10 wickets in the match, enabling South Africa to a whopping innings win. This time, Steyn is in a race with time to recover in time from a groin injury he picked up during the first Test.
Morkel said he has started to bowl in the nets and his availability remains an iffy factor. “Dale bowled this morning in the nets which is pleasing for us to see. But he is being monitored by the medical team. A groin injury is a tricky thing, but we will give him until 9 A.M. on Wednesday morning to decide. For us, the positive thing is that he was bowling this morning and looking good.”
Morkel also said that whether the visitors decide to go in with two specialist spinners on a dry Nagpur wicket will depend to a good extent on Steyn’s recovery progress.
“Definitely a second spinner is an option. We’ve got Dane Piedt, Simon Harmer, those guys really bowling well in the nets. I think it will all depend on Dale and his fitness what we go with. But is definitely an option.”
