On October 6 1984, South African pacer Morne Morkel was born and is regarded as one of the finest pace bowlers of all time. Morkel made his debut in Test cricket against India in the year 2006, whereas represented them in One-Day International (ODI) versus Asia XI in the following year in 2007. Morkel alongside Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander made a dangerous trio of pacers for the national side. With above 6ft height the pacer had an extra advantage of pace and bounce from the pitch. In the year 2016 he was ranked as the No.9 ODI bowler whereas ranked 13th in the Test rankings.
In the inaugural edition of World Twenty20 (T20I) 2007, the 39 year old made a mark in international cricket with a splendid performance. Though the Proteas did not win the trophy, his performance was a promising one for them. He finished the tournament with nine wickets at an average of 13.33 and an economy rate of 6. In 2012 Morne had a sensational England tour as he picked up 11 wickets in three test matches and they won the series against the three lions 2-0. In the Australia tour he had picked 14 wickets in three Tests at an average of 28.50.
In the year 2011 he became a star in Indian Premier League (IPL) as well where he earlier represented Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Daredevils (DD) and was with the champion team of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the year 2014. In his last series in the year 2018 he became the fifth bowler for South Africa to take 300 wickets in Tests. Former South African pacer Allan Donald called the Steyn, Morkel and Philander trio as the best the country had ever produced.
In the year 2020 he became a permanent resident of Australia so that he can participate in the Big Bash League as a local player. Now he is the bowling coach of the Pakistan Cricket Team. With lots of experience playing in India he will have a good take on the pitch and the conditions to help the bowlers in these conditions.
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