Former Proteas coach Eric Simons believes all-rounder Albie Morkel needs to define his role in the national team. Is he a batsman that bowls a bit, or a bowler that can bat?

The Proteas ODI team has undergone a recent shake-up, which sees Jacques Kallis move up to the top of the innings and the big-hitting Morkel coming into the top six.

Simons, though, believes that South Africa are in a position where the best six batsmen in the country should occupy the top six positions in their order and says that Morkel simply does not fall into that category at present.

"Albie is the greatest concern [in the South African line-up]," Simons told iafrica.com.

"I'm not sure he has defined his role in the team and what he?s going to be doing."

"I disagree with Albie at six. I don?t think he can bat up the order."

A former hard-hitting lower-order batsmen himself, Simons doesn?t doubt the Titans all-rounder?s boundary-hitting ability, but argues that it takes a lot more than that to be an international batsman in one-day international cricket.

Simons admits that Morkel can excel in the 20-over format of the game, but reasons that in ODIs, the ability to rotate the strike is more important than simply smashing boundaries.

"If you look at the stats, most of Morkel?s runs are scored in boundaries and that?s his problem.

"I don?t think he has the ability to rotate the strike. If they do pick him at six then I think it?s a mistake because it will be a long time before he can develop into someone who can rotate the strike like a number six needs to."

Pick specialists

Simons, who made his international debut in 1994, believes that South Africa currently has the depth of talent to have the luxury of picking specialists, rather than what he calls ?utility players? like Morkel.

"Some teams like New Zealand have to use utility players because they don?t have the skill level.

"We don?t have to do that. We must pick our best."

Simon thinks that while conditions will dictate the make-up of the South African bowling attack, the Proteas have enough players who can contribute with the bat and the ball to do without the one-dimensional left-hander who has been in poor bowling form of late.

"We have Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy in the top order, both of whom can bowl.

"Now you?ve got a situation where you have got to pick your best number six batsman."

"Are they saying that Albie Morkel is the best number six batsmen in the country? I?m not so sure about it."

Gone are the days when South Africa relied on the lower-order (think Klusener, Pollock and Boje) to get them out of the trouble that the top order got them into, and Simons is adamant that the players there have enough ball-striking ability to allow for a ?proper batsman? to come in at number six.

"We still have quality [in the lower-order]. Boucher at seven, Mclaren at eight. A spinner [either Johan Botha or Roelof vd Merwe] at nine. Parnell can bat a bit and that?s more than enough. These guys are certainly not rabbits with the bat."