Former Proteas all-rounder Albie Morkel will captain Northerns at the Africa T20 Cup which starts on Friday in Benoni.

The tournament will give Morkel time to settle into the role of captain as he will also lead the Titans in limited overs cricket this season.

‘He has done everything in the game, except lead,’ Mark Charlton, the coach of provincial side Northerns, told ESPNcricinfo.

‘He is a very calm, assured, respected player and he is a guy everybody can take something from,’ Charlton said. ‘He has already been spending a lot of time with the young bowlers and guys are seeing that they can lean on his experience. We’re hoping he’ll have the same kind of effect Jacques Rudolph had at the Titans.’

Meanwhile up-and-coming fast bowler Dane Paterson says he is ready to play T20 cricket after returning from India with the South Africa A side.

The Cape Cobras speedster took 13 wickets in last season’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge and will lead the Western Province bowling attack in the Africa Cup.

Paterson is optimistic about his ability to adjust to switching formats quickly and said he was surprised by the regularity with which he hit the ‘yorker lengths’ at practice this week.

‘I’m looking forward to the T20-tournament. Whatever role I play, I am ready for the challenge,’ he said.