Morris on the comeback trail with Gibson’s help

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Cricket365
November 8, 2017

Chris Morris has revealed that Proteas coach Ottis Gibson has already done some work on the allrounder’s action as he continues his recovery from a back injury.

Morris injured his back on the tour of England and is expected to return to action with the Titans in the middle of the T20 Challenge that is set to start on Sunday.

The 30-year-old says he will still have the same pace but will have a much smoother action, which is where Gibson, who is England’s former bowling coach, has helped.

ALSO READ: Gibson wants to take Proteas to number one

In an article published on ESPNCricinfo, Morris said: “I’ve had a few tweaks in my action that Ottis has changed. I had to iron it out because it wasn’t good enough – simple as that.

“I think in striving for a bit of extra pace, there was some twisting in my action. I’ve got quite a bad kick-out with my left foot before I land.

“I was getting lazy and doing quite a lot of twisting, which caused a lot of pressure on my lower back and inevitably caused the injury.”

Morris is one of a number of Proteas pace bowlers that is currently on their way back from injury and Gibson has said that Dale Steyn will return straight to the Test side if he recovers from injury.

ALSO READ: Gibson will trust Steyn with Test readiness

Along with Morris and Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel will also have their fitness monitored over the next few weeks and Morris is motivated to do well.

Morris continued: “It’s always good to know that the coach is backing the guys who aren’t playing, especially with injuries because that’s part of the game.

“If a youngster is better than me he must play, it’s as simple as that, but I’m always going to be fighting for my spot because playing for South Africa is what I want to do. If I never play for South Africa again it’s cool, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

“I’m obviously champing at the bit. It hurt me quite a lot to see the guys running around this morning and playing soccer, so I’ve got quite a lot of motivation.”