Chris Morris credits Zaheer Khan for his improvement in bowling

Srihari
Chris Morris
Morris has been impressive with both bat and ball

South African all-rounder Chris Morris credited the IPL and his Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan for the improvement in his economy rate in ODIs, reports ESPN Cricinfo. One of the stars of IPL 2016, Morris has gone at just 3.43 runs per over in the ongoing tri-series between West Indies, South Africa and Australia.

Speaking about the small changes that he has made in his technique and mindset, Morris said: "I had a little bit missing in my action just before the World T20. I was sliding a lot of balls down the leg side so I did a little bit of technical work on that.

"And then, just watching the way Zaheer thought, how his brain patterns were when he was bowling. It was about keeping a lot calmer and focusing on what I needed to do with the ball and my action at the time. I did a little bit of work with him but it was more of a mental shift for me."

In the recently-concluded IPL, Morris was one of only two bowlers to have an economy rate of 7 or less, having bowled at least 20 overs. Despite starting as the first-choice all-rounder a hamstring niggle kept him out of South Africa's next two games but he returned with a bang in the fourth match.

Speaking about his promotion to No.3 and his role in the side, Morris still believes that he is primarily a bowler who can add some value with the bat as well.

"I'm a first-change bowler. That's my role in the team. It's quite a specific role because we've got a lot of plans put in place for certain batsmen," Morris said. "It's a role that I quite enjoy - it's a difficult one but I like taking it on the chin and just going with it."

With Barbados expected to assist the seamers, according to South African all-rounder, Robin Peterson, who plays for the Barbados Tridents in the CPL, and calls it "the Wanderers of the Caribbean," Morris will be crucial and he understands that.

"It's vital to adapt early doors. The sooner you adapt, the more you can control what's going on but I am looking forward to bowling on it and maybe getting some extra pace and bounce," the all-rounder added.

As South Africa take on Australia in the seventh match of the tri-series in Barbados, Morris will be crucial to their chances.

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