Ken Borland

Chris Morris ... just loving his cricket

Chris Morris says the contrast between the squalor on the pavements of India and the billionaire lifestyle of the IPL gave him clarity about what he wanted to do with his life.

“India made a massive impact on me and I learnt a huge amount, especially about lifestyle things. I realised how fortunate I was to be paid so well to play cricket, something I love doing. It was a humbling experience,” Morris says.

The way the Highveld Lions paceman ended up playing for the powerhouse Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL is the stuff of dreams. He literally bowled well enough in one spell for the Lions against the Chennai Super Kings in the 2012 Champions League for coach Stephen Fleming to convince the T20 team’s management that they had to sign the young bowling all-rounder. His fee was an astonishing $625 000, but word from the CSK camp is that they were willing to pay a million dollars for him.

But before his Indian adventure, Morris had already played a couple of T20 internationals for South Africa and he made his ODI debut for the Proteas after the IPL as he was called into the Champions League squad as a replacement for the injured Morne Morkel.

That’s because Morris’s passion for the game, his aggression and determination had already been clear to the South African selectors, even without any Indian epiphanies.

For Proteas bowling coach Allan Donald, attitude is Morris’s stand-out feature.

“What I really do like about Chris is that he gives it a crack, I like his attitude, he’s cocky, he’s got that arrogance towards what he does that all fast bowlers need. He gives so much on the field and it’s not put on, he wears his heart on his sleeve,” Donald says.

CHRISTOPHER HENRY MORRIS is the son of former Northerns left-arm spinner Willie Morris, who took 208 wickets in 74 first-class matches, and they are one of only three father-and-son pairs to have taken a first-class hat-trick anywhere in the world. Morris junior was born in Pretoria on 30 April 1987, attended Pretoria Boys’ High School and played for Northerns Schools in 2004, but he roamed in the relative wilderness of amateur provincial cricket for three years playing for North-West.

The Highveld Lions eventually contracted him for the 2011/12 season and he took the T20 competition by storm, but also showed the penetration needed to succeed in all formats as he claimed 23 wickets in five four-day matches.

The national selectors responded to the exciting talent he displayed by choosing him for the South Africa XI that played in a triangular T20 tournament with hosts Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in June 2012 and Morris then produced one of the most sensational spells of fast bowling seen at the Wanderers during the Lions’ first game there of the summer.

The Dolphins were chasing 241 for victory but Morris took eight for 44 in 21 overs – the best figures in the franchise’s history – to send the visitors crashing to 187 all out.

The Champions League was his next assignment and, in the Lions’ second match, he produced the spell – 4-1-24-1 – at Newlands against Chennai that changed his life.

Morris continued to be the spearhead of the powerful Lions attack in the Sunfoil Series, taking 32 wickets in six matches at an average of just 16, while he also shone in the Momentum One-Day Cup and the RamSlam T20 Challenge.

Having dreamt of being a professional cricketer, Morris has now been to the streets of India and back, but what lies ahead for the 26-year-old?

Donald is convinced Morris has a very exciting future and is the sort of attacking bowler who he wants to groom for Test cricket.

“He can certainly play Test cricket and it’s great that he’s not just focusing on T20 and thinks the IPL is the be-all and end-all for him. Chris has genuine pace and he swings the new ball away a bit, but bounce is his biggest asset. When he hits the right areas hard, then he’s very awkward to play.

“I spoke to Willie and told him what a lekker oke his son is to have in the team for what he brings to the group. I love his work, he’s a keen listener and eager to learn.

“I’m going to keep him tight on my shoulder and teach him how to think about his bowling and how to go about setting batsmen up. But he’s exciting,” Donald says.

Banker Farhaan Behardien and his beautiful extra cover drive

There is nothing overly ornate about Farhaan Behardien as a batsman, but he gets the job done.

That’s not to say that his lofted drive over extra cover is not a thing of immense beauty or skill, but he has become the banker for the Titans, producing the goods in the middle-order whether it be in four-day, 50-over or T20 cricket.

His amazing consistency and his nerveless finishing as the Titans claimed the MiWayT20 Challenge title caught the eye of national coach Gary Kirsten, who is reputed to have said: “Who does that?” when he saw Behardien’s  stats of 333 runs at an average of 66.60 and a strike-rate of 143.53. The 29-year-old was not out in seven of his 12 innings.

Behardien made his international debut in a T20 match against India in March but he could so easily have slipped through the net had he stayed in Cape Town, with all its batting riches.

Having only played for Western Province B in Nuffield Week, Behardien spent three seasons playing sporadically for the Western Province amateur team before being sent to the National Academy in 2006.

It was there that Richard Pybus spotted him and Behardien soon had his first professional contract, with the Titans.

Cape Town is where the family is, FARHAAN BEHARDIEN having moved there when he was five, after being born in Johannesburg on 9 October 1983, but Centurion is where he has made his name.

A wiry, amiable fellow, Behardien wears the weight of pressure as a designated “finisher” well.

“Batting at the death, under pressure, is a job you have to love and I’ve grown to love it,” he says.

