- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden has identified tall paceman Morne Morkel as the biggest threat to the home side in Wednesday’s first Test against South Africa on the bouncy WACA pitch.
Hayden says while this year’s leading bowler Dale Steyn (60 wickets at 19) has been getting all the media attention since the Proteas landed in Perth a week ago, the 201cm Morkel will be a key weapon in the clash between Test crickets two top sides.
“He is the danger player for us, most definitely,” said Hayden, who spoke to AAP on Monday as part of a promotion for the McGrath Foundation’s Men of Cricket Calendar.
“The modern game, the people who have been successful from a bowling point of view have all been well into their six-foot plus category, hitting the wicket hard.
“The modern-day greats, maybe with the exception of Brett Lee, they have all been big tall fast bowlers.
“Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Andrew Flintoff when he’s on song, big and tall, Steve Harmison, they’re all over you. Wasim Akram, Ishant Sharma.
“The pace and trajectory of the ball is very significant the higher up you go because no one is overly concerned with velocity.
“Whilst it can be a weapon, trajectory into the wicket is the mastermind of the downfall of batsmen. So he’s going to be hard work. ”
While South Africa’s pace attack of Steyn, Morkel and Makhaya Ntini has a stable look, Australia will go into the Test without the reliable Stuart Clark who had elbow surgery on Monday.
His replacement is likely to be Victoria’s one-Test player Peter Siddle, who has been called into the 12-man Test squad and has been labelled a superstar by Hayden.
“He’s a good, simple fast bowler. I’m very excited about the fact that he’s going to play his debut Australian Test match in particular in Perth,” Hayden said.
“He’s a unique character to the game as well and I think he’s going to blossom into an absolute superstar for Australia.
“So it’s going to be great to witness, the making of his career. He’s lively.”
Siddle’s fearsome bouncer which cannoned into the forehead of Warriors batsman Liam Davis last month at the WACA left the batsman still suffering blurred vision and unable to play in this week’s return clash at the MCG.
Hayden says Siddle bowls “genuine heat”.
“He seemingly does it really easily as well. He has just got so much potential,” Hayden said.
Hayden, 37, has thrown himself into a new project as a pin-up boy for a Men of Cricket calendar which is channelling profits into the McGrath Foundation to fund breast cancer nurses, mainly in rural Australia.
The plight of champion paceman and father-of-two McGrath touched the nation when his wife Jane died of cancer in June 2008.
Australia batsman Simon Katich has been the target of some ribbing for his non-metrosexual look of a hairy chest. Hayden is pictured with a shirt on and carrying a surfboard.
“We are all prepared to cop any particular scrutiny on the chin when it comes to the actual display of our bodies but I reckon it’s a really great cause,” said the 100-Test veteran, who has been hitting so many balls from the bowling machine he has sore hands.
“Im ready to go that’s for sure,” he said.
AAP gab/gjw
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.