Morne Morkel hunts Cobra scalps

Titan fast bowler Morne Morkel is licking his chops at the prospect of facing the Cape Cobras batsmen in a SuperSport Series match in Benoni from Thursday as he gathers himself to prove to the national selectors that he should be in the Proteas Test and one-day squads.

Morkel was omitted from the Champions Trophy group, with Makhaya Ntini making it, but was also dropped from the team for the previous Test South Africa played, a victory against Australia at Newlands in 2008.

His seam back-up for this week's game will probably come in the form of Basheer Walters and Ethy Mbhalati. Morkel, in five four-day games for the Titans in 2008/09, picked up 30 wickets at the bargain price of 17.06 runs each to help his franchise team win the title.

He bagged five wickets in an innings four times, and 10 in a match twice.

The attribute of the pacy Morkel which is most remarked on is the bounce he can generate due to his height, but with the nature of the Benoni pitch for the match not really known, it remains to be seen whether he can unsettle a Cobras batting unit which put 573-8 declared on the board in their first innings in a drawn game against the Diamond Eagles last week.

Morkel is on record as saying he knows the route back to the national squad is by taking wickets week after week for the Titans, and that he is feeling refreshed after the off-season break.

Proteas incumbent Test spinner Paul Harris will also be in action in Benoni. He said that during the winter he had worked with a physio on his troublesome knees.

"I would say I'm about 80 percent fit but it should get me through," Harris added.

In the other SuperSport match this week the Lions, who include former Cobras captain and wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile in their squad of 13 players, travel to Kimberley to take on the Eagles.

Squads

Cape Cobras

Andrew Puttick (captain), Alistair Gray, Stiaan van Zyl, Henry Davids, Justin Ontong, Richard Levi, Ryan Canning, Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt, Monde Zondeki, Mario Olivier, SA Engelbrecht

Titans

Pierre Joubert (captain), Heino Kuhn, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Blake Snijman, Gulam Bodi, Pieter Malan, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Ethy Mbhalati, Basheer Walters, Mangaliso Mosehle