PakPassion.net presents an exclusive interview with former New Zealand fast bowler turned commentator Danny Morrison who featured in 48 Tests and 96 one day internationals for New Zealand between 1987 and 1997. His most notable bowling accomplishment occurred on 25 March 1994, when he took a hat-trick in a One Day International against India. He is one of only two New Zealanders and twenty-one players worldwide to have taken an ODI hat-trick.

Morrison's most notable "accomplishment" as a batsman is that he once held the world record for Test ducks. Of the 48 Tests he played, in 24 of those appearances at the batting crease he was dismissed for zero runs each time.

Since retiring from cricket Morrison has become a well known face and voice in commentary boxes around the world and has commentated on TVNZ, Sky Sports and Fox Sports and at the Indian Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League.

By Pakpassion Staff (26th December 2012)

PakPassion.net: Looking back on your career, what were the high and the low points of your career? 

Danny Morrison: Like any teenager or young fellow that wants to live a dream and make it to the highest level of representing your country, you always have that fond memory of playing your first Test match, wherever that may be and getting that honour of playing in a Test match. For me, playing alongside Richard Hadlee, the Crowe brothers, people like John Wright, Ewen Chatfield, those sort of guys who had been so successful for the major part of the 1980s and before. New Zealand had a good record of playing at home in the 1980s. They had never lost a Test series on New Zealand soil in the 1980s, so you are coming into that prestigious unit.

For me, touring Australia, where I made my debut at the Gabba in Brisbane, playing alongside Sir Richard Hadlee was a real blast. You know he was one of your boyhood-type heroes and became later a bit of a mentor on tour, so that was certainly a massive high for me. 

Playing in Australia, with one of my other idols the great Dennis Lillee, I also had the good fortune of being coached by him when he came out in 1985-89. That was a very special time to get selected and do that. Playing for New Zealand at home, it meant a lot to have success in front of your home crowds, your support base, the sponsors and all the people associated with the game.

It was always a big thrill, a massive thrill, to be playing at home in front of the crowds and of course the advent of 1980s was pyjama cricket, the lights-camera-action World Series. It was always a blast playing for New Zealand under lights, I always found it to be a great thrill - it was great theatre. I always loved playing under lights and in Australia where they are so brash and gave us such as hard time – we are like small country cousins across the ditch. Playing Australia, you always stepped up a bit and you know New Zealand always lifted themselves when playing Australia, particularly in Australia so those were real high points for me. 


PakPassion.net: The 1992 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan is probably a match that you don’t want to be reminded of, but up to that point New Zealand had a very successful tournament, 260 or so runs on board at the half way stage, New Zealand probably fancied their chances. What went wrong? 

Danny Morrison: I think in a way, we had this wonderful vibe, because we struggled against England in the Test series and the one-day series and that was the first time we had lost a home series since 1979. So, it was very emotional since the retirement of Richard Hadlee and that great band from the 1980s. We lost to England and I remember sobbing on my birthday, 26th birthday. The birthday cake had come in and we lost at Eden Park, our home ground. We lost two Tests on the trot - we lost in Christchurch dramatically and we lost in Eden Park. That was a very emotional time and then to go from that sort of low point to a high point of having the World Cup in your own back yard where we had won seven on the trot. Pakistan were very desperate to do a lot better than they had been doing in the tournament, they needed to win that last game, of course they did that , they beat us and – the dear old Aussies probably thought we threw that but we played under par. 

The other major issue was that Martin Crowe and coach Warren Lees had this great rapport and knew all the idiosyncrasies within the side and exactly who could do what in those sort of conditions in New Zealand, in your own garden. When I look at that, I think Crowe got 90-odd and we posted 260 or so. That’s probably like posting 330-350 today, back then it was a huge score and although it wasn’t a massive ground, it was quite a slow pitch and going to get a little bit lower in bounce. 

We had those “dibbly-dobbly-wobblies” we called them in Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen and Rod Latham and we opened the new ball with Deepak Patel which was a massive innovation. Mark Greatbatch, who I truly believe was the guy who initiated smashing the ball over the top in the first ten overs which was taken to a different level by Romesh Kaluwitharana in the next World Cup. 

