GIF: Morne Morkel's Over of Bouncers to Michael Clarke Was Thrilling, Terrifying
The opening day of the third and final Test between South Africa and Australia saw a thrilling passage of play as Proteas quick Morne Morkel sent down a barrage of bouncers to Australia skipper Michael Clarke.
Morkel, bowling around the wicket, was targeting Clarke's perceived weakness to the short ball—and also his ribs—and Clarke was struck time and again trying to fend it off.
Remarkably, he survived the over, but the physio came out to treat him after one particularly vicious ball to the head, and the bruises will last some time.
As this summary of the over shows, every ball was hostile, on target and the speed guns measured the deliveries at close to 150kph (93mph). The Cape Town crowd roared Morkel on in every delivery, the pressure built by the ball.
As terrifying as it must have been for Clarke to face, it made for exhilarating viewing, reminiscent of the old challenges of Test cricket, when the West Indies were the masters of fast bowling, but major nations all had some frightening quicks to unleash on bouncy pitches.
More recently, Mitchell Johnson has been doing something similar for Clarke's own Australia.
And the reaction on Twitter suggested people want much, much more of the same.
"Wow, gripping stuff, this - Morkel hunting down Clarke...
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) March 1, 2014"
"Morne Morkel giving Clarke a working over here - a series of brutal short balls #SAvAUS
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 1, 2014"
"Morkel v Clarke. #SAvAUS That's why they call it TEST #Cricket & why it rules as best form of the game.
— Craig Hamilton (@agnuspagnus) March 1, 2014"
"I don't know if Clarke will get through this Morkel barrage, but he will really appreciate it's value if he does. Those are Tough test runs.
— ian bishop (@irbishi) March 1, 2014"
"This is proper cricket. #SAvAUS
— Charlie Reynolds (@thesportsfox) March 1, 2014"
