South Africa vs Australia 2018: 5 positives for the Proteas

Morne Morkel bows out on a high

Morne Morkel

A fighter, a true champion- Morne Morkel, announced that he would retire from international cricket after the end of this series. Owing to the countless number of injuries he had to endure along with the continuous workload over the years, Morne Morkel had to listen to his ailing body and call it a day.

He was as usual probing, caused a lot of trouble and had a lasting impact on the way South Africa were able to bounce back from defeat in Durban only to deliver three fantastic victories. He bowled extremely well in tandem with Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada to cause a lot of problems for the Aussie batsmen.

It was only fitting that Morne Morkel could cross the 300 Test wickets milestone during the course of this series. Despite having a side strain, Morne delivered seven overs on the trot in the fourth Test causing all sorts of problems with his swing and bounce.

It is that image which is how cricket viewers would fondly remember him. A bowler who gave everything for his country no matter how bad his body is responding. It’s only fitting that Morne Morkel could contribute to the historic Test series win over Australia before bidding adieu to the international game.