Morne Morkel won't hide behind Tahir

Morne Morkel, the South Africa fast bowler, does not have to extend himself too much to take a catch on a cricket field. Usually, all that's required is a casual raising of the arm, clasping of the air above it and a dash of judgement for the cherry to be in hand.

On Monday morning, at the Alexandra Oval in Johannesburg, the single-handed pouch was on display, even though Morkel did his best not to show off his superior skills. He was playing against a group of seven-year-old primary school children from one of South Africa's poorest townships, as part of his 67 minutes of community work for Nelson Mandela Day.

One of the young batsmen hit a ball that looked destined to be a straight six, if not for Morkel standing in its way. He wasn't part of the particular passage of play, and was making his way across the field to get ready for his turn when instinct took over. The arm popped up, the fingers reached and the ball settled. Morkel saw the hope disappear from the little boy's eyes and playfully juggled the ball before letting it wobble out of his hands onto the ground. Australia and Sri Lanka's batsmen can expect no such favours from him, or the rest of the South African attack, later this year.

After almost two months away from the game, Morkel is about to start his pre-season training and on top of the list of things he wants to work on is his wicket-taking ability. With Dale Steyn as his new ball partner, and a reputation as one of the most fearsome extractors of bounce in the world, it would seem little has to be done in that department; but Morkel believes that fine-tuning the most important part of his game will be key in the coming season, despite the fact that South Africa should have more options in the wicket-taking department than before.

"My main trade is taking wickets; that's what I'm there to do, and I have to make sure I can do that well," Morkel told ESPNcricinfo. "Although it's going to be nice to have a guy like Imran Tahir in the mix, my job is to take wickets and I can't hide behind him."

Tahir, the Pakistan-born legspinner, has become the flavour of the year in South Africa since becoming eligible to play for the country in January. He was immediately added to the ODI squad for a series against India but only made his debut at the World Cup against West Indies. He finished the tournament as South Africa's second-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps at an average of 10.71 and is expected to be a certainty in the squad across all three formats, although he is yet to play in a Test match. Tahir's four-day statistics are impressive and he topped last season's SuperSport Series bowling charts with 42 wickets, despite only playing in five of Dolphins' nine fixtures.

South Africa have not had an attacking spinner since Paul Adams and Tahir's inclusion looks set to take the pressure off the quicks. Although Morkel recognises Tahir's ability as a wicket-taker, he doesn't want it to dampen his own aggressive nature. "Myself and Dale [Steyn] are the strike bowlers so we mustn't pass the buck."

Morkel hopes he is not the only one that doesn't back down in Tahir's presence and that some of the country's other spinners challenge Tahir for his place in the national side. "I really hope Paul Harris and the other guys will fight back," he said. Harris was the man in possession of the spinner's spot in Tests till the end of last season but did not get a national contract this year. The likes of Robin Peterson and Roelof van der Merwe will be in contention for the limited-overs sides. "There will be a lot of competition in the coming season," Morkel said.

While the Test squad is settled, the same cannot be said about the limited-overs sides. "Nobody will be secure in their spot. It's almost going to be like being back at school and having to go to trials." While South Africa's second-tier bowlers were not particularly impressive on their recent A tour to Zimbabwe, and struggled to make early dents into the batting line-ups they faced, there are some candidates for the national team. "Guys like Vernon Philander and Rusty Theron are really knocking on the door," Morkel said.

Both Philander and Theron have proved they are comfortable opening the bowling in limited-overs cricket and could challenge Lonwabo Tsotsobe for his place. They could also fit into what Morkel calls the "second wave of attack" that South Africa want to apply in ODIs. "Lopsy has done well with the new ball so when I come in later on I form part of the next line of attack. I'm very comfortable operating in that position and I think some of those other guys would be too."