It’s March 2014 in Cape Town, and one of Australia’s finest modern batsmen, Michael Clarke, is taking blows to all parts of his body. Morne Morkel is bowling with typical pace and hostility, with the series between the top two Test sides on the line.
There is a problem with Morkel though.
As much as his short-pitched bowling and the batsman playing and missing is a spectacle, there has barely been a time when Morkel was the most defining bowler in a series.
For the record, he didn’t dismiss Clarke, and Australian cricket fans know what happened to Clarke – and, more importantly, the team – in that match.
Morkel has everything a bowler could want: he is strong, tall, regularly bowls at more than 140 kilometres per hour, and is pinpoint accurate. His run up is rhythmical and smooth, and his bowling style is comparable to the great Curtly Ambrose – even if he hasn’t emulated the West Indian’s success.
With Dale Steyn, he has formed one of the best bowling partnerships in recent times, which has been key to South Africa’s prolonged stay at the top of the Test ladder. That, sadly, is what defines Morkel’s career – supporting act to the best bowler of the past decade, rather than being the best bowler of the past decade.
In normal circumstances his wonderful support to Steyn and a record of 232 wickets at 29 would be a source of pride. However, the reason for the feeling his potential has been unfulfilled is that Morkel has a lot more favourable fast-bowling ingredients than Steyn, and is perhaps the most talented fast bowler of his generation.
Compared to Steyn, Morkel bowls at higher speeds, extracts more bounce, and generally sticks around for longer spells.
So why isn’t Morne Morkel a legendary bowler? Two words: sheer ruthlessness.
All great bowlers have a ruthless streak – it is what drives them to bowl their team to victory. On occasions when Steyn has been injured or out of form, Morkel’s ‘gentle giant’ attitude has let South Africa down. He should have stood up at Cape Town in 2014 when Steyn was injured, and bowled the Australians out. He did not take control as the most experienced bowler when Ben Stokes was thrashing the ball around during his 258 a few days ago either, even if it was a flat wicket.
On awkward, spinning wickets during the recent Indian tour, he bowled well, but nothing like Steyn’s feats in Nagpur 2010, which took the game away from India.
He did. bowl well in the memorable Grant Elliot World Cup semi-final, Philander and Steyn letting him down on that occasion. Could it have been his defining moment? Perhaps.
He hasn’t been helped by the uncertainty of his role, which was the same situation Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson faced, and is why their averages hover in the high 20s or low 30s. However Lee and Johnson shaped Test series on their own once they shunned line and length and just bowled fast.
At times Morkel has tried bowling line and length while Steyn does his business, while in Cape Town 2014, he seemed more intent on hitting Clarke from around the wicket than getting him out.
His best work can be exemplified by how he bowled in the first Test against England in Durban, where he plugged away at that awkward length, consistently hitting the shoulder of the bat and throwing in the odd bouncer. These spells haven’t been common though, and he is often guilty of bowling that little bit short.
At 31, Morkel still has a few years left to stamp his authority on the game, particularly as injuries are expected to affect Steyn more frequently. It speaks volumes of Morkel’s ability that despite underachieving, he has still been able to churn out a very credable and durable career. The final two Tests of the current series against England offer him a chance to inspire South Africa to a comeback triumph, which would leave a lasting favourable impression on his legacy when he retires.
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While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
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