“It’s not easy, because it’s all-or-nothing, but I’ve grown to love that risk or reward aspect. I think it’s just a natural part of my temperament and character, I have a very high will to compete.”

While Pybus gave Behardien his break, it was Chris van Noordwyk who gave him extra responsibility by batting him higher up the order, while he has now fitted comfortably under the wing of Englishman Matthew Maynard, who guided the Titans to two titles last season and was a brilliant limited-overs player in his day.

“Matthew is vastly experienced, he was Duncan Fletcher’s assistant coach with England so he has been involved with so many great players. He has taught me to keep a calm head,” Behardien says.

The brilliant fielder and part-time medium-pacer was sent to Westerford High School in Cape Town, which is better known for its academics, so Behardien has had to fight for every bit of recognition, which will buttress him well against the vagaries of form and expectation as an international batsman.

“He’s someone who came through the hard school, it’s been a hard road to where he is. But that means that when you go to war, you take him with you. He’s a fantastic player, very consistent and I’m very impressed by him,” national selector Vinnie Barnes says.

Behardien’s morale has certainly never been dented by his slow rise to national colours.

“I’ve had to build up steadily and gain experience, but I’m not too disappointed that I had to wait a while. I’ve shown glimpses in the past of what I can do, but last season I had consistency.

“The experience will hold me in good stead and now every opportunity is just a chance to showcase my skills. I’ll keep working hard and keep knocking on the door with my performances.

“I’ve done the hard yards and I’ve got nothing against the process. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it!” Behardien says.

Graeme van Buuren broke loose with the bat to lead Assupol Tuks to a daunting 316 for six and the defending champions then kept Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University PE Madibaz well-policed in the field as they claimed their third successive Momentum National Club Championships title at SuperSport Park yesterday.

NMMU PE were bowled out for 222 as pacemen Gerhard Linde, Sean Nowak and Corbin Bosch put regular spokes in their wheel, sharing seven of the wickets as Tuks won by an impressive 94 runs.

Josh Dolley was the one man to seriously trouble Tuks with the bat, scoring a brave 64 off 60 balls, while wickets fell regularly at the other end.

The Port Elizabeth students had won the toss and sent Tuks in to bat, and openers Aiden Markram and Murray Coetzee ensured that the NMMU bowlers were having a hairy time of it from the start.

Markram continued his incredible week – for which he won the Player of the Tournament award – with a fine 79 off 85 balls, proving once again that he is a star of the future, while Coetzee scored a fluent 52 as they added 133 for the first wicket in the first half of the innings.

The Madibaz were under considerable stress already by the time Markram holed out at long-off off slow left-armer Brad Dolley, and the loss of Coetzee to the same bowler did not bother Tuks.

Johan Wessels, who continued his fine week with 49 off 55 balls, and Van Buuren added 96 for the third wicket in 14 unruffled overs.

Wessels fell just one run short of his fourth half-century of the tournament when he mis-hit Sisanda Magala to long-off, but Van Buuren just kept plundering runs as he struck a match-winning 97 off just 66 balls, with eight fours and five sixes, to add to his reputation as a fantastic finisher.

He took 20 runs off Magala in the penultimate over before swinging the 23-year-old Muir College product to deep square-leg. Van Buuren may have just missed out on his century, but he had done enough to win the Man of the Match award and he averaged 90.70 during the week.

University of Pretoria coach Pierre de Bruyn said Van Buuren had again showed that a long and successful career lies ahead of him – “his innings was really important and he absolutely took the game away from them”.

De Bruyn also said the performance of his new-ball bowlers, Linde and Nowak, had been crucial, removing key Madibaz batsmen David White (5) and Ed Moore (18) early in the innings.

“We were aiming to have them three down in the first 20 overs because then they would always have to try and rebuild. With wickets in hand, you could have chased just about anything with the one very short boundary, but we definitely bowled better than them, our disciplines were much better.

“They had a sloppy start with the ball, but we pride ourselves on working hard on those disciplines,” De Bruyn said.

It was a highly mature bowling performance by Tuks, with Linde taking two for 32, Nowak three for 31 and Bosch, who showed wonderful skill and strategic thinking for one so young, claiming two for 28.

With Wessels and off-spinner Ruben Claasen chipping in with wickets, NMMU were already faced with a required rate of nearly eight-an-over midway through their innings, and although the lower-order tried hard, the target was way too high.

The ridiculously short boundary on the Wierda Park side of the ground certainly prejudiced the Port Elizabeth students as it meant they were unable to bowl spinners in tandem – which has been their greatest strength this week.

But the discipline and focus, and excellent skills of Tuks were the major difference on the day, with the University of Pretoria’s unbeaten run in the National Club Championships now stretching to 18 games over the last three years.

Scores in brief

Tuks 316 for six (Aiden Markram 79, Murray Coetzee 52, Johan Wessels 49, Graeme van Buuren 97; Sisanda Magala two for 72, Onke Nyaku two for 78, Brad Dolley two for 37).

