Albie Morkel
Encyclopedia
Johannes Albertus Morkel (born 10 June 1981), better known as Albie Morkel, is a South African
cricket
er. He is an all-rounder
who bowls right-arm- medium fast and bats left-handed. He is famous for his six hitting abilities in Twenty20
cricket. Albie has a brother, Morné Morkel
, who also plays international cricket for South Africa
while his father Albert played provincial cricket in South Africa.
was quite impressive in his first seasons in first class cricket, as he burst onto the scene with six for 36 for Easterns against Griqualand West, but in the 2004/05 season he was expected to take more of the bowling effort for the Titans, but only took 20 wickets at a bowling average
of 40.65. However, that coincided with an improvement in his batting
, as he made his first double century of his career, with 204 not out against Western Province Boland.
During the 2008 Summer season Albie played for Durham County Cricket Club in the North East of England along with fellow South African Shaun Pollock mainly in the Twenty20 Cup competition. He was dropped from the National team to the tour of Windies to open door for Dave Miller and others .
's tour of South Africa. Nevertheless, Morkel was picked for the Africa squad to play Asia in the 2005 Afro-Asian Cup
, but withdrew due to injury. He appeared however for Africa the following series, in 2007, and made history in the second game when he opened the bowling with his brother Morné, the first time two brothers have done so in ODI cricket.
His recently secured two man-of-the-match accolades against Australia in the current Commonwealth Series 2009 down under, as well as the Man of the Series accolade for the One Day Internationals.
He was promoted to the Test
side for the third Test of the home series against Australia in 2008/09, ironically replacing his brother Morné in the side.
Albie played for the Chennai Super Kings
since the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League
where he had a very successful tournament as an all-rounder.
He is one of the regular names in the overseas four of the playing XI.Morkel's big-hitting abilities and consistent bowling performances has been one of the key reasons of the Super Kings' successful run in the Indian Premier League
.In the 2010 IPL, he struck a record third-wicket partnership in the tournament along with Murali Vijay
against the Rajasthan Royals
.
Morkel was retained by Chennai for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League.
family, who are big cricket fans. Albie is born to Albert and Mariana Morkel as the second of three children making Morné the youngest. His older brother, Malan also played cricket. Albie is married to his childhood crush, Marthmari (née Groenewald). Their son, Albertus Johannes "AJ" Morkel was born on 1 December 2009 and their daughter Cara Morkel was born on 4 June 2011. http://www.albiemorkel.co.za/ProfileDiary/Diary.aspx The family lives in Pretoria
. Prior to marriage, he used to live with his brother Morné and team mate AB de Villiers in Pretoria
.
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He is an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
who bowls right-arm- medium fast and bats left-handed. He is famous for his six hitting abilities in Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket. Albie has a brother, Morné Morkel
Morne Morkel
Morné Morkel is a cricketer who plays Test and limited overs cricket for South Africa. He is a right-arm fast bowler with "genuine pace" according to former South African fast bowler Allan Donald, and a useful lower order left-handed batsman. Some believe he has the ability to become a genuine...
, who also plays international cricket for South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
while his father Albert played provincial cricket in South Africa.
First Class
His bowlingBowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
was quite impressive in his first seasons in first class cricket, as he burst onto the scene with six for 36 for Easterns against Griqualand West, but in the 2004/05 season he was expected to take more of the bowling effort for the Titans, but only took 20 wickets at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 40.65. However, that coincided with an improvement in his batting
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
, as he made his first double century of his career, with 204 not out against Western Province Boland.
During the 2008 Summer season Albie played for Durham County Cricket Club in the North East of England along with fellow South African Shaun Pollock mainly in the Twenty20 Cup competition. He was dropped from the National team to the tour of Windies to open door for Dave Miller and others .
International
His statistics on his international debut tour to New Zealand were not very impressive, as he got two wickets at the cost of 48 runs apiece, but he did get five wickets quite cheaply on ZimbabweZimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
's tour of South Africa. Nevertheless, Morkel was picked for the Africa squad to play Asia in the 2005 Afro-Asian Cup
2005 Afro-Asian Cup
The Afro-Asia Cup was a cricket competition played for the first time in 2005 and which is intended to run for at least three years. The idea was to raise money for the Asian Cricket Council and the African Cricket Association, and the whole venture was given a massive boost when the ICC, somewhat...
, but withdrew due to injury. He appeared however for Africa the following series, in 2007, and made history in the second game when he opened the bowling with his brother Morné, the first time two brothers have done so in ODI cricket.
His recently secured two man-of-the-match accolades against Australia in the current Commonwealth Series 2009 down under, as well as the Man of the Series accolade for the One Day Internationals.
He was promoted to the Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
side for the third Test of the home series against Australia in 2008/09, ironically replacing his brother Morné in the side.
Indian Premier League
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is currently captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand cricketer. The team's home ground is the M. A...
since the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
where he had a very successful tournament as an all-rounder.
He is one of the regular names in the overseas four of the playing XI.Morkel's big-hitting abilities and consistent bowling performances has been one of the key reasons of the Super Kings' successful run in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
.In the 2010 IPL, he struck a record third-wicket partnership in the tournament along with Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay Krishna is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman for Tamil Nadu, Chennai Super Kings and India.-Test career:...
against the Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals is an Indian Premier League franchise based on the city of the Jaipur captained and coached by former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne.They were the champions of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League...
.
Morkel was retained by Chennai for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League.
Personal life
Albie hails from an AfrikanerAfrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
family, who are big cricket fans. Albie is born to Albert and Mariana Morkel as the second of three children making Morné the youngest. His older brother, Malan also played cricket. Albie is married to his childhood crush, Marthmari (née Groenewald). Their son, Albertus Johannes "AJ" Morkel was born on 1 December 2009 and their daughter Cara Morkel was born on 4 June 2011. http://www.albiemorkel.co.za/ProfileDiary/Diary.aspx The family lives in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. Prior to marriage, he used to live with his brother Morné and team mate AB de Villiers in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
.