We had such a good time and there was a lot of positivity around and then Crowe pulled a hamstring really badly and he couldn’t take the field and unfortunately John Wright was thrown the reigns, and all the plans just seemed to go out the window. All those different plans that Crowe could feel on the park, he could feel what was going on, he could totally read the game and there were notes going back and forth to the field with me when I came off to change an ankle brace and a groin strap I used to wear. There was a little bit of panic around for Wright when things were escalating thinking “these guys are suddenly getting behind the clock and Pakistan’s now in the game” thanks mainly to Javed’s cool head and a freak called Inzamam-ul-Haq in his first major tournament played wonderfully well. 

Could you argue there was a bit of complacency about it? In a way, the guys had huge confidence - how we played in that World Cup, being in Eden Park, it was a World Cup semi-final, here was a wonderful opportunity to go to the next stage as we had never been to a World Cup final. I think we finished up getting a bit ahead of ourselves a little bit. I think Pakistan were that much more desperate to keep going and to do well. I speak to Wasim and Waqar and all those guys, I work with them a little bit with them now doing commentary, and they were desperate to do it for Imran. 

Imran, his mother and the cancer hospital and all those sort of things it was almost as if there were greater processes at work in the universe. They were that much more desperate, we got a bit complacent because we posted 262 - you could hear the crowd chanting “we’re all off to Melbourne lalalala” and the required run rate got up to 8.2 then 8.5, I think it may have even got up to 9 and back in that time, twenty years ago, that was huge in 50-over cricket. I think the crowd, they thought that too, just get another wicket and there was as Harry (Chris Harris) ran out Wasim Akram, we thought he’d got us back in the game again and then Moin Khan came in and played an exceptional innings as well, just a little cameo at the end to help Javed get Pakistan over the line. Pakistan were clearly more desperate for it. There were also those funny little circumstances along the way – these aren’t excuses. I think Pakistan were just that much more desperate and keener to go all the way.


PakPassion.net: You have obviously played against some of the greats – you mentioned Javed Miandad and no doubt there are other fantastic batsmen you have had the privilege to bowl to as well. Who was the one opponent you found extremely tough to bowl to? 

Danny Morrison: Well I was fortunate that I had a line of different generations – from Viv Richards finishing, Gordon Greenidge and the great West Indian side of the 70s and 80s. I didn’t play those guys in a Test match. I did play them in first class games when I was in England – for Lancashire versus Glamorgan and then I played a couple of President’s XI games against the touring West Indies in 1987. It was an honour and such a buzz to be 21, playing against these guys who were finishing. 

But when I look at more my kind of guys that were powerful and dominating – England had Robin Smith in one-day cricket and Test matches who was such a powerful cutter and loved to play the pull shot and he loved the contest, he loved it whizzing around his ears, he’d be in there not giving any ground. 

The guys you probably think as true legends, people like Tendulkar and Lara, had very difficult styles. Lara with his high backlift, left-handed, finer, meaner, just one of those left-handers who would caress you through the covers or would flick you off their hips, just making it look so graceful. Then you have Tendulkar who was a little more squat, punchy and elegant as well in his own style. Don Bradman even said to his wife “come and have a look at this fella on TV, he’s the closest likeness I’ve seen” as a guy who was so powerful flicking off his legs, dabbing it through point or playing an expansive cover drive off the back foot. Those two really stand out, they were extraordinary.

Then there was Javed Miandad whom I played towards the end of his career in 1989, 1990 and 1992-93. Javed was a street fighter. He was there to hang around and didn’t look the prettiest player. He was squared up and looked as if he was playing a bit of French cricket. He had wonderful tenacity, guts and courage. He stands out to me as a great opponent who was difficult to get out. 

Graham Gooch as well whom I played against a little – he didn’t rate us Kiwis a lot. He and Mike Gatting came out and said New Zealand were the “World XI at one end, with Richard Hadlee and the Ilford 2nd XI at the other" in 1986 so there was a little bit of prickliness there. 

Those sort of guys who could bat a long time, and made it look simple – they looked like they had a lot of time. I didn’t play David Gower in Tests but did in one-day matches and he too, being left-handed, looked graceful and smooth. So those guys really did stand out.

