The Morkel brothers may not have reached the heights of the Pollock brothers —Peter and Graeme — yet. It may take quite a while before Mornie and Albie did that. But the brothers are slowly, but surely getting there. The all-rounder Albie, who turns out for Eastern Province in South Africa, rose to prominence during South Africa’s tour of the West Indies in 2003-04. He was down and out with food poisoning but still went out to bat and scored a century, besides picking up five wickets. That was the beginning of a fledgling career and he never looked back.Making his debut against New Zealand in February 2003-2004, Albie showed glimpses of what he is capable of doing. But then the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa brought out the best in him — his brother Mornie too figured in the World Cup — until the hosts exited from the tournament, bowing out to India. Talking to The Indian Express, Albie made it clear that there was no rivalry between the two siblings. “There is no rivalry between me and Morne. He is an opening bowler, a mean aggressive bowler while I am an all-rounder. There is no competition and it is not often that we play together. That makes it special and we enjoy it,” he said. Ray Jennings former South African coach had termed Albie as the next best all-rounder of South Africa. The left-hand bat and a right arm fast medium bowler is also seen as the next Lance Klusener. But he says he doesn’t put himself in Zulu bracket. “There is no extra pressure on me. But those are big shoes to fill when I am called the next Lance Klusener. But I don’t to see myself as the next Lance Klusener. I want to be my own man. I play my own game,” he said. Watching the young man bowl is a sheer delight and his action resembles a lot with Shaun Pollock. “I don’t model it on Shaun Pollock. That action is mine and it’s easy on my body but Shaun is a great all-rounder and if I look like him on the field, I am very happy,” he added. On the recently-concluded Twenty20 Cup he said: “It was a very good experience. We lost out a bit early, not making the semi-finals, beaten by India. They were a better team but it’s all part of the experience.” Hitting the ball hard has been his strength and he believes that he can be very handy if he opens the innings to slog in the early overs. “I have got the ability to hit the ball hard. I am quite an aggressive batsman and can be used at the top of the order or during end-overs when quick runs are required.”
