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Cape Town - Proteas all-rounder, Chris Morris, is taking confidence from his Indian Premier League (IPL) performances ahead of the Tri-Nation One-Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies and Australia.
Morris delivered a successful season for the Delhi Daredevils, coming in with powerful performances with the bat at the death and offering good support with the ball.
Although he has only played 11 ODI matches since making his debut against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, he made a strong push to become a regular in the format over the last summer with a couple of match-winning performances against England.
“The IPL was a good one personally,” he said in Guyana on Wednesday. “I always see it as a good opportunity to learn more about yourself as a person and as a cricketer. It was a good year, I made a lot of new team mates and friends, but international cricket is a different animal. I will take a lot of confidence from the IPL but it’s good to be back playing international cricket.
“It’s a big responsibility being an all-rounder in the team,” he admitted. “ It’s an opportunity I’m trying to grasp with two hands because that is what I want to do. I have put in a lot of hard work, especially on my batting, to have the opportunity. I look at it as an exciting part of my career, I’m at an age where I have an opportunity to cement my spot so hopefully I can do that.”
The 29 year-old says it will be vital to assess and to adjust to the Caribbean conditions early on, especially as most of the bowlers will be playing on unfamiliar tracks for the first time.
"I have never been here before so it will take a couple of overs to adjust,” he admitted. “They say that there is quite a difference in conditions from Guyana to Barbados and so on, so we will read the conditions as we get there. One-Day cricket is quite similar to T20 cricket, you have your roles which you define at different stages of the game. The nice thing about cricket is that you have to learn to adjust quickly with the ball, the sooner you do that the better.”
The squad is complete following the arrival of some outstanding players, with preparations taking a step up ahead of the series opener against the West Indies at the Guyana National Stadium on Friday.
“The mood is good,” Morris commented. “It’s always good to be back in the Proteas camp. We had a good couple of days in Trinidad, even though the practice match was washed, out most of the guys had a good run and got some time on the feet in the field, that was important. It’s good to connect with the boys again, we have been away from each other for a while, it’s been great to connect and to look forward to another series for South Africa.”
