Ken Borland

Albie Morkel says he has thoroughly enjoyed his time as captain of the Titans, calling them a dream T20 outfit as they prepare for the RamSlam T20 Challenge final against the Dolphins at Centurion on Saturday.

Morkel, who has played more T20 matches (284) than anyone except for West Indian Kieron Pollard (299), was a slightly surprising choice as limited-overs captain of the Titans given that his last leadership experience was at school, but he has done an outstanding job in leading his team to eight successive wins and top of the log by a mile.

“It’s my first season as captain and I’ve learnt lots and I’m still learning. The biggest thing is to trust my gut feeling, which comes with experience – and I’ve played a lot of T20cricket. When I started I was very hesitant to make funky calls – like using a spinner for the first or third over – but now I really trust my gut feeling. All the former captains I spoke to say you must trust that.

“Also, if you look at the team we’ve got, it’s a really good T20 side: We’ve got eight good bowlers, explosive batsmen and a tremendous opening partnership. What you need is good starts because that allows the bigger hitters the platform to perform,” Morkel said.

The all-rounder pointed to the number of bowlers the Titans have as being a key strength.

“I’ve seen some teams pick just five bowlers, but in my opinion you can’t do that because there’s always one or two bowlers that the opposition gets after. We have eight bowlers, which may even be one too many, including three very different spinners – a wrist-spinner, an offie and a slow left-armer. And none of them are part-timers, they’re all serious bowlers when the conditions suit them. So I’m able to just juggle the bowlers and play what I see in front of me. I mustn’t get emotional about someone not getting an over,” Morkel said.

After their epic victory in the last final the Titans played in – the Momentum One-Day Cup showdown against the Cape Cobras in February – Morkel (the man of the match in Cape Town after his sensational unbeaten century) says the preparation this week is just focused on getting mentally ready.

“In previous years the Titans have maybe stood back a bit in difficult times, but this side has all bases covered. We’ve defended some really low scores, we’ve set high totals and we’ve bowled the opposition out for low scores. I don’t foresee any problems with freezing on the day, our training this week is just about getting in the right frame of mind, re-energising and getting in the right space.

“Finals don’t come around that often, in 12 years with the Titans I’ve only played in two or three, so it’s a great occasion. There’s nothing better than sitting in the changeroom after a very successful campaign … with the trophy of course,” Morkel said.

The Titans have spent the week “working the emotions out” from their parlous Momentum One-Day Cup opening match against the Warriors, according to coach Rob Walter, and they have been boosted by the returns of Albie Morkel and Marchant de Lange from international duty.

Grant Thomson, however, must be pondering Lady Luck and her capricious side as he has been ruled out of Friday’s match against the Cape Cobras at Newlands with a hamstring strain. Thomson, having fought so hard to get into the side, made his franchise 50-over debut against the Warriors and top-scored with a wonderful 98 not out off just 71 balls, and now he’s unfortunately on the sidelines again.

“We’ve been working the emotions out and clearing the heads because the guys were visibly hurt by that performance. They invested a lot in that opening game, they worked flippen hard for four months and then they deliver that. We trained our best, we spoke specifically about starting well, getting the basics right in the field, extras …

“But it was game one and it’s about what happens next. On the positive side, we dominated about 70% of that game, we had an outstanding middle 20 overs and a very good last five. So it was just the opening overs and 40-45 that cost us,” Walter said on Tuesday at SuperSport Park.

Walter is too young to wear spectacles, but if he did there would be a few areas he would be giving special focus to before the defending champions travel to Cape Town for a repeat of last season’s final.

“There were basics errors in the field, we couldn’t even get the regulation stuff right, and the extras will get specific attention. It’s becoming a bit of a trend for us but it’s hard to put a finger on why. You never see us training without cones in front of the line to stop no-balls and the wides are of course disappointing as well.

“Strike-rate is also key up front with the bat and we had 48 dot balls in the first 60, while scoring 28 runs, so it was mostly fours and not much rotation. Henry Davids is a seasoned campaigner, but for Mangi Mosehle it was his first time out opening and his 49 ensured a nice foundation was set. He’s been working on tightening his defence and that shone through, and he will learn to be more assertive,” Walter said.

Albie Morkel’s top-class century to win the Momentum One-Day Cup final for the Unlimited Titans was not only a dream come true for the all-rounder but also a strong reminder to coaches that being a brilliant finisher does not mean a batsman should be consigned to a role only in the closing overs of a limited-overs match.

