TOP STORIES

“That’s something we’ll obviously reflect on after the tour”: Morne Morkel on three-pacer strategy

Monday, 04-Aug-20252 hrs ago
News

The fifth and final Test between India and England remains on a knife edge as England need 35 runs and India need four wickets to clinch a stunning win at The Oval. Chasing a huge total of 374, England were assisted by batting stars veteran batter Joe Root and Harry Brook, who both demonstrated their batting pyrotechnics, stitching an excellent fourth-wicket partnership of 195 to give England hope of completing a massive win. However, bad lights stopped the play early on day 4, but the match will reach its climax on day 5 (Monday) when both sides fight it out in the nail-biting thriller. 

Meanwhile, at the end of day four, the Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel was asked the reason behind fielding three seamers. On top of this, there has been a growing discussion surrounding Kuldeep Yadav’s absence from the playing XI, as he was expected to lead India’s spin-bowling attack ahead of the series. 

“To be honest with you, that’s part of the conversation before every selection so far. And we just felt leading into the Test matches, if you look at the wicket and sort of the overhead conditions for the first three days, we felt that going with the extra batter was going to be important. I think in the last two Test matches, our force team didn't really bowl that much because Washi and Jadeja also could end up and bowl some overs,” Morkel said during the press conference.

“And yeah, they just thought, okay, having a lot of extra runs on the board was more important. But I think that’s something we’ll obviously reflect on after the tour. The things we could have done better,” Morkel said.

Morkel lauded Mohammed Siraj for his outstanding efforts with the ball. 

"I'm very happy for Siraj that he's getting the recognition," Morkel said.

"He's a guy that in the changing room that will always lead the way, and I think he's a natural leader, although vocally he doesn't speak a lot.”

"I think he leads a lot of actions in this series. So far, he's done it with the ball at times that we've needed somebody to put his hand up and create something; even if it was bowling an extra two overs, three overs or creating opportunity for us, he's been that guy. So he's put in the effort and it's just nice to see the rewards."

"And today, again, at the backend, stepping up, getting the support behind the team to lift us in the crucial moments. It's those sort of smart plays that you need. And for me Siraj has just been outstanding."





Tags

More News

News

“If you could have a bit of common sense”: Nasser Hussain, Dinesh Karthik slam match officials for calling early stumps

18 mins ago

The fifth and final Test between India and England is set to witness a thrilling finish on day five after bad light and rain forced the match into day five (Monday) at The Oval. As things stand, England need only 35 runs to pull off a memorable win over India to clinch the series 3-1, whereas India only need four wickets to emerge victorious and level the serie...


News

PCB issues blanket ban on Pakistan's participation in WCL

1 hr ago

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a blanket ban on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). The move comes after the India Champions team withdrew from two matches against Pakistan Champions, including the group stage and the semi‑final, citing political sensitivities, and the tournament organisers...


News

Fakhar Zaman ruled out of West Indies tour

3 hrs ago

Pakistan have been dealt an injury blow after one of their most bankable players, Fakhar Zaman, was ruled out of the remainder of the West Indies tour due to a left hamstring strain suffered during the second T20I in Lauderhill. He picked up the injury in the 19th over of West Indies' innings while chasing a ball in the outfield. Following the medical assessment by the tea...


News

New Zealand’s Nathan Smith ruled out of Zimbabwe Tests

3 hrs ago

New Zealand’s pace‑bowling all‑rounder Nathan Smith has been ruled out of the second and final Test against Zimbabwe due to an abdominal strain suffered during the first Test in Bulawayo. To fill the all-round void, New Zealand have handed a maiden Test call-up to Zak Foulkes, who was also part of New Zealand’s T20I tri-series ...


News

Rovman Powell our of Pakistan T20I series

1 day ago

West Indies power hitter Rovman Powell has been officially ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against Pakistan owing to a wrist injury sustained during the preceding series against Australia. The West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed Powell’s unavailability. and they have decided against naming any replacement for Powell in the squad.

Powell picked up the wrist injury...