Morne Morkel says the T20 Global League will help players prepare for the 2019 World Cup.
The draft on Sunday saw Morkel’s side, the Pretoria Mavericks, sign a number of Proteas and international players, namely Farhaan Behardien, Keshav Maharaj, Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) and Steven Finn (England).
Throw in ‘King’ AB de Villiers as captain, a couple of youngsters and some experienced campaigners, and you have a well-balanced squad, which Morkel fancies to win the trophy.
The 33-year-old had only good things to say about the tournament, emphasising that ‘good quality’ cricket will be played.
Speaking exclusively to SACricketmag.com at JP Duminy’s Super Eights launch, Morkel revealed the various aspects that will make the Global T20 League a successful project.
‘It’s going to be great. The names that are involved in the squad can only be good. There are a couple of youngsters that from a South African point of view are going to learn and grow.
‘There are good coaches that are involved, such as Stephen Fleming at the Monarchs and Russell Domingo, Neil McKenzie, Lance Klusener at the Mavericks [who will help with development].
‘The quality coaches and quality international players are definitely going to shape and polish our game. The experience that we going to pick up through playing good quality cricket is going to be good for our preparation for the 2019 World Cup.’
Morkel also highlighted the signing of Eldred Hawken, a 28-year-old pace bowler who plays for the Titans.
‘I’ve played with Eldred at the Titans for the past two seasons. He’s a good seam bowler who resembles a raw young Dale Steyn; he has good shape on the ball and bowls a good, heavy ball, so I’m very excited to spend more time with him and to work with him.’
Morkel also stressed that senior players should provide guidance to the younger players.
‘It’s important for the younger guys to find their own feet and make their own mistakes, that’s the best way for them to learn and to grow.
‘It’s also important for us to teach the younger players how to take their mind off the game. The [lucrative] contracts they will be getting, coupled with the pressure from playing on the big stage, we don’t want those things playing on their minds, so we must show them how to take time off. That’s the kind of guidance I want to give.’
The Proteas speedster also spoke about the upcoming Bangladesh series and the Proteas’ heavy cricketing summer.
‘They [Bangladesh] have a quality team … they have good seamers and a good spinner, so it will be interesting to see what sort of surfaces and wickets we prepare.
‘We have a new coach coming now and we are all waiting for him to arrive. We will get together as a team and start working on the year ahead. We have a jam-packed season with series against Indian and Australia.
‘The most important thing for us is to forget about England. I think at times we played some fantastic cricket. There were small margins with bat and ball that if things went the other way, it would have told a different story.
‘That’s now in the past. We’re looking forward to the summer back home in South Africa, so we can get back to winning ways and aim for that No 1 spot.’
Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
