WELLINGTON — South Africa’s cricket team may have aided the local economy after playing tourist for two days following the early finish to the Hamilton Test, but paceman Morne Morkel says they are in no mood to be generous to New Zealand in tomorrow’s third Test in Wellington.
After a long summer the flight home to the republic is a week away, but the lanky speedster, one of only a handful of the Proteas who plays all forms of the game, refuses to get ahead of himself.
“It is very important for us to close off the series very well and the guys are very focused on that,” said the 27-year-old.
“There’ll be nothing better than to get onto the plane with a two-nil win.”
South Africa go into the final Test 1-0 up after their nine-wicket annihilation of New Zealand at Seddon Park, but the veteran of 38 Tests says they know the hosts will be eager to make the most of conditions which they think will bring the teams closer together.
“The margins are quite small. The first couple of Test matches could have easily gone the other way. “They’re trying to bring one back and trying to bring back their confidence.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum going for us and a lot of confidence and it’s nice to play away from home — especially with challenging conditions like this — to have that with you.”
Their preparation has been hampered by two days of rain, leaving a lot of unanswered questions about the state of the Basin Reserve pitch, which has been under cover. But it is the infamous wind in the capital that is troubling Morkel the most.
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“It’s going to be a bit of rock, paper, scissors between the fast bowlers. It’s probably going to be short spells for three or four overs. You’ll just need to do that job for the team.” — Reuters