Then you look at some of the Aussies, certainly the gutsiness of Allan Border who could be a real grinder but could certainly could bludgeon and smash you. Mark Waugh was really elegant, upright and smooth and then you had the brashness of Dean Jones coming in, who you’d bounce in a Test match. I remember in Perth in ’89, bowling to him and making him smell leather where he played and missed a bit and then he looked back and stood there, with bat in one hand and almost shaking and saying “C’mon champ, I'm still here” and I am thinking that it’s the bowler supposed to be sledging you and giving you the chin up! It was priceless, but you get that sort of banter back from the Aussies and relish that opportunity. We loved playing the Aussies whether that was in Australia or New Zealand. We played them a lot of course so they are the kind of guys who really stand out for me.


PakPassion.net: You have worked with many commentators during the course of your career. Is there any particular commentator you love working with or have a good rapport with? 

Danny Morrison: I’m very spoilt across the divide. Tony Greig who was part of the Packer revolution and one of the big faces of Channel 9. He’s come to the sub-continent a lot since the mid-90s. I have always enjoyed working with him. He’s such a larger than life – literally – character. 

Robin Jackman is based out of Cape Town. He is a bit of a doyen and smooth Test match commentator but he comes to the IPL and we have done a lot together over the years in the subcontinent. And then you have David Lloyd, Bumble, who is such a character! He’s a bit like me as in he gets very excited in T20 or ODI or even Test match cricket. You like to have a lighter side to everything. You know they talk about the light and dark shades of commentary, styles and personalities. I have fun with all of them. Certainly those sort of guys stand out and you enjoy working with.

Of course the Indian guys – I work with Ravi Shastri a lot. I enjoy giving a bit of banter and a stick to Sivaramakrishnan and Sunny Gavaskar with his dry sense of humour. So those sorts of guys, you have this rapport and fun with them. I know that IPL is a very very different genre – it’s the Bollywood-Cricket marriage with all the hype and razzmatazz which is all very different from Test cricket. It’s a bit like you put on a different hat or a different cloak or even a different production and a different stage. So T20 cricket allows that, as much as there has been a revolution with a different style of play and the way the players go about the game the same applies to commentary as well. So you have to embrace that and go for it. Some think you are an absolute lunatic or crazy but that’s just your commentary style but then it sometimes overflows into Test cricket and we have a little fun with it. But then that’s my character – I get a little excited in the same way as Bill Lawry of Channel 9. He is hugely passionate and gets excited.

Those guys I mentioned above really enjoy being overseas. I tend to spend a lot of my time in terms of commentary where the power of the game is. Someone said almost 75 cents out of every Dollar of the global game and international cricket comes out of India. You work and go to the IPL, you tour there as a neutral, maybe South Africa playing India and filling in as a neutral commentator there – I really enjoy it. Sri Lanka is a lovely place to work in and Bangladesh more recently. It’s a shame we can’t tour Pakistan for obvious reasons but then I get to work in the UAE and do the games that Pakistan are hosting there. So I'm really grateful and blessed to work with some wonderful characters.


PakPassion.net: Would you be interested in going over to Pakistan to work in the Pakistan T20 League once its set up? 

Danny Morrison: Yes, it would be interesting. It’s quite an emotive subject because I was there when the bomb went off in 2002 outside the Sheraton and the players were staying at the Pearl Continental in Karachi and having been in that, it’s not a great experience. Some of the guys I have spoken to who are former players who are now commentators now were so traumatized by that they just don’t want to go back. I’m a little bit ambivalent about that, it’s such a shame. 

You would like to be there almost in a crusade or as a missionary, to go back and help that because it’s such a tragedy that there is not that international flavour going on in one of the most passionate cricket countries on the planet. There is so much raw talent there, it really is such a shame. 

I know that Tony Greig, who unfortunately has health issues at the moment was quite keen to have it all up and running and be involved in there – I know we owe it to the international community of cricket to have one of the family members back in it. It will be interesting to see what goes down, never say never. You liked to be looked after but it could happen anywhere, whether you are back in India or Sri Lanka it doesn’t have to be in the subcontinent - you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Yes it’s heightened in that region but I would certainly look into that and think about doing that in this Premier League type thing. It could be run in two major centres like Bangladesh did when they used Dhaka and Chittagong so it could be Karachi and Lahore so you've got to start somewhere so yes, it will be exciting and very interesting.


