Morne Morkel to retire from international cricket after Australia series

[slippy888]

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the Australia Test series. South Africa will host Australia for four Tests starting March 1 in Durban.

"It was an extremely tough decision but I feel the time is right to start a new chapter," Morkel said. "I have a young family and a foreign wife, and the current demanding international schedule has put a lot of strain us. I have to put them first and this decision will only benefit us going forward.

"I have loved every minute that I have played in the Proteas jersey, and I am incredibly grateful to my team mates, Cricket South Africa, and my family and friends for the support over the years. I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in me and I am excited for what lies ahead. For now, all of my energy and focus is on helping the Proteas win the upcoming series against Australia."


Morkel to retire from international cricket after Australia series - ESPNcricinfo


The guy gave 100 percent every game he one of the great fast bowlers

 

[harsh.ag]

This sucks. Thought he would give us at least another year of steep goodness.

 

[Adders]

Amazing how he seems to have peaked at this stage of his career. Always nice to see a player go out at the top of his game and Morne is definitely doing that........best of luck to him.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Bit of a shame, thought he had a few years left in him.

But selfishly, this makes me glad that Steyn has a better chance of being picked now with his injury history.

 

[fredfertang]

He'd certainly raise the standard of the County Championship - hope someone signs him

 

[StephenZA]

He'd certainly raise the standard of the County Championship - hope someone signs him

It will be interesting to see if he goes Kolpak or if he just goes and lives in Australia. I really feel this might be a case of not liking being away from his family so much, more than money.

 

[Dendarii]

It will be interesting to see if he goes Kolpak or if he just goes and lives in Australia. I really feel this might be a case of not liking being away from his family so much, more than money.

Given that he spoke about a young family and foreign wife, I think the Australia route is the most likely one, and I'm sure that any side there will be more than happy to have him on their books. I guess this also means that in about 25 years it's possible that we'll see a Morkel turn out for Australia.

 

[Heboric]

So obviously Morne Morkel succeeded where Chris Gayle failed in chatting up Australian sports announcers

 

[GotSpin]

Has there been a more disappointing career from someone who promised to be so threatening

 

[a massive zebra]

Has there been a more disappointing career from someone who promised to be so threatening

Disappointing? He has got nearly 300 Test wickets @ 28. That is good enough to get into any side in the world and to be classed as one of the elite bowlers of your generation. He was never going to be an ATG because his natural length is too short to consistently take bundles of wickets, but I think the likes of Steyn, Philander and Rabada probably often reaped rewards after the opposition batsmen were intimidated by Morkel's pace and bounce. I don't think he has been disappointing at all, very few bowlers who consistently bowl short of a length have genuinely ATG records.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah, there's not many who enjoyed facing him over his career.

 

[Bolo]

Disappointing? He has got nearly 300 Test wickets @ 28. That is good enough to get into any side in the world and to be classed as one of the elite bowlers of your generation. He was never going to be an ATG because his natural length is too short to consistently take bundles of wickets, but I think the likes of Steyn, Philander and Rabada probably often reaped rewards after the opposition batsmen were intimidated by Morkel's pace and bounce. I don't think he has been disappointing at all, very few bowlers who consistently bowl short of a length have genuinely ATG records.

His inability to adjust his natural length until he reached the twilight of his career was what largely caused the disappointment.

He's had a very good career, and I think he's been worth more than his stats, but I still think he underachieved. His express pace, height and bounce are enourmous advantages. Additionally he can swing the ball in both directions and can bowl seam up or cross seam, he just never developed into a particularly good seam or swing bowler and his bowling lacked variety despite his range of skills.

One thing he has significantly exceeded my expectations on is his durability. He's 33, and still fairly young to be retiring, but that his giraffe body has managed to play for 12 years and still be one of the quickest bowlers in the world is impressive.

 

[Bijed]

Has there been a more disappointing career from someone who promised to be so threatening

Harmison?

 

[SeamUp]

Nobody more under rated than Morkel according to Steve Waugh

https://m.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Proteas/nobody-underrated-more-than-morkel-aussie-great-20180227

 

[Dendarii]

His inability to adjust his natural length until he reached the twilight of his career was what largely caused the disappointment.

He's had a very good career, and I think he's been worth more than his stats, but I still think he underachieved. His express pace, height and bounce are enourmous advantages. Additionally he can swing the ball in both directions and can bowl seam up or cross seam, he just never developed into a particularly good seam or swing bowler and his bowling lacked variety despite his range of skills.

Agreed. While I think the suggestion that there hasn't been anyone who's been more disappointing is overstating things, I do think it's fair to say that while he's had a great career, one that's been better than many other bowlers, there is the feeling that maybe it should have been even better. When he came onto the scene, I thought that in him and Steyn South Africa had what could potentially be one of the great new ball partnerships. Of course, I didn't reckon on Philander turning up a few years later...

 

[sunilz]

Unfair comparison . But Ishant sharma and Morne Morkel have lots of identical records

Morkel
Test :81
5 wicket haul:7
10 wicket haul:0
Man of the match :2
Man of the series :1

Ishant
Test:81
5 wicket haul:7
10 wicket haul:1
Man of the match :2
Man of the series :2

This record suggests that while Morkel had more control he wasn't a match winner on his own.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Or it suggests that they had similar peaks, and one didn't bowl pump when he wasn't at his best.

 

[Daemon]

Morkel rarely picked up bags of wickets, even when he was bowling serious heat. More of a 3/80 kinda guy regardless of how well or poorly he was bowling.

 

[vcs]

Vernon coming in and becoming Steyn's new ball partner in 2011 definitely took their attack up a level, and they started bowling teams out under 50 for a while.

 

[Dendarii]

Morkel rarely picked up bags of wickets, even when he was bowling serious heat. More of a 3/80 kinda guy regardless of how well or poorly he was bowling.

Although he has spent most of his career bowling alongside at least one of Steyn, Philander, and Rabada. There aren't going to be too many wickets for the taking once they've had their say.