South Africa vs England: Chris Morris expects quick bowler's wicket in Johannesburg

Result wicket: Chris Morris expects excitement when England play South Africa at the Wanderers
MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images
Rory Dollard12 January 2016

South Africa paceman Chris Morris has warned England to expect a result pitch at the Wanderers.

With England 1-0 up heading into the third Test of four, the Proteas need to win to keep alive their hopes of taking the series.

And Morris, who called the ground home for seven years during his time with Highveld Lions, believes Johannesburg is the ideal place to do battle.

The Proteas drew with India here last year, but that was the first time since 2000 that there had not been a positive outcome.

"I've said it before, the Wanderers is a result wicket - it's always been like that," said Morris.

"Throughout my years here there were very few draws.

"Everyone wants to play at the Wanderers. It's Cricket South Africa's home for a reason, it's the Bullring, it's exciting, it's a special place.

"There's a little extra carry and bounce, maybe extra pace. There's always something in it for the bowlers."

Morris, 28, made his Test debut in Cape Town and contributed important lower-order runs as well as two stunning one-handed catches.

He also turned in an impressive stint with the ball on the final day, an impressive comeback having been a victim of Ben Stokes' record-breaking double-century in England's first innings.

Asked what he had learned from his maiden appearance, Morris smiled and said: "Don't bowl to Ben Stokes!

"Sometimes you've got to take it on the chin and say the guy played an unbelievable knock. I've never come across that in my career before and I hope I never do again.

"I made the joke that if he ever does that again he must hang up his boots and say he's the best ever. I've never seen anything like it.

"It was a baptism of fire. It went so quickly, it was one big rollercoaster of emotions.

"But it's been my lifelong dream. I told my mum when I was three years old I was going to play Test match cricket for South Africa."

Morris' all-round abilities make him a strong favourite to retain his place despite the return to fitness of Kyle Abbott and Hardus Viljoen's strong record on his ground.

Spinner Dane Piedt could be at risk despite two steady performances, with the Proteas weighing up a four-strong pace attack.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in