Morkel predicts barrage for Clarke

Updated November 19, 2012 17:06:03

South African paceman Morne Morkel has forecast a short ball barrage for Australian captain Michael Clarke in a bid to halt his run-scoring spree.

Morkel says the Proteas need to be wiser in their approach to Clarke in the second Test in Adelaide starting Thursday.

Clarke's rich form continued in the drawn series opener in Brisbane with a superb unbeaten 259 in Australia's sole innings.

But Morkel says astute use of the short ball, and denying Clarke scoring singles, will feature in South Africa's planning for Australia's in-form leader.

"Any batsmen struggles a bit at first with the short ball so we will probably come up with game plans and start working on those sort of things," Morkel told reporters on Monday.

"Definitely that is a plan to always use a short ball - you have got two short balls an over so why not use it.

"We just need to use it in a clever way and see how we go from there."

Clarke's Brisbane epic was his third Test score higher than 200 this year, a feat only previously accomplished in Test cricket by Sir Donald Bradman in 1930 and Ricky Ponting in 2003.

"He played very, very well," Morkel said.

"If we can create more pressure and try and stop him from rotating strike ... that will be key."

Morkel said the South Africans were also urgently addressing their costly spate of no balls in the Brisbane Test, where Proteas bowlers over-stepped 23 times.

Morkel was denied Ed Cowan's wicket because of a no ball while Australian quicks Peter Siddle and James Pattinson also lost wickets due to no balls.

"It's a controllable," Morkel said.

"It is something I personally have been working hard on ... the stats show we have been bowling quite a lot (of no balls) over the past few Test matches and Test series so it's definitely a thing that we are targeting at the moment."

The South Africans managed just five Australian wickets at the Gabba and Morkel said their highly-rated pace bowling brigade needed to improve.

"We know what to do to lift our game," he said.

"They (Australia's batsmen) are all quality players, the way they play in these conditions here, the way they leave the ball, does make it tough.

"We have played against quality opposition and this is just another challenge for us.

"There is a lot of talk about our bowling attack being number one and hopefully we can produce that."

AAP

Tags: sport, cricket, south-africa

First posted November 19, 2012 17:04:36

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McGrath predicts whitewash - again

Updated January 02, 2012 12:41:30

Glenn McGrath believes Australia is a team on the rise and is predicting a 4-0 Test series whitewash over India.

Ahead of the second Test starting at the SCG on Tuesday, McGrath is also tipping that Sachin Tendulkar will remain stranded on 99 international centuries for the rest of the summer at least.

Fast bowling great McGrath is renowned for tipping Australia to achieve series clean-sweeps, with mixed success.

In the 2006-07 Ashes down under, McGrath correctly predicted a 5-0 thumping for Australia, but in last year's series against England he made the same confident statement and was horribly wrong.

Launching the McGrath Foundation's Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, the 41-year-old said the Australian team was well on the way to reasserting themselves at the top of Test cricket.

"Yesterday I said three nil but I stuffed up because I thought there was only three Tests, but definitely 4-0," McGrath said.

"The way the guys have played at the moment I've been impressed.

"I think a team really builds itself around a bowling attack and you look at the bowling attack the team has at the moment and that will give the rest of the guys a lot of confidence.

"I'm very confident, as confident as I've been in years that this team is something special and I'm expecting big things from them."

McGrath admitted the historic 100th Test at the iconic SCG would be the perfect setting for Tendulkar to break his drought and record his 100th century across Test and ODI matches.

Many pundits are hoping Tendulkar can bring up his landmark ton in Sydney, where he holds a remarkable record of success, but McGrath showed he hasn't lost his ruthless attitude, and doesn't want Australia to give an inch.

"Well the scene is set, there's no doubt about that," McGrath said.

"Sachin's a class player and to be sitting on 99 (international) hundreds is incredible.

"But I'm tipping our boys will hold him back for another few Tests. It'd be nice to see Sachin get his 100th hundred first Test up next series."

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 02, 2012 12:27:27

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