Morkel came to the crease in the final at Newlands with the Titans in trouble on 60 for four chasing 286, but he and Dean Elgar, who also scored a century, shared a record-breaking partnership of 195 off 189 balls to set up a phenomenal victory which the veteran finished off in style with a magnificent 134 not out off 103 balls.

“It was a big day in my life, I was quite emotional but I kept it deep inside on the field. Coach Rob Walter and I had discussed at the start of the season what’s left for me in my career and I reset my goals. One of them was to score a 50-over century and another was to be man of the match in a final.

“Batting at six or seven, you don’t often get the opportunity to score a hundred, it has to be quick, but to do it in a final and to be man of the match, both of them together was really special, a dream come true. I scratched around a bit at the beginning, but then something clicked and I just seemed to be in the zone, my senses all became so clear and I was seeing the ball really well,” Morkel told The Citizen on Monday.

The left-hander’s innings was similar to that of David Miller’s in South Africa’s World Cup opener against Zimbabwe and Morkel said he hoped these performances helped convince coaches to give so-called power-hitters a greater piece of the action.

“With the new batting powerplay and only four fielders allowed out at the end, coaches tend to keep key batsmen back for that but I’ve never understood it because as a batsman you like to get in and you need the opportunity to do that. Your success rate drops when you have less time at the crease and David Miller showed what can be done when you give a batsman enough time and don’t keep him back.

“Both David and I came in in a situation where the team was in big trouble, but it gives you the luxury to just go in and bat. I knew I must just not get out, I must be there at the end and then you can really cash in,” Morkel said.

The 33-year-old also showed the value of his experience in a Titans side full of youngsters and Morkel said he is determined to return the franchise to the heights of the mid-to-late 2000s, when they won seven domestic trophies.

“The Titans needed that win because we’ve had a seesaw season and it was even more important for the changeroom because obviously they will now believe they can win more trophies. I still want to play my best cricket, in the past I made the mistake of putting too much emphasis on getting into the national team. My focus now is on getting myself back to my best form and winning games for the Titans. That’s where the enjoyment comes, in that changeroom environment.

“At this stage, I’m playing the role of a senior, there are lots of young guys coming through and they need a lot of help. I often chat with David Wiese and the young bowlers,” Morkel said.

Albie Morkel produced one of the great innings in a final as his phenomenal unbeaten century took the Unlimited Titans to a five-wicket win with 17 balls to spare over the Nashua Cape Cobras to claim the Momentum One-Day Cup title at Newlands last night.

Morkel finished with an exceptional 134 not out off just 103 balls, making his first List A century when it really counted. The powerful left-hander took his time to get settled, before he and fellow centurion Dean Elgar turned what looked like a procession for the Cobras into a horror defeat.

Richard Levi had scored 104 off 113 balls to lead the Cobras to a commanding 285 for eight after they chose to bat first and there seemed little hope of a Titans win when the visitors slumped to 60 for four in the 15^th over.

But Elgar (100) and Morkel added a magnificent, record-breaking 195 and even though Elgar’s 119-ball innings came to an end when he mistimed a pull off Rory Kleinveldt when 31 runs were still required, Morkel did not stand on ceremony and rushed the Titans home in a blaze of boundaries.

Morkel hit eight fours and seven sixes and seemed to succeed with every stroke he played; not only was he in the zone, but his reading of the match situation was superb and his ability to remain composed under pressure was impressive.

Elgar’s century was his second in succession after his match-winning effort in the playoff and the gritty left-hander has become a master of pacing a limited-overs innings.

Levi and Puttick put on 180 off 198 balls for the Cobras’ first wicket and the home side looked on course for well over 300.

But Tabraiz Shamsi produced a super display of controlled wrist-spin to slow their progress, trapping Levi leg-before as the Cobras scored just 115 runs in the last 20 overs.

Puttick was run out for 69 but there was little intent from the other Cobras’ batsmen before Dane Vilas lifted them to a competitive, if ultimately disappointing total with his 40 off 25 balls.

Kleinveldt and off-spinner Sybrand Engelbrecht dented the Titans’ ambitions with a couple of wickets each, but the brilliance of Morkel and Elgar gradually saw the Cobras’ confidence melt away.