5 fast bowlers who can replace Morne Morkel
It will be somewhat of an emotional moment at the conclusion of the fourth and final Test against Australia when Morne Morkel will officially say goodbye to international cricket. A legend in his own right, the big man has been wreaking havoc for batsmen all over the world and will be sorely missed by the South African team.
South Africa will be hoping to give the big man a proper send-off with a series win over the Aussies, and there will undoubtedly be a few tears in between the celebrations.
However, when the dust has settled and the tears have dried, South Africa will need to look to the future to find a replacement for the lanky fast bowler. His pace and bounce have been a massive weapon to their bowling attack and the way he bowled in the third test against Australia in Cape Town highlighted how dangerous he still is.
With South Africa seemingly having an endless supply of quality fast bowlers at their disposal, who can take big Morne's place in the squad? We look at five possible contenders.
#1 Chris Morris
Chris Morris has been in and out of the South African Test side, but Morkel's retirement could give him a more permanent place in the squad.
His height and the ability to bowl the ball at pace make him a suitable replacement for Morkel. He has shown that he does have the ability to extract bounce from the surface, and this is an important feature to his bowling which the South Africans will want in their bowling attack.
As an all-rounder, he offers something with both bat and ball, and this is something that the South African selectors and coaching staff will definitely want to consider. The ability of a team to score runs at the bottom of the order is a crucial one, and one feels that Morris could easily slot into the lineup after Quinton de Kock. This means that he would be batting at number 8, which would easily make him one of the best number 8 batsmen in test cricket at the moment.
Perhaps replacing Morkel with an all-rounder is the perfect route for South Africa to go.