He is not shrinking back from the challenge; in fact, he sought the role, he said. “I believe it will bring out the best in me and inject new energy into my game,” he said.
Morkel credited MS Dhoni, Graeme Smith and Stephen Fleming as leaders who have all been inspirational. The leadership qualities of former captains of The Unlimited Titans, Martin van Jaarsveld, Gerald Dros and Pierre Joubert, were also special.
“Players could look up to them. And they also had a personal relationship with each player and managed each individual differently,” he said.
Smith led South Africa in every one but the first eight tests in a career that spanned 11 years and 117 tests. Gary Kirsten once described Smith as South Africa’s greatest test captain yet and said he instilled confidence in the team as he was a skipper who walked the talk and averaged above 48 despite the pressures of being the skipper. He made important contributions and his record in the fourth innings was impressive.
