Olivier at peace playing second-fiddle to Morkel

Cape Town - Proteas bowler Duanne Olivier says he will understand if Morne Morkel gets picked ahead of him in the first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Wednesday.

Morkel, 32, has been unavailable for the Proteas since suffering from a back injury during the Caribbean Premier League in July 2016.

Olivier, 24, has only played the one Test for the Proteas, but impressed taking five wickets at the Wanderers against Sri Lanka back in January this year.

Olivier steered the Knights to their first first-class title in nine years after taking 52 wickets in eight games.

With the return of Morkel, Olivier believes that the veteran fast bowler could be selected ahead of him in the first Test.

"Obviously Morne Morkel is back in the squad, so if I play it'll be a great opportunity and if I don't, of course I do understand," Olivier told reporters on Monday.

"(Chris) Morris is also here and Wayne Parnell, and they've been playing well coming back from the one-day squad. So they are already suited to the conditions here as well.

"I'm the youngster in this squad, but there's so much to learn here and experiencing New Zealand for the first time.

"If I don't play I can learn a lot from these three Test matches coming up. I'll take note of the guys performance and the New Zealand team and how they play."

The first Test gets underway in Dunedin on Tuesday (00:00 SA time).

Squads:

New Zealand

Kane Williamson (captain) Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Jeetan Patel, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

South Africa

Faf du Plessis (captain, Titans), Stephen Cook (Highveld Lions), Dean Elgar (Titans), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Temba Bavuma (Highveld Lions), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Wayne Parnell (Cape Cobras), Kagiso Rabada (Highveld Lions), Duanne Olivier (Knights), Theunis de Bruyn (Knights), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), Morne Morkel (Titans), Chris Morris (Titans)