Morne Morkel, the former South African cricketer is all set to join the New Zealand women’s coaching staff for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, slated to kickstart in February.
New Zealand will tentatively name their squad for this T20 World Cup on 20th January with the players departing on 23rd January. New Zealand is placed in Group A with the likes of Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and having an experienced campaigner like Morne Morkel to guide and mentor the team is a welcome step in the right direction.
Morne Morkel has experience in coaching teams having served as a member of the coaching staff for the Namibia men’s team during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022 and is currently serving a stint with the Durban Super Giants in South Africa’s franchise T20 tournament, SA20 League. He will be joining the White Ferns before their first game of the T20 World Cup in South Africa versus Australia. Besides his flourishing coaching career, he has featured in over 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is for South Africa for well over a decade and with the onus of having plied his trade for different franchises in T20 tournaments, he brings a lot of experience to the table that the White Ferns can massively benefit from.
Morne Morkel to join New Zealand women’s coach group🔥#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RPqU6F43Nw
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 15, 2023
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo about his appointment, he said, “The women’s game is growing so rapidly around the world, and this a great opportunity for me to build experience in the women’s game and share my knowledge of international cricket to help this team get better.” He also added that he has been following the women’s game closely for the past couple of years and more specifically, the White Ferns especially since he was a commentator during the Women’s Big Bash League.
He believes that the group of players he will get to work with, in the New Zealand team are immensely talented and they have a promising pace attack which he can support Ben Sawyer with. Having played in the South African conditions himself, he can share important facets, strategies and insights that will massively help the team.
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.