ALBIE MORKEL and his brother Morné are used to being on the same side - Vereeniging High’s first cricket team, Easterns in Brakpan, the Titans and finally the Proteas.
But the Indian Premier League has changed things. When the tournament starts soon they’ll be opponents - Albie (27) in the yellow strip of the Chennai Super Kings and Morné (24) in blue and gold for the Rajasthan Royals.
Albie is a star of SA’s one-day and Twenty20 teams but has always wanted to prove himself in five-day Test cricket. When he finally had his chance at Newlands against Australia he smashed a quick 58 runs in a decisive partnership.
“People have branded me a Pro20 and one-day player but I’ve always said I want to play Test cricket. I now have a different view of Test cricket and the intensity with which it’s played. It’s over five days that a cricketer is really tested,” Albie says at the new house in Pretoria East he shares with his wife, MARTHMARIE (27).
He was selected for the Proteas’ one-day team in 2004. “I’d had a good local season but I was just 22 . . . I wasn’t up to it. It’s only now, at 27, that I feel ready to compete against world-class players.”
He says it’s a pity the IPL tournament is being played in SA “but six weeks in India is difficult. The people are fanatical and cricketers are seen as demigods there. You can’t walk in the streets without being mobbed.
“You’ll be getting the same game in South Africa but not the atmosphere. We played in front of 100 000 spectators there while our stadiums here hold only 20 000 and I don’t think they’ll be sold out.”
Fortunately for his fans there’s a lot he wants to achieve before he retires. He’d like to help SA regain the top position in one-day rankings and stay there for five years. A team can’t be rated the best until they’ve achieved that, he believes.
And he wants to become a regular in the Test side - preferably with brother Morné included.
