Albie still harbours Test hope

Pretoria - "I might be in the twilight of my career, but I’m not a spent force and I have not abandoned my dream to represent South Africa in Test cricket again," said Albie Morkel.

The supersport.com website reports that Morkel was a cricket mercenary on the international T20-circuit the past two years, but has decided to focus on domestic cricket in the 2014/2015-season and wants to represent the Titans in every Sunfoil Series-game if selected.

"I have a very young family (AJ, his son is four years of age and Cara, his daughter, is three).

"Last year, I spent six months away from home.

"It is tough on my family life and it is great to take them to the pre-primary school and fetch them again.

"I am nursing elbow and knee injuries, but have started training fulltime with the Titans this week," added Morkel.

Effectively Morkel has ruled himself out of playing T20-cricket in England, or in the Caribbean League this year.

Morkel said one of the memories he will treasure for life, was his solitary Test for South Africa in 2009.

"It won’t be easy to get back in.

"I am getting closer to the twilight of my career, but I have not abandoned my dream to play Test cricket again.

"I would like to put my fishing rod in the water.

"If I can score a couple of centuries with a high strike-rate, compile more than six hundred runs and take thirty scalps in a season," anything is possible.

"Ideally I would like to bat at No 6 for the Titans and open the bowling if selected, but I will see how things develop.

"Obviously I still hope to represent South Africa in the Cricket World Cup and in One Day Internationals, but I don’t think I have much of a chance," he added.

Morkel said at the infancy stage of his career, there were some extraordinary allrounders who featured prominently for the Proteas, like Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener.

He, like Zander de Bruyn and Ryan McLaren, were unfortunate to have featured at the same stage as these sensational allrounders.