Morne Morkel out of action for four to six weeks

Injury woes for South Africa continue to aggravate as their bowling spearhead Morne Morkel also joins the list of injury-stricken pacers in the national side. Morkel has been sidelined for a period of four to six weeks due to a side strain he sustained due to while playing against the Bangladesh side in the First Day of the Test match at Potchefstroom.

This injury means that the lanky fast bowler would certainly be out of contention for the upcoming Test match against Bangladesh and also the early stages of the T20 Global League which is scheduled to start at the first week of November. Morkel is contracted with the Pretoria Mavericks alongside the likes of AB de Villiers, Dwayne Bravo, Farhan Behaardien and Steven Finn.

After picking up a couple of wickets in the 1st innings, Morne Morkel orchestrated the Bangladeshi collapse in the second innings as they were dismissed for a modest 90 batting fourth. His spell was proving to be impossible to negotiate with before he left the field after bowling just a couple of deliveries in his sixth over. That was the last we saw of him as he underwent a scan which confirmed his injury according to reports from Espncricinfo.

Steyn, Philander and Morris already in the injured list

Prior to the start of the series, South Africa and newly appointed Head Coach, Ottis Gibson, were in a dilemma for selecting fit bowlers with the absence of mainstays such as Dale Steyn (continues to recuperate from shoulder surgery), Vernon Philander and Chris Morris. The latter two are scheduled to resume cricket only at the end of October.

Following the Tests against Bangladesh, South Africa have three ODIs and two T20Is lined up against the same opposition. That is followed by the T20 Global League, a one-off four-day game against Zimbabwe from Boxing Day, and then the much-anticipated tour by India.