'Morkel a more rounded bowler in absence of Dale Steyn'
Sunday 30 July 2017 09:50, UK
South Africa face an uphill battle to save the third Test but Morne Morkel's form has given Shaun Pollock something to cheer...
Morne Morkel has really come into his own on this tour - I think it's been the making of him.
For many years we have watched him bowl well, with pace and with the ability to extract lots of bounce, but we have always felt there is a fuller length that will make him more effective. The conditions on offer on England have almost accentuated that and I think he has found his length.
We've seen that from the results he has been getting - 13 wickets so far, including England's premier opening batsman Alastair Cook three times.
Perhaps in the past Morne hasn't been convinced that pitching the ball up is for him but now, particularly to left-handers around the wicket, he has seen that he is a mighty fine bowler doing that.
Morkel was pretty vocal after South Africa's comprehensive win at Trent Bridge about how he was told the back injury he had suffered with could have ended his career.
Sometimes in cricket you can get a moment that acts as a catalyst and causes you to reboot and perhaps that scare for Morne has made him come back with a more open mind and a greater hunger, having known that it could all have been taken away.
I suppose, as the most experienced bowler now, Morkel could be seen as the leader of the attack - that job usually falls to the guy with the most fire and brimstone but Morne is probably the guy batsmen would least like to face.
He bowls a similar speed to Kagiso Rabada but is taller and gets the ball to rise, something which can be incredibly disconcerting and really upset batsmen.
He has often been first-change bowler and from a consistency point of view he hasn't picked up as many wickets as he would like, so going forward I will be every interested to see if his new, fuller approach proves more fruitful.
He is a more rounded bowler now - we saw evidence of that when he got wickets in New Zealand and India on recent tours - and I think that stems from South Africa missing Dale Steyn.
Dale had the express pace and ability to reverse swing the ball so was always seen as the go-to-guy, but, with him out, Morkel now has more responsibility. He had even more in Nottingham with Rabada serving a suspension and also at The Oval with Vernon Philander being ill.
South Africa won't want to bowl him into the ground - he probably had a greater workload than was ideal in the first innings due to Philander's stomach issues - but I don't think he has to be restricted to short spells because he has the ability to maintain the pressure.
There is talk about him quitting limited-overs cricket and focusing on the Test arena and that makes sense to me, as he has always been a better long-form bowler, in my opinion.
I don't think his length is that bad with the white ball as it encourages batsmen to go after him but he can turn games on their head in Tests, something that he finds harder to do in one-dayers. Plus, he doesn't tend to offer too much with the bat or in the field.
Morkel is 32 now but South Africa won't want to lose him too soon. Like Pakistan, we always seems to be able to produce fast bowlers, but the young lads probably are a little way away from being ready to become regulars.
Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo are prospects but will take time, while Kyle Abbott and Marchant de Lange, who have built up decent experience, aren't available due to signing Kolpak deals with counties.
So let's hope Morkel has a bit of time left yet, especially if he bowls balls like the one that did for Cook on Saturday - the nut that hit the top of off-stump was a cracker!
That wicket brought Keaton Jennings and Tom Westley together and they did well to put on a stand of 44 before the rain hit. Jennings has been under a lot of pressure so to get to 34 is a start, but I have been really impressed with Westley.
He looks composed and confident, his footwork has been positive and he has a real presence - being able to play strokes is one thing but half the task is having that mettle. Westley may have technical difficulties at times but I like what I see.
South Africa know they are up against it here, and will secretly be hoping that even more time is taken out of the game due to rain.
At some point they will have to come out and look to survive in bowler-friendly conditions. It's going to take a massive effort from at least one of the big players.
Live coverage of the third Test between England and South Africa - in association with Sky Ocean Rescue - continues on Sky Sports Cricket at 10am on Sunday morning.