PakPassion.net: Any embarrassing moments whilst commentating you would like to share with us? 

Danny Morrison: There have been funny moments, just recently like when Brian Murgatroyd was over doing commentary in the Sri Lanka-New Zealand series last month. So on one the commentary rosters listing they sometimes they put your Christian name, sometimes they put your surname. On was Brian Murgatroyd and Craig McMillan so what they had in front of me while I was doing the fronting upstairs in the hosting position on top of the grandstand and what was on the list it said “Brian McMillan”! Of course Brian McMillan being a former cricketer, so I was saying that first commentators will be “Brian McMillan… sorry, no it won’t be, it’ll be Brian Murgatroyd and Craig McMillan”! So we had that kind of a hiccup quite recently which was quite funny and there was a lot of laughter in the background in the production in your ear piece. 

Things like that happen but I am thinking, touch-wood, I haven’t used a really bad expletive as you can get very excited in the T20 format of the game. You have to be very careful and focused on what you are doing. It’s probably quite a good thing that in T20 cricket you are on for five overs and then off but then a few overs later you’ll do another stanza of five overs. It's a short stint, so fast and punchy and you do have to be careful, particularly us wild Antipodeans from down in Australia and New Zealand with our colloquialisms and swearing. You have got to be careful. 

You often call people the wrong names or you just deduce something wrong and people give you a lot of grief. Probably just those, making subtle mistakes with different people’s names gets you in trouble.


PakPassion.net: There are some fast bowling talents coming through the New Zealand system at the moment, with Trent Boult, and also Tim Southee finally showing signs of promise. What are your thoughts on those two fast bowlers? 

Danny Morrison: Very exciting. Having been up close and personally seeing them recently in that Sri Lankan series where they got run over badly in Galle and they were down and out. They lost in two and a half days and then to bounce back and win at Colombo at the P. Sara Oval was very impressive. In fact they bowled well pretty much in that one innings they could have a go in Sri Lanka, where Southee got his rhythm right and his seam presentation with the ball. He swung the ball out again which was very impressive, and had a left hander to complement him, a bit like having a left-right hand batting combination opening the batting. You’re always successful and you only have to look back, and I’m not making big comparisons here, at the two W’s. You had Wasim and Waqar who were just phenomenal, a right-left hand combination was absolutely deadly. Those guys are certainly not in that class, and would do well to even get near that, but certainly Trent Bolt has seam presentation and ability to swing the ball and is comfortable about bowling left arm around the wicket, not all left-armers are. He’s certainly following in what Wasim Akram initiated, left arm around the wicket, swinging it, trying to reverse the ball, very exciting.

The other one is Doug Bracewell, a different style of bowler. He’s more into the pitch and probably suits bowling in bouncier conditions in Australia or South Africa, and on certain pitches in England or New Zealand where it can go through. So he’s an exciting strong guy, only 22, Boult’s 23 and I think Southee’s turning 24 this December. And then the other guy Adam Milne, who played a one-day international at Hambantota during New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka, he can get up to the mid-140kphs. He’s another talent, so running into Shane Bond who’s now the bowling coach of the Black Caps, it’s a very exciting time for him and the guys around him. 

Moving forward, in the next two years getting their act together to take 20 wickets to win a Test match is paramount. So you need that bowling arsenal, and quite a group of them so if someone does break down you’ve got someone who can step in and fill that void quickly and do the job. 


PakPassion.net: The Ross Taylor captaincy issue is no doubt at the forefront of the minds of most New Zealand cricket observers at the moment, what do you make of that? Was it disappointing that Ross didn't go to South Africa, even as a player? He’s obviously opted out of that tour due to reasons that we’re aware of. What’s your assessment of that situation with regards to Ross stepping down from the captaincy? 

Danny Morrison: It’s a huge disappointment and I think cricket lovers who’ve read websites and get information only have to look at the column of Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand skipper and probably New Zealand’s greater ever batsman. He’s particularly outspoken anyway, Crowe, because he’s simply so passionate about the game and where it’s heading in New Zealand. So having read that, and other cricket fans who read Cricinfo regularly will see and feel between the lines a massive feeling of disappointment and hurt in terms of the Ross Taylor scenario. I didn’t know what was going on, I’d heard a little bit of a snippet. 

