Morkel shines after 'horror' six weeks of quarantine

Tennis players worried about their performance at the upcoming Australian Open following a fortnight in a hotel room might well hit up Morne Morkel for advice.

The champion South African fast bowler has spent six weeks in quarantine in recent months.

Morkel played his first full game of the KFC BBL season on Tuesday and bowled with familiar rhythm to finish the night as the Brisbane Heat's lone bright spot in a defeat to the Perth Scorchers marred by an eye-popping collapse of 7-19 in 29 balls.

But the fact the Heat's prized recruit was playing at all was a mark of his determination.

Morkel, who now lives in Sydney as an Australian resident with his wife, sports broadcaster Roz Kelly, and their two children, returned from England late last year after his stint with county side Surrey was limited to a sole game having suffered a right ankle injury that required surgery.

The 36-year-old completed the obligatory two weeks in a hotel as an international arrival in Sydney, then spent a week with his family before heading into another fortnight of quarantine to join his Brisbane Heat teammates in Queensland.

He gradually built up confidence in his ankle before a nine-day break between games leading into Christmas allowed him to return to Sydney.

There was further misfortune as his trip home coincided with the outbreak in the city's Northern Beaches, where Morkel lives.

That meant he had to undergo yet another two weeks in quarantine before being able to get back into Queensland to re-join the Heat squad.

Morkel was finally able to make his BBL debut in Brisbane's five-wicket win over the Renegades last week, bowling his full complement of overs as the X-factor substitute.

"I've had a horror time to be honest," said the 87-Test veteran. "I've spent a lot of time in quarantine.

"I basically had two nets before the first game I played and then I trained a bit last night, so I've basically had three nets.

"It was pretty frustrating. Mentally it was a big challenge but I'm just happy with how I'm bowling at the moment, so I'll take it."

Morkel's experience from 11 years of international cricket shone through against the Scorchers.

To add to his imperfect preparation leading into Tuesday's match on a chilly Melbourne evening was a patch of soft turf around where Marvel Stadium's drop-in pitches meet the outfield, a nightmare for the 196cm quick who is still gaining confidence in his ankle being strong enough to support his demanding bowling action.

Morkel side-stepped the issue by bowling wider of the crease and delivered a terrific Power Surge over – the 19th of the Scorchers' innings – conceding just five runs and dismissing the rampant Colin Munro for 82.

It was a sign that the towering right-armer could have a major say in the Heat's bid to make the finals.

"I've tried to keep it as simple as possible and back myself on the field," said Morkel, whose Heat will take on the Strikers in Adelaide on Thursday.

"I'm a little bit rusty coming into this tournament, there's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is commit 100 per cent.

"We scraped (the Bash Boost) point tonight so that's one sort of positive we can take out of it.

"The ladder is pretty tight, if we won tonight we would have sat second. We need to forget about this game, get on the plane and then play our best cricket in Adelaide."