From the iSport IPL Paddock, iSporter Akshay Iyer pens a piece on a deadly duo who he hopes will prove their worth in the IPL Season 3. Read more to know his views on the Tait & Morkel combo!
Shaun Tait and Morne Morkel don’t really have much in common except that they are both fast bowlers and play for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. They are also at different stages of their international careers, but they both have a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the game.
Tait has been plagued with injuries throughout his career and had taken a short sabbatical from cricket in January 2008 citing physical and emotional exhaustion. Luckily for Tait, Cricket Australia waited for him and the pacer retained his contract when he was ready to come back at the start of the 2008-09 season.
A combination of shoulder and back injuries has meant that Tait now only focuses on the shorter formats of the game. Tait has been in excellent form for Australia in Twenty20 Internationals, and recently bowled the third-fastest ball in cricket history, to remind batsmen the world over he is not a spent force. The decision to abandon first-class cricket has proven to be a masterpiece on Tait’s part as he now knows he can freely send down super-fast balls in short and sharp spells.
This freedom has allowed Tait to express himself with the ball as he has made opposition batsmen hop, skip and jump around the crease. Another heartening feature of Tait’s bowling has been his ability to exercise control over the length he bowls despite the energy he expends while bowling at such high speed.
Tait has shown signs that he is close to, if not already at his best, and this is good news not only for Australia but also for Rajasthan Royals – the franchise the Aussie slinger has signed up with for the Indian Premier League. Tait is yet to make his IPL debut, and the Royals would be looking forward to the zing he will add to their bowling attack.
The Royals also have in their ranks the tall South African quick bowler Morne Morkel, who has been in outstanding form over the last 24 months. Morkel is an out-and-out fast bowler and that coupled with his height makes him a handful for batsmen to handle.
Morkel has also had his share of injury problems, but has overcome them in the recent past, and he played a key role in South Africa’s success in England and Australia in the 2008-09 season. However, Morkel was dropped from the Test squad soon after following indifferent form. Though he was part of South Africa’s squad for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, Morkel failed to find a spot in his country’s Champions Trophy squad.
Morkel was recalled to the one-day team for the third ODI against England at home in November 2009, and hasn’t looked back since. He went on to take 19 wickets in the Test series against England that followed, as he continued to trouble batsmen with his pace and bounce. Morkel, who is now one of the most exciting new ball bowlers in world cricket, also looks more confident and self-assured. Along with Dale Steyn, Morkel takes the new ball for South Africa, and this development has only added to his confidence.
In Tait and Morkel, Rajasthan Royals have two of the most exciting fast bowlers in world cricket, and should both of them feature in the playing XI, the opposition batsmen in IPL-3 will certainly have a lot to be concerned about! The only consolation is that the tournament rules may force the Royals’ management to only play one of these two in the playing XI at any given time, but given they both are in the form of their lives it will be like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea for the opposition teams.
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