Craig McMillan thought that there was a whisper around that there could be a captaincy change for the one-dayers, a bit like the Strauss-Cook scenario they had in England just recently before Strauss called it quits. That works pretty well around the globe for a lot of them. I’m not privy to it, none of us are and unless you’re really in the inner sanctum of New Zealand cricket, you wouldn’t know what was going on or what was possibly going to happen behind the scenes. So it’s really disappointing because New Zealand need their best 11 players to be fit all the time, we just simply don’t have the depth that other nations have. 

So when I look at the way it’s been handled, obviously Crowe has mentioned that and been very very scathing in his article about how that’s been so poorly administrated from the CEO and the coach right through. Suddenly now you’ve got a situation where Ross didn’t want to tour, let alone play. So it’s massively disappointing for New Zealand cricket fans and you could ask the question where to from here? How long is that going to take to heal to move forward for New Zealand cricket, particularly the New Zealand set-up? 

As I mentioned we just don’t have that player depth, we can ill-afford to lose a player of Ross’ ability and as a character too. He’s a pretty level-headed guy; I know McCullum and Taylor were the guys vying for that after Vettori said it was time to move on. Knowing Brendon McCullum as well, he’s not a nasty character; he’s focused on what he wants to do. Yes he would’ve liked to have been captain, of course what an honour as a senior player. Ross Taylor too has been quite a level-headed character, I thought he was the right choice and I think a lot did at the time. Brendon as an X-factor cricketer, explosive style of player, gets on with his game and could have been vice-captain and maybe taken over if Ross got injured. It would be a perfect scenario with the vice-captain with all that experience being able to step into those shoes should Ross Taylor get ill or injured. 


PakPassion.net: Given the situation now with Taylor not touring and Brendon McCullum being given the captaincy in all formats now, do you think that a period of stability is seen and McCullum is given the reigns on a permanent basis in all three formats? 

Danny Morrison: Yes possibly because I think the lucky thing is that New Zealand don’t play as much Test cricket obviously as England or Australia or South Africa. Those guys play a lot of cricket and then India, the subcontinent teams go through spurts of it where they’ll play a heap of one-day cricket, or they’ll play a lot more Test cricket and sprinkle that in between. 

But let’s be real, there’s a heck of a lot of cricket now condensed into the calendar year so now when I look at it, you’re right, I think I’d go that way. They’ve got two test matches in the South African Republic, and then they come back and play England in three test matches at home. You’re certainly going to need to have something like that happen, but I come back to that scenario, I really hope they can sort those issues out and that Ross could be the Test match captain and then get on with his own game within the one-day format. That suits, that seems to me to be a sensible and good scenario that could be hopefully thrashed out and worked for the Black Caps going forward. 

Straight after that there’s quite a hectic 2013 for New Zealand because they play those Test matches in January then come home and play Test matches in that February-March period against England. Then some of the guys that are lucky enough to be involved in the IPL do some of that, then go straight to England and play two Test matches and some one-dayers in late April-May. So it’s pretty full-on, and it’s going to be a very very interesting time to see the dust settle for this Taylor-McCullum captaincy scenario.


PakPassion.net: We spoke about young fast bowlers coming through the system in New Zealand and you’re very optimistic about some of those boys. One young batsman that has definitely caught my eye in county cricket when he’s been over here in England, and also at international level is Kane Williamson. Your thoughts on Kane and how he’s developing as a batsman? 

Danny Morrison: I was just talking about him the other day here because there’s another English guy who’s playing up here on the Sunshine Coast, a guy called Sam Northeast, who plays for Kent. He’s seen him on the circuit too and we were just chatting about Kane when he was playing at Gloucester. 

