Debasis Sen, Centurion : Proteas medium pacer Morne Morkel on Monday expressed his displeasure of a uncharacteristic Centurion wicket. The 22 yards at the Super Sport Park has hardly favoured the medium pacers from both sides. Both sides opened the bowling with the spinners from one end
Morkel, who was the pick of Proteas bowlers (4/60), found the strip at Centurion more like a sub-continent one.
“It’s unheard of that a spinner bowls that many overs in the first day,” Morkel said.
“We even had the option of opening with a spinner in that over before lunch.
“It has a very sub-continent feel to it: tough scoring, tough to get people out. It’s definitely not the sort of conditions we want here in South Africa this week.”
The tall medium pacer, who spent his entire career at the venue, claimed that he cannot recognise the wicket and that it is foreign to him, then it is easy to see why this strip has been such a major talking point.
“I’ve played cricket here all my life and I’ve never seen a wicket like this at SuperSport Park,” Morkel said.
“It’s important with ball in hand to come up with different game-plans, but from a bowling point of view it is definitely not the ideal surface.”
South Africa will start day four on 90/2, 118 runs ahead of India.