Morkel's time to step up

With his height, and his ability to bowl fast and extract bounce, Morne Morkel has plenty going for him as a quick bowler. He has been playing international cricket for more than eight years now, after making his debut in the Boxing Day Test of 2006, but for most of that period he has played in the slipstream of Dale Steyn, who has been the undoubted leader of the pack.

Steyn continues to be South Africa's best by far in Tests, but in the 2015 World Cup he wasn't in top form, and Morkel filled in admirably. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 - next only to Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult and Umesh Yadav - while his average (17.58) and economy rate (4.38) were both better than Steyn's (11 wickets at 31.45, ER 5.02). Kyle Abbott was even more effective with the new ball, but he played only four games, which made Morkel and Imran Tahir South Africa's leading bowlers over the entire World Cup.

Morkel is only a year younger than Steyn - he is 30 to Steyn's 31 - but in terms of Test match achievements he is some way behind, with 217 wickets in 62 Tests to Steyn's 396 in 78, while Morkel's average of 29.35 runs per wicket doesn't match up with Steyn's 22.55. It's admittedly a tough comparison, for no bowler in the current era matches up with the sort of numbers that Steyn has achieved in Tests, but as an ODI bowler Morkel more than holds his own - his average is marginally better than Steyn's while the economy rate is only slightly poorer.

As an ODI bowler, Morkel has clearly been one of the best in the last four years: since 2011, he has taken 116 wickets at an average of less than 23 and an economy rate of under five runs an over. Among bowlers who have sent down at least 300 overs during this period, only four bowlers have a better average; among those four are two South Africans: Steyn, with a marginally better average of 22.16, and Tahir (20.51).

During this period, Morkel has been especially effective in the last ten overs of an ODI, taking 38 wickets at an average of 14.65, and an impressive economy rate of 6.52. In the World Cup too Morkel was excellent in the last ten, taking six wickets at an average of 9.83 and an economy rate of 4.91. He took three more wickets during the batting Powerplay, in eight overs of bowling, conceding only 47 runs. Clearly, his ability to dig the ball short and extract bounce, coupled with the skill to mix it up with full deliveries and yorkers, has been a tough combination for batsmen to combat.

The new ball hasn't been a huge weapon for Morkel: he doesn't swing the ball much, and South Africa have generally had bowlers who have been more effective with it, like Steyn, Abbott and Vernon Philander. However, with a slightly older ball and during the slog overs, Morkel's wicket-taking ability has been a huge asset for South Africa.

It's in Test matches, though, that Morkel needs to up his game. He averages less than 30 and strikes every 56 balls - but the numbers are nowhere near great, and not nearly commensurate with his skills as a fast bowler who plays his home Tests in conditions that are generally good for fast bowling. In the South African team itself, there are a couple of bowlers who have better numbers than him - Steyn and Philander. Among all bowlers, his average of 28.20 is only 13th among those who have bowled at least 400 overs. He has also struggled against arguably the best team of his generation, Australia, averaging 38.58 from 13 Tests against them, while two Man-of-the-Match awards from 62 Tests, and an average of 3.5 wickets per Tests, speak of a bowler who plays the support act far more often than the lead role. (Steyn has nine MoM awards from 78 Tests, while Philander has five from 29.)

During the World Cup, AB de Villiers, the South African captain, spoke of how being part of a cup-winning team in the 2014 IPL had lifted Morkel's confidence and self-belief to such an extent that he was now one of the leaders of the South African attack. "The fact that he was part of the Kolkata [Knight Riders] team winning that [IPL] trophy not long ago played a big part in his personal career," de Villiers said. "You could just see a lot of belief in his eyes. He talks with confidence, a lot of confidence, and he's taken up a lot of responsibility in the bowling unit.

"He's bolstered up his performance, but it's not just about that. He walks the talk. He's very confident, and I don't think you've always seen that in his career. So the fact that he's lifted a trophy I think with Kolkata in the IPL maybe played a big part in him really believing that he actually can play a big role in teams winning cups."

Those are big words by the captain, and Morkel made a cracking start to his IPL season in 2015 too, with figures of 2 for 18 off four overs against Mumbai Indians, in a game which the bowlers collectively went at 8.8 runs per over. He also bowled the only maiden over of the match.

Morkel's value in the shorter forms of the game is immense. He now needs to step up in the format that ultimately defines the greatness of a cricketer.