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Albie Morkel says he returns to the Proteas ODI squad with a better mental attitude than before.

South Africa’s new limited overs captain AB de Villiers finally gets his hand on the tiller when the five-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka gets under way at Paarl tomorrow.

De Villiers missed the short games against Australia earlier in the season after picking up a hand injury in the Champions League in India, and Hashim Amla deputised for him in that series.

His long-time teammate at the Titans, Albie Morkel, said yesterday he believes De Villiers will do a good job, particularly because he is on top of his own game.

“He will lead from the front because he is comfortable with his own game and he knows how he plays, I don’t think he will change his style,” said Morkel of De Villiers.

Mental strength and preparedness are essential parts of any international player’s game, and Morkel, back in the ODI squad after more than a year, has battled to overcome a series of injuries to get back to the top level. His mind is stronger for having lost and then regained a place in the squad, even if he came in late as a result of injury to Dean Elgar.

“I am probably the same player I was before I got dropped but have a better mental attitude, and that’s the most important thing you can bring to the team,” said Morkel.

He has earned a recall because of good form for the Titans in SuperSport Series cricket, most recently hitting a century and half-century, and taking five wickets in the match against the Warriors, which ended on Sunday.

His role under new coach Gary Kirsten still needs to be defined, but he seems to in competition for a place with another seamer who can hit them far – the Cape Cobras’ Rory Kleinveldt.

“Bowling is what people will judge me on,” said Morkel. “Batting is always a bonus, though, and something I work on every day in the nets.”

Kleinveldt, who has two T20 caps for the Proteas, said: “Being dropped is never nice but it’s how you come back from it that matters. It shows your character. It’s easy to fall into a trap and think your chance is gone but you go back, put in the numbers and show people you can play this game.”

Kleinveldt’s franchise teammate Vernon Philander set the world alight with his great performances on being selected in the Test team this season, and Kleinveldt, who had a good One-Day Cup campaign with 13 wickets, will be hoping some of that form will rub off on him.

As for the venues that the Sri Lanka series will be played at, Morkel expressed the view that a couple, like Paarl and Kimberley, could suit the tourists’ style of play by being slowish and offering turn. “They are a strong side… they were in the World Cup final not that long ago,” he added.

Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan is certainly a player who can quickly take a game away from the opposition, although the jury is still out on how a bowler like Lasith Malinga will fare over time, given the new rule which sees two balls used, one from each end, for only 25 overs each. Since the balls do not get older than 25 overs, the reverse swing factor prevalent with an older ball is largely taken out of the equation.

Kleinveldt, having played domestic 50-overs cricket at Paarl this season, said the venue did not necessarily serve up wickets that were excessively low and slow, as in the past, and said that a score of 280 or 290 would probably be par at the venue.

The Proteas’ last ODI series was the three-match affair against Australia in October, when Durban again proved to be an unlucky venue for the hosts. Half-centuries from Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis proved insufficient in a total of 222-6, as the visitors cruised home with 15 balls to spare thanks to 40s from Shane Watson and Michael Hussey.

Go back to South Africa’s previous ODI series – pre-World Cup – and you find that they managed to stare down India and hold on for a 3-2 victory in early 2011.

Amla’s undefeated 116 played a large part in the 33-run victory (on the Duckworth-Lewis rules) in the decider at Centurion, although Yusuf Pathan’s 70-ball innings of 105 got the Indians close.

Sri Lanka are coming off two series defeats, losing to Pakistan 4-1 in the UAE, while earlier at home the scoreline had been 3-2 in favour of Australia. - Cape Argus