NEW DELHI: Ahead of their final Group D encounter against the United Arab Emirates, South Africa’s specialist consultant Albie Morkel brought a touch of humour to the press conference. Asked if he exchanges coaching ideas with his younger brother and Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel, the 44-year-old initially put on a serious face before breaking into a grin and saying, “No, we don’t talk to each other (laughs). I think my mother is more worried than us. She doesn’t know who to support, India or South Africa. ”
With South Africa facing India in their first Super Eight contest at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, the “rivalry” between the Protea brothers will be something worth keeping an eye on.
Since Morne took over as India’s bowling coach as part of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s support staff, some of the team’s individual pace-bowling performances have noticeably improved.
His behind-the-scenes work with players like Shivam Dube has refined the player’s role in the side.
Albie, three years older than Morne, appears to be settling into his position as a specialist consultant with South Africa, which, according to the former fast-bowling all-rounder, is primarily bowling-oriented.
“Yes, it has been an interesting term, specialist consultant. I had to figure it out myself a little bit.
But of course, it’s anything that helps the team do well in the World Cup. I do a bit of both batting and fielding, mostly focused around the bowling for now. I do some work with our all-rounders, swingers, and stuff like that,” Albie, who was brought into the role just before the T20 World Cup, explained.
His work with the pacers has paid dividends for the 2024 T20 World Cup runners-up, with fast bowlers accounting for most wickets, including two all-rounders.
Even as Kagiso Rabada (two wickets in four matches) has struggled for rhythm, Lungi Ngidi (8 wickets), Marco Jansen (7 wickets), and Corbin Bosch (5 wickets) have kept the pace attack formidable.
“It’s a privilege to be with a team with such incredible fast bowlers. The standards between the entire bowling lineup is really, really high. And it’s something we feed off well off each other,” Bosch, the Player of the Match for his figures of 3/12 agaist the UAE, told reporters during the post-match press conference.
“I think this is the first time we’ve all played as a collective, so it’s still getting to know how we operate as a unit. But we’ve done fantastically so far, and there’s no extra pressure.”
Listening to Bosch, there is a clear indication that Albie has already made an impact in this short time, and from Albie’s own words, it is evident he knows what he is doing off the field.
“Look, I think we first have to start where our guys play their T20 cricket most in South Africa.
And the wickets there, how do I put it nicely? It’s not the best suited for T20 cricket. So guys get away with a lot in South Africa,” he said.
“When you get over here (in India), especially at this time of the year, where the wickets are still good before the summer, your variations, your slow balls and all those type of things, they don’t play such a big role.
“So it’s really focusing on nailing your yorkers. And I feel that’s a skill that’s sort of disappeared, not only with us, but with most teams in the world.
If I ask who’s the best death bowler in the world, you can probably name one, Jasprit Bumrah. He has got a very good yorker. ”
“So it’s really just focusing on those skills that I wouldn’t say bowlers forgot, but with all the variations that come into play, I think bowlers can get clouded by that.”
It is also worth noting that the current group of pacers is so well-trusted by the management that even Ottniel Baartman, the highest wicket-taker in the fourth season of the SA20, isn’t in the 15-man squad.
Still unbeaten in the tournament, South Africa made four changes during their six-wicket win over UAE on Wednesday, resting David Miller, Jansen, Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj before what they believe is the start of the “real World Cup”.
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Albie Morkel did not shy away from acknowledging the influence of former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming on his coaching philosophy.
“When I started my coaching career, you still coach as a player, where you, if you want to make a difference, you can’t be on the field. I think you have to accept that fact and work out ways, because players are under pressure anyway. If you, as a coach, want to make a difference in their game all the time, that doesn’t help anyway,” he said.
“So it’s sort of finding that middle ground where you try to help, but you also not, as a coach, put pressure on players.
They know what they’re doing. If it’s real technical things, then you can work at it, but not during tournaments.
“I think my philosophy is once you get to a World Cup like this and you start to tinker with technical stuff, that’s when you confuse players, or players can be confused. So it’s more, now, how can I actually take pressure off guys, make them believe in themselves, stuff like that.
“Steven has been a big influence on that. I think he’s one of the only coaches, or maybe the only coach in the world, who’s been with another franchise for seventeen years. That’s unheard of, so he must be doing something right. And I’ve certainly learned a lot from him.”
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