Morkel happy to be in the shadows

Morne Morkel can't help but stand out. He towers above almost anyone he stands next to, which means that if he is in a group, he is often the first person to be spotted. Being an international cricketer doesn't help either. He's one of few giraffe-sized players on the current circuit, which makes him completely recognisable almost anywhere he goes.

A few seconds in his company and you will realise that he is no show-pony and doesn't really know what to do with all the attention being directed his way. It's an odd sort of demeanour for a fast-bowler, the type of player that usually enjoys playing a leading role in the game and becomes centre stage whenever they take a wicket. Success can be hard to come by, especially on some of the pitches at this World Cup, which make the exuberance of a bowler so much more expressive.

Morkel is not a man for big moves though - there's no flapping of arms, no massive air-punching, no outrageous send-offs. He is mild mannered which is why he is quite happy to be spending some time out of the spotlight in the current World Cup.

South Africa's seam bowlers have almost faded into supporting roles in the tournament, with the spinners coming to the forefront. Imran Tahir, Robin Peterson and Johan Botha have taken 18 wickets between them, with Tahir accounting for 11, compared to the seven that Morkel and Dale Steyn have earned. Tahir and Peterson alone have shared 16 scalps, more than double that of the quicks.

"It's like a reverse role for us," Morkel said. "We must now support the spinners, just like when they do a holding job for us on a green wicket, now we have to do that and create pressure and they have been the ones taking the wickets."

Many thought it would be another generation, at least, before a South African fast bowler would ever say something like that but they will not be unhappy that's it come sooner. It's not that the South African quicks have not done well in the subcontinent, with the likes of Fanie de Villiers and more recently Steyn reaping rewards here; it's that South Africa didn't have anyone else to do the wicket-taking before.

Now, with a slew of capable spinners, the seamers are being made to work harder to get among the scalps. Morkel said that the ability to reverse swing the ball is crucial. "The quicker we can get that going, the better for us."

While Steyn's swing is his selling point, Morkel's relies on bounce and, as a result, he hasn't had an easy time of things. "I am not a great swing bowler," he said, admitting that he didn't expect to pluck wickets at the same rate he does in South Africa. "A couple of months ago, I was getting wickets but I am not now. Bowling is a cycle and I don't want all the credit. My day will come."

It's that one-step-at-a-time kind of attitude that makes Morkel the kind of modest character who is sometimes happy to be behind the scenes. It also means that when he falls, he doesn't have that far to go because he never places himself on a pedestal, so it hurts far less. Sunday's defeat to England is one such example.

"It was one bad game and it's not the end of the world," he said with a shrug, even though his was the wicket that was last to fall in that match. "It's a new day, a new week and the mood in the camp is fantastic. We want to get momentum going our way again."