Of course the John Bracewell connection is very handy for New Zealand cricketers there in the West Country. He’s very exciting. In terms of development, it’s quite a nice progression for him because Test match cricket seems to be more Kane’s game at the moment. He’s not a powerfully built guy, he’s quite a wiry thin guy, and I think there will come a time where more of a power game will develop and enable him to go over the top and perhaps find the fence a little bit more. But he’s more like the style of a Glenn Turner when he was young, has time to caress the ball, he’s quite technically correct and all those sort of things. He’s exciting because, just going on about the Taylor-McCullum captaincy scenario, well there is a captain-in-waiting with Kane Williamson because he is a very level-headed character. He’s a very sensible guy and he knows what he’s about. He’s played Test cricket since the age of 20 and he’s only coming up to 23 now so he’s got a lot of years ahead of him. 

So New Zealand Cricket need to nurture and massage that well because they’ve got a guy there who can bat at three. You look at that position and the Aussies are struggling at the moment finding a number three with Ponting retiring. They’ve struggled to find a number three in recent times, and that number three specialist position hopefully will be cemented by Kane Williamson for New Zealand for the long term.


PakPassion.net: As a former fast bowler yourself, there appears to be a rejuvenation of fast bowling around the world - the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Steven Finn and James Anderson, New Zealanders and Australians too. It must be heartening to see? 

Danny Morrison: I think you get inspired, there’s no doubt about it. I mentioned earlier that the great Dennis Lillee and Richard Hadlee inspired me, being somewhat of a little hobbit myself and fellow vertically challenged in running in and bowling quick. They weren’t massive men. around 6ft tall. Someone like a Malcolm Marshall, who ran in and bowled rapid gave you inspiration. Steyn’s not a big guy, probably 6ft tall, wiry guy – it just shows you when you’re beautifully coordinated, rhythmical and fit, what you can achieve. 

Lasith Malinga, for a pint-sized guy, how quick he bowls and how unique his action is, is very exciting for guys when he runs in. Kemar Roach, another guy who is probably under 6ft, Fidel Edwards too. You don’t have to be a giant to be quick. 

Sure, for long levers, and rightly so, you have to look at Morkel, Finn, Anderson – tall men and that certainly does help with the bounce factor but if you’re good enough and quick enough and you swing the ball, then if you get you’re release right you can cause problems at the highest level. 

Look at other guys who aren’t so quick – they have to work on subtle variations. T20 has been fantastic for the likes of young guys and if they can keep it simple and not get too carried away with trying to show too much of the variety and use it strategically well then you don’t have to be the quickest person in the world. You can use different styles of seam grips. It’s fascinating to see Tim Southee bowling – he probably bowls in the late 130kphs to 140kphs when he gets it right. He’s not the quickest, but his style – he almost has a semi-knuckle ball but it was just where the seam was scrambled and sort of floated through the air, still bowled at the early 130kphs and then you’re either trying to scuff the ball up, that’s part of the technique, or get the ball to shoot and skid or it might hit the seam and get the ball to stand up a little bit from the pitch. 

So all those sorts of things that are quite different in the modern game I think is a testimony to bowlers having to think smarter because of the bludgeoning and bashing of T20 cricket. You have to do things, to try subtle things, including the slower bouncer, the tennis ball type bouncer that has come into the modern game and then a lot of good yorkers. 

We all know about reverse in the last twenty years but it’s actually become a lot more prevalent in the new millennium and bowling wide yorkers, those kinds of different things that twenty years ago no one had thought of, it wasn’t even an issue. Ten years ago you wouldn’t have thought of bowling full and wide yorkers so when batsman give themselves room it’s still a legitimate delivery, it’s hard to score off. So all those neat things are coming from the fast bowlers because the game is designed around entertainment and wanting to see the ball disappear a long way. 

To make a comparison to golf, gliders, 1-woods, these cricket bats today are just phenomenal in terms of a fat edge - you could almost play with a leading edge! Those weapons for the batsman and rules for them in terms of over restrictions for the bowers and field restrictions from outside the circle, we know that. We all know that, cricket lovers know that and the bowlers have to think smarter and develop different styles of delivery. You only have to look at spinners in the top ten of cricket in T20s and eight of the top ten are spin bowlers, with their carom balls, knuckle balls, doosras and everything. 

For bowlers, not only the quick bowlers, it’s fantastic to see what bowlers are coming up with to outthink batsmen.


PakPassion.net: Given his recent troubles, when do you think Sachin Tendulkar should retire from all formats? 

