Somerset Replace Van Der Merwe With Albie Morkel

25 January 2012

Albie Morkel bowls for Durham in 2008.

©Action Images

Somerset have signed Albie Morkel as their second overseas player for the Friends Life t20. It had been thought that fellow South African Roelof van der Merwe was going to fill the role when he took over as the club’s main overseas player at the beginning of June, but that whole deal now appears to have been scuppered by red tape.

Somerset Director of Cricket Brian Rose explained: "As we went through the detailed paperwork process it became apparent that Roelof van der Merwe was highly unlikely to be granted a work permit due to current Home Office legislation, though the door remains open for him at Somerset if the situation can be resolved.

"In the event of Roelof being unable to gain Home Office clearance in time for this season, I will be actively looking for an overseas replacement for July, August and September."

He continued, "The club has signed Albie Morkel from South Africa as our second overseas player for the T20 competition this season. Albie is an immensely gifted cricketer and especially exciting one day player, and fits in well with our set up in the T20. The combination of Gayle (who signed for the club recently) and Morkel is a mouth watering prospect for our supporters!"

Morkel was recently recalled to South Africa’s One-Day International side after impressing in domestic cricket for his franchise, the Titans. Besides his 55 ODI appearances, he has also played 31 T20 Internationals and a solitary Test match for the Proteas.

Overall, during a prolific Twenty20 career that includes an ongoing contract with Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings and a previous spell with Durham, the 30 year-old left-hander has scored 2285 runs at an average of 28.2 and a strike-rate of 142.36; and taken 131 wickets at an average of 27.40 and an economy rate of 8.03 with his right-arm medium-pace.

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