Abbott and Morkel in bowl-out for Perth

Kyle Abbott is in imperious form with the ball at the moment and is again pushing for a starting spot for the first Test against Australia.

Cape Town - Kyle Abbott has usually been the nearly-nearly man of the Proteas Test bowling attack.

Often easily left out as he is not one of the “big three” - Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and nowadays Kagiso Rabada - Abbott is in imperious form with the ball at the moment and is again pushing for a starting spot for the first Test against Australia at the Waca in Perth on November 3.

The Empangeni-born seamer was one of the stand-out performers during the 5-0 ODI whitewash against the Aussies recently, and has a good Test record too - 21 wickets in seven games at an average of 25.57.

His most recent outing in the longer format was in the Centurion Test against England in January, where he bowled 19 overs without reward in the first innings and conceded a miserly 36 runs, and just two overs in the second.

But with the Proteas brainstrust possibly wanting to go with an all-seam attack for the opening Perth Test - with both spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj missing out - Abbott has a much better chance of getting the nod alongside Steyn, Philander and Rabada.

His main rival for that fourth paceman position is Morné Morkel, who was the third cog of the “big three” for many years until the dramatic arrival of Rabada last summer.

Morkel missed the two-Test series against New Zealand in August with a back problem, and has played only one match this season - a Sunfoil Series game for the Titans against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth from October 11-14.

The tall 32-year-old got through a marathon 26 overs in the first innings, taking 3/54, and just four overs in the second. Morkel was the fifth bowling option for the Proteas in their opening Australian warm-up game last week, taking 2/27 in 3.4 overs as South Africa routed the inexperienced Cricket Australia XI for 103.

Abbott bowled ahead of Morkel and claimed 2/16 in six overs, but the final decision on which one to go with in the first Test could be decided in the second two-day warm-up game against a South Australia XI in Glenelg, Adelaide that starts on Thursday.

It could become a straight “bowl-out” between Abbott and Morkel, but the make-up of the attack may already be favouring the latter. Both Steyn and Philander rely more on swing and seam than pace - although Steyn can crank it up to 145km/h when those eyes go “crazy”, while Rabada could hit the 150km/h mark when he gets that smooth rhythm going.

Abbott is a bit similar to Philander and lacks the pace and movement of Steyn or Rabada. So for variety, Morkel’s height will provide the necessary bounce factor at the Waca, even though the pitch there doesn’t have the same kind of liveliness that it had in the past.

But could Abbott force the selectors’ collective hand over the next two days?

In terms of the team as a whole, the game will be an important exercise as they will go back to playing with a red ball during daytime only after the pink one was used under lights in the first tour game at the Adelaide Oval.

Opening batsman Stephen Cook will be keen to get amongst the runs after missing out in both innings last week. “It’s back to the red ball,” Proteas batting consultant Neil McKenzie said on Wednesday. “It’s about getting the technique organised and getting the mind right. We have been here just over a week settling into time zones, guys will look to do what they normally do in a practice match, top up their levels and get the mental side good for a Test match starting in a few days.

“I don’t think it’s the Waca of old or 15 years ago. Most of the guys are brought up on quick decks back home, so I think the adjustment is a lot easier. It’s about getting the mental preparation, getting the technical game right and guys feeling good about their game.”

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@ashfakmohamed

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