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Introduced to the attack as second change against the county side, the lanky paceman – presumably well short of a gallop after coming out of the SA winter – suffered the rare indignity of every ball of his first over being thrashed to the boundary by Somerset’s Peter Trego.
The 31-year-old Trego is described in his Cricinfo profile as one who “gives the ball a hefty thump” and it appears he lived up to his reputation in Morkel’s loosening over.
After two overs, Morkel had conceded 30 runs but tightened up his concession rate as his stint progressed.
It was a strange start in general terms to the tour as Somerset, who opted to take first strike after winning the toss, lost their first two wickets to run-outs to quickly be reduced to six for two.
Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe also got in the wickets column as the home side found themselves in further trouble at 32 for four, but then Trego and James Hildreth, both closing in on half-centuries, merrily guided them well past the 100-mark without further setback.
The match is not an official first-class one, with the Proteas fielding a squad of 13 and Somerset allowed to give appearances to as many as 14 players.
South Africa need to hit their straps fairly quickly over the course of two warm-up fixtures as the first Test starts at The Oval next Thursday.
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