Danny Morrison: You can get into hot water with people tweeting about it as the Indians come down with the support base because he’s a demi-god. He’s been playing for over 20 years – I played him back in February 1990 and he’s still playing. 

I think any reasonable cricket lover will be reasonable about it. He is not the same player, and you can see with Ricky Ponting - age catches up with us all. The reflexes slow down and you don’t pick up the ball as quickly. You can’t do what you used to do at 25 when you are now 35 and in Sachin’s case he’s turning 40 next April. 

I look at Gatting and I look at Gooch who played a test match when he was 40, Graham Gooch. Possibly different for Sachin, when you play in the subcontinent where they can make the pitch, they have tried to in this series too, make the pitch spin-friendly rather than fast and bouncy which clearly suits the India batsmen. 

He’s played 193 or 194 test matches and can see what’s around the corner - he wants to be the first cricketer to play 200 test matches. Fair enough if he’s not the same player, we know he’s not, and he struggles a bit and he’s always said he would only want to keep playing so long as he can keep contributing to the team. 

He got 76 in one of the test matches in the second innings [in the India v England series], missing out in the other innings but I think he’s still capable. He’s publicly come out and said it’s a goal to play until he’s 40, the IPL is going to be going on during his 40th birthday so massive celebrations. I’m trying to think about what’s on the calendar for next year in terms of Test matches for India. He might as well be the first man to get to 200 Tests because we may never see anything like that again. Players in terms of burnout, playing so much more of the shortened version of cricket and dominating over Test cricket which is what is happening and will continue to happen over some time. 

I love Tendukar and from my corner we all know he’s not the player that he was but if that’s another milestone for him that keeps him inspired and fit to keep playing. You can still see struggles - Anderson has had it over him with the ball recently, nicking him out and bowling beautifully to him, but it’s not like he doesn’t belong. He’s certainly good enough and showed that with the recent innings against England although you could argue they were conditions that suited him and were not too wild for him. He couldn’t get that hundred, even in Australia last summer where he got an 80 and a 60. 

He still showed that even against pace bowlers, in helpful conditions for the quick men, he still held his own and could still compete. I’d like to see him to get to 200 Tests and then he may say that is probably it. Get to 200 Test matches and where to from there? Get to 40-years-old and Sachin will be happy to hang up his boots. 


PakPassion.net: You get to see Pakistan whilst you are commentating. Any Pakistani players for the future that have caught your eye? 

Danny Morrison: There’s no doubt about it; Junaid Khan, who is another very exciting player. You look at some of these guys like Trent Boult, same with Junaid Khan. He’s very good at coming left-arm around the wicket. I’ve seen him in a couple of series, in November last year in the UAE and in the middle of this year in Sri Lanka. He picked up a five-wicket bag at the SSC [Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka] which is no mean feat on a bit of a motorway at the SSC in Colombo and bowled beautifully – reversed it, bowled a lovely length, was probing and asking questions a lot of the Sri Lankan top order so I see this guy massively as the future and the way forward. 

Saeed Ajmal is quite freaky and can bowl the doosra, but I believe he’s 33 shortly. He’s no doubt a class act but in terms of going forward in their youth, they need to unearth some more exciting talent to be shown on the international stage and therein lies the problem for Pakistan - not having inbound international tours, first class matches and warm-up one-day games to expose these young guys against international players. 

It’s hindering development, there’s no doubt about that. Having said that, Pakistan will always continue, like anywhere on the subcontinent it’s like a religion - the ultimate passion to play for your country - so it won’t be long before you see another fit and dynamic quick bowler coming through. 

Umar Gul has been a good servant and he’s probably got a few years left in him. When I look at Junaid he’s young and exciting and you’ll see someone else get thrown onto the stage. Watching the Under-19s in Townsville at the World Cup, there were a couple of good swing bowlers there. There’s definitely talent coming through and it’ll be interesting to see what happens internationally and globally for Pakistan. Having had that World XI game they had recently – some guys came over and played as a World XI versus a Pakistan XI, it’s exciting to see the new breed coming through with parts of the Pakistani side that are ageing and will be moving on in the next couple of years or so.


PakPassion.net: Thanks for your time. 

Danny Morrison: My pleasure.