'I don't want to be seen as just the third bowler'

The first time Lonwabo Tsotosbe played an ODI, he claimed the wickets of Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson. His performance helped South Africa claim the No. 1 rank in ODIs, but he did not play for the national team again for the next nine months.

South Africa had already won that series, and had decided to rest Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini and hand debuts to Tsotsobe and left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell as an experiment. That the bean in the petridish actually sprouted meant very little.

It's that feeling of being always on the fringes that Tsotsobe has struggled to shake off, even after a successful and complete first season in international cricket, in which he excelled against India.

He has started his second international summer as the best performer in the South Africa XI. While Dale Steyn has been erratic and wayward against Australia, and Morne Morkel took time to get his bounce right, Tsotsobe was spot on from the first match of the home series, a Twenty20 international in Cape Town. He picked up the most economical figures by a South Africa bowler in a T20I (over a completed spell) in his next outing, at the Wanderers, was impressive in his first spell during the first ODI, in Centurion, and again in Port Elizabeth.

With the deciding ODI and a two-Test series on the horizon, Tsotsobe has announced himself as a key player in South Africa's attack. He wants to be perceived as one who can shine in his role.

"I wouldn't like to be seen as someone who is going to be the third bowler and is just going to hold up one end," he said after South Africa's series-levelling win in Port Elizabeth. "I want to be recognised as a person who can also get wickets."

His statement is particularly pertinent to South Africa's Test line-up, which is expected to contain three attacking bowlers, Steyn, Morkel and legspinner Imran Tahir. The inclusion of Tahir means that Tsotsobe will be earmarked as the container, who will have to bowl more overs than any of the others and give away fewer runs.

His fitness was thought to be a reason he would struggle to perform that role, but a noticeably leaner Tsotsobe now looks like he could easily bowl 30 overs in a day. He said he has been training with South Africa's fitness expert Rob Walter and working on muscle strength as well as cardio activities.

"Every time when we play, we go to the gym for a light session, and I think it's paying off. When you bowl your first ball, your legs are fresh, but when you are about to bowl your 30th over, you are tired and maybe your legs are drained. We do a lot of work on our legs and upper body, so it's helping a lot."

Pace is not as big a buzzword for seam bowlers in South Africa as it used to be, and Tsotsobe's ability to change his speeds, bowl the cutter and vary his lengths makes him tricky to face. "I know when to bowl my slower balls, my bouncers, and I am using my variations quite well," he said.

He believes that he complements the faster bowlers and it showed when he opened the bowling with Steyn in the first two ODIs. "It's worked out very well," he said, while adding that even though Steyn has not looked his usual fearsome self, having a player of his experience has been of assistance.

"I enjoy opening with Dale because he has played a lot of games and whenever I am not bowling well, he will come up to me and say, 'You've always told me that when you are not bowling well, your front arm is not working.' And maybe my front arm isn't working that day. I've got someone who is backing me and telling me I can do it."

Having his franchise coach, Russell Domingo, in the national setup has also had its benefits. "When I've got something going on or when I am not performing well, he knows what's going on," Tsotsobe said. "It helps when I've got someone that I can talk to. Not that I don't talk to the head coach, Gazza [Gary Kirsten], or Allan [Donald], but sometimes you feel more comfortable talking to the person you have known for a long time."

One of the things Domingo has instilled in all of the players he has coached, including Johan Botha, Colin Ingram and Parnell, is a sense of the importance of remaining humble. Tsotsobe is another example of the modest Eastern Cape attitude, and he has not let his success over the past year bloat his ego.

"It's a big role that I am playing for the team, but I can't say just because I am bowling well I am unbeatable. This is the international level and bowlers get studied, and I have to keep working on my game."

His family has provided him with good grounding and support. It probably helps that he is not their only sporting superstar. Tsotsobe's mother, Dorothy, is the only woman on the executive board of the Eastern Province Rugby Union.

"My mom is always supporting me," he said. '"Whether it's a four-day game or an international, she is always there. His sister, Nomsebenzi, captains the national women's rugby team, and she was present at the match in Port Elizabeth.

Tsotsobe has maintained a shy and quiet approach in international cricket, but beneath the gentle-giant exterior is a strong, confident man who is determined to leave his mark on the country's cricketing landscape. Other bowlers may have come along, like Parnell, Vernon Philander and Rusty Theron, who all, like Tsotsobe himself, thrive on variations rather than raw pace, but it's not something that fazes him. "I don't want anyone to take my spot," he said. "I have been working very hard."