Bowling Coach Stresses On Fielding

“I think the quality of this (Indian) team has shown that one day someone can put their hand up and perform. Tomorrow night, we can put on this special performance at a big event and in a great stadium. Hopefully the boys will swing tomorrow and be calm and be able to showcase those skills,” he said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

What does he understand from the field? “To be honest, we’re not too sure how the wicket will play. We just need to be smart with our skills, read the conditions and adapt to it,” Morkel said.

Morkel described England as the ‘street smart side’.

“They bat quite long, deep and they also have wicket-taking options. I think their fearless approach to the T20 match, trying to take over the game, makes them a dangerous side. So I feel tomorrow will be a good clash between two aggressive teams. And the side that can hold their nerve and read the conditions well will come out on top,” he explained.

Morkel felt that India needed to tighten their fielding. “I think we’ve been guilty of not allowing 15-20 runs on the field at times. That’s something we continue to work hard on and really ask the guys to step up,” he admitted.

Speaking about the challenges of playing at the Wankhede, Morkel said: “I think the dew is always a big concern, but you can’t control the delivery. Then there’s always an extra bounce and the ball is moving – it’s quite a small ground. I just feel like the margins are a lot smaller here, so you just have to stay in the moment and compete. A batsman’s strength can also be his weakness on the surface.”

The bowling coach has backed mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy despite his less-than-impressive figures of late. “With his skill and variety, Varun has the ability to take wickets on almost any ball.0

I think it’s difficult to pick him, so the important thing for him is to gain confidence on the ball, use his speed, length, control correctly and not try to think too much. For his part, he wants to be a big player for the team, so he will put some pressure on himself. But yes, he is the match winner for us,” he said.