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Morkel gives Proteas hope

Port Elizabeth - Morne Morkel says his aggressive intent with the ball was the catalyst behind an inspired bowling performance that has given the Proteas some hope of a result in the rain-hit Sunfoil Test match against the West Indies at St George’s Park.

 
Morkel unleashed a short- pitched barrage, particularly on centurions Marlon Samuels (101) and Kraigg Brathwaite (106) throughout the day, and finished with four for 69 to give the Proteas a glimmer of hope with one day to play.

“When conditions are like today it’s important to use your aggression,” he said after a frustrating day of rain interruptions. “I felt personally that it was quite hard to duck on this wicket so coming around the wicket and banging it in short with the use of some aggression was key for me.

“It would have been boring staying over the wicket and bowling off-stump with the wicket being on the slow side,” he continued.

“We needed to create something, we needed to break the partnership; we needed to get something going. Normally when I start bowling well around the wicket it fires Dale (Steyn) up and fires Vern (Philander) up. It was important for me this morning to start well and to get the guys going.”

The weather forecast for Tuesday is a lot brighter than the last couple of days, and Morkel insists the Proteas will be pitching up with nothing other than victory on their mind with a  minimum of 98 overs to play.

“Definitely,” Morkel said when asked if South Africa could still win the game. “We have seen in the past against England and those sort of teams that things can happen very quickly. If we can start off well tomorrow, put some runs on the board and bat quite quickly we can have enough overs to bowl at them. It’s never nice surviving 50 or 60 overs so let’s hope for some good weather tomorrow, it’s going to be a cracking day.”

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