Chris Morris has the ability to make the big play on a cricket field, whether it’s smashing sixes or taking a crucial wicket.
But while he has been a constant feature for the Titans in domestic cricket and the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, he last played a one-day international for the Proteas in February 2018.
He was left out of the South African World Cup squad, but an injury to Anrich Nortje saw Morris get a call-up.
His bowling has let him down in the international arena, as a record of 35 wickets in 34 matches, at an average of 40.41 and economy rate of 5.61 proves.
But he will hope that things will change in the UK, and that he can make a major contribution as a ‘finisher’ with the bat.
His reputation as being an ‘X-factor’ player probably got him the late call-up ahead of someone like Vernon Philander, but Morris actually thinks that doing something special is not the most important thing.
“As a team, it’s probably important to think that – you don’t have to do extraordinary things to win games of cricket. You don’t have to do something out of the usual to win a game of cricket,” Morris said before travelling to the UK for the World Cup.
“Yes, every now and then, someone does something spectacular. But that’s them being at their best.
“So, I think it is important that guys realise that they don’t have to go out of their way – or do something out of the extraordinary that they’re used to doing – to win a game of cricket.
“If we’re all at our best, we know we can win.”
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But Morris admits he is feeling some pressure to produce something “extraordinary”.
“A little bit of pressure – that X-factor gets thrown out quite a lot, I think. But at the end of the day, if I am at my best, the X-factor will come out. It’s quite an exciting couple of weeks for us as cricketers to show what our X-factor is.”