NMMU PE Madibaz 222 (Lloyd Brown 20, Curtis Samboer 31, Josh Dolley 64, Kirwin Christoffels 20, Sisanda Magala 27; Gerhard Linde two for 32, Sean Nowak three for 31, Corbin Bosch two for 28).

Tuks won by 94 runs.

Assupol Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn was a satisfied man yesterday evening after his team beat NMMU George by seven wickets to seal their place in today’s Momentum National Club Championships final at SuperSport Park.

The victory left two-time defending champions Tuks unbeaten and at the top of Section Two, meaning they will take on the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Madibaz, the students from the Port Elizabeth campus, who came through Section One with a similar record, in today’s final.

“We set ourselves the tremendously high goal going in of achieving a hat-trick of titles and we said we had to go through the first five days unbeaten to do that.

“We are unbeaten, which makes it 17 games in a row at club champs, and now there’s the big one to go tomorrow,” De Bruyn told The Pretoria News yesterday.

“We probably had the easier pool, but there were areas in which we were tested and I was happy to see how we responded.”

Tuks lost the toss yesterday against NMMU George and had to bowl first, and this time leg-spinner Tertius Gouws was the man to shine as he took four for 27 in 10 excellent overs to limit the South-Western Districts champions to 171.

Neil Hornbuckle (36), Tyron Walsh (36) and Hendrik Kotze (33) provided islands of resistance, but no-one else reached double figures as the George students were bowled out in 45.2 overs.

Paceman Gerhard Linde claimed an impressive three for 23 in 8.2 overs, but Graeme van Buuren (8-1-27-0), Ruben Claasen (7-1-14-1) and Johan Wessels (5-0-18-1) were also effective.

Wessels then also starred with the bat as he safely steered Tuks to their target in just the 35^th over with a swift 69.

Captain Heinrich Klaasen applied the finishing touches with 53 not out and he hit the winning runs that put Tuks into their third successive final, and a repeat of last year’s title decider against the Port Elizabeth students.

The NMMU Madibaz outfit is a potent one, with their spin bowlers – Simon Harmer and Brad and Josh Dolley – a real threat.

Opening batsman David White is one of the most exciting young players in the country, while his partner Ed Moore is once again in fine form at this tournament.

The University of Pretoria students are going to be under increased pressure today, but then again they came through a tough situation on Saturday in their crunch game against Maties.

Chasing 207, they had crashed to 107 for five, but Sean Dickson anchored the innings with a determined, match-winning 74 and there were important contributions too from Tian Koekemoer (29) and Sean Nowak (19*), who had earlier been the best bowler with three for 20 in 10 overs.

“We were tested the whole game against Maties, but we’ve trained those situations, like chasing 20 off 20, and we stood up and really believed we could do it,” De Bruyn said.

Results

Yesterday: Section One – University of Free State Kovsies 307-5 (Jacobus Dreyer 120, Dirk Bruwer 49 not out) Crusaders 246 (Michael Alexander 70, Robbie Clift 68, Jason Biddulph 40; Leonard Killeen 4-61) University of Free State Kovsies won by 61 runs. University of Jhb 73 (Brad Dolley 5-11) NMMU PE Madibaz 75-0 NMMU PE Madibaz won by 10 wickets. NWU Pukke 370-7 (Grant Mokoena 105, Righardt Frenz 81, Wihan Lubbe 57; Gerhardt Abrahams 4-51) West End 274-6 (Xander Pitchers 62, Roche Rossouw 47, Gerhardt Abrahams 76) NWU Pukke won by 96 runs. Section Two – NMMU George 171 (Tertius Gouws 4-27) Tuks 173-3 (Johan Wessels 69, Heinrich Klaasen 53 not out) Tuks won by 7 wickets. Kempton Park 67 (Dewald Botha 5-10) Maties 70-3 Maties won by 7 wickets. United CC 112 (Romano Esau 53) Cape Town CC 113-4 Cape Town CC won by 6 wickets.

Saturday: Section One – Crusaders 218-9 University of Jhb 203 (Umar Asad 57 not out, Harry van Straaten 42, Neels Bergh 41; Jared van Heerden 4-47) Crusaders won by 15 runs. West End 139 (Gihahn Cloete 40 not out; Brad Dolley 4-35) NMMU PE Madibaz 141-4 (Lloyd Brown 51 not out) NMMU PE Madibaz won by 6 wickets. NWU Pukke 332-7 (Ludwig Roos 103, Grant Mokoena 82, Righardt Frenz 74) University of Free State Kovsies 243 (PJ Jansen 101; Bjorn Fortuin 4-56) NWU Pukke won by 89 runs. Section Two – Maties 206-9 (Dewald Botha 58) Tuks 207-7 (Sean Dickson 74) Tuks won by 3 wickets. United CC 182 (Romano Esau 64, Marco Marais 53; Lance Roelfse 5-47, Bronwell Goeda 4-35) NMMU George 183-6 (Tyron Walsh 68 not out) NMMU George won by 4 wickets. Kempton Park 179-9. Cape Town CC 162 (Marc de Beer 40; Jurie Snyman 4-33) Kempton Park won by 17 runs.