SOUTH AFRICA TOUR OF ENGLAND 2017

Morkel keen to enjoy the ride till it lasts

by Tristan Holme • Last updated on

"I'm not starting my career. My career's nearly finished," Morkel said. © AFP

After more than a decade in international cricket, Morne Morkel accepts that the ride is almost over.

At 32, Morkel is enjoying a late bloom in his career. Since he returned from a back injury that one specialist expected to end his days as a fast bowler, Morkel has looked like a cricketer with a new lease on life. In five Tests so far this year he has taken 20 wickets, and bowled even better than those numbers suggest. Despite that form, he admits that time is no longer on his side.

"I'm not starting my career. My career's nearly finished," he said after South Africa levelled the four-Test series against England at Trent Bridge this week. "I'm just going to enjoy the moment, and we'll see how far we go."

The way Morkel spoke suggested that he has thought quite carefully about life after cricket and when it might arrive. But he said that the decision will wait until after the current series, and that he will be guided by what his role in the various Proteas sides is likely to be.

"After this tour we'll see. I'll sit and speak with Cricket South Africa and see where they see me featuring," he said. "But I love playing for this team. It's not rocket science that they probably want to start looking, in white-ball cricket, at the 2019 World Cup. Am I going to part of those plans? If I can be around to help the younger guys find their feet, so be it. I'll do that. For me the main focus is this tour and then we'll go back and see how we go."

Morkel will be closer to 35 than 34 by the time the World Cup rolls around. Although he insisted that he feels "mentally and physically strong", and said that he thinks he is physically able to play both Tests and ODIs up until the World Cup, he appears to be putting the ball in CSA's court. "It's two years down the line and those are decisions they need to make," he said.

Morkel's future could be tied to the appointment of a new coach, which could happen any time in the next three weeks. The five-man panel set up to interview candidates is due to make a recommendation to the CSA board on Friday (July 21), after which the board will decide if it agrees. Although Russell Domingo is one of the coaches who has been interviewed, the fact that CSA opted to evaluate its options suggests that they are eager to look elsewhere. Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana is thought to be the frontrunner.

Whoever is appointed will take South Africa to the 2019 World Cup, and will need to decide whether older players like Morkel are part of their plans. Either way, Morkel is likely to find offers from Twenty20 leagues. Although he has not been made a marquee player for the newly-launched Global Destination League in South Africa, he remains open to Twenty20 options.

"If there's an opportunity for me to play in them, I'll play," he said. "My body feels good. I had a lengthy time off with my back rehab. I'm feeling strong and I want to make the most of it. So if there's a T20 league I can go and play in and improve my skills and put my name into the hat for other tournaments, then I need to make that opportunity count. But the Proteas and this environment come first. So I need to focus on that."

To that end Morkel is doing his best to "enjoy the moment". It is the sort of skill that is often picked up after a career-threatening injury, which has also given him a sense of perspective. In 2003, during a stint with Endon in the Staffordshire league, he sat in the stands at Trent Bridge and watched South Africa play. Fourteen years and 76 Test matches later, he could reflect on how far he had come.

"To play and win a Test match here, that's what dreams are made of. For me, every time I get the ball, it's about really enjoying the moment. In the past I put myself under a lot of pressure, but I think those sort of days are gone. I know how quickly a career can change.

"For me it's just a matter of making the most of what is still left in the tank and giving it my best."

© Cricbuzz

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