'Time to show why we're number one'

South Africa pacer Morne Morkel sent a warning to the Bangladesh dressing room yesterday and indicated that the Proteas were ready with a different plan for the second Test, which begins Thursday.

"We're really excited to get this Test match underway. There are eleven hungry Proteas in the changing room.

"We haven't bowled so many overs as a unit before [the first Test this year] so it's nice to get that in Chittagong. Hopefully the weather will be good and the conditions will be fair so we will have a good Test match," a confident Morkel told reporters in Mirpur after practice yesterday.

Morkel -- who jokingly said that some of the players in his side were suffering from 'cabin fever' as a result of the immense time that they have been spending inside the hotel due to the downpour -- believed that the visitors had a better idea about the hosts after the first Test.

"I think the one thing we have discussed, especially considering the humidity, is that we cannot afford to waste any deliveries. We need to be clearer and more on the money with our plans for certain batsmen.

"We need to go for three dismissals instead of one. It's time for us now to step up a bit and show why we are the number one team [in Tests] in the world," said Morkel.

"We have had a look at their batting line up again and we are going to go with different plans. Hopefully that will work for us in the second Test," added the fierce pacer.

The one factor that Morkel repeatedly spoke about was the humid conditions. The pacer hoped that the sun would come out during the period of the Test and keep the ball hard.

"In Chittagong, the little bit of the rain we had made the ball wet and soft quickly. It was tough for us to keep the ball dry because of the humidity as well. So we are hoping that we can, as a bowling unit, take the heat. We hope the sun comes out and conditions are a bit dry so that we can execute our skills well.

"Once the SG ball is wet, it's quite difficult to dry it again. I think Simon Harmer especially struggled to grip the ball. As a seam bowling unit, to get one side shined up and the other scuffed up in these conditions was next to impossible," recalled Morkel.

"Even the Bangladeshi bowling attack struggled with that. You didn't really see the traditional sort of reverse swing that you get in the subcontinent. Hopefully we can see it in this last Test," he added.

Morkel's bowling partner Dale Steyn is one wicket away from becoming only the second South African to take 400 wickets and Morkel had a few special words reserved for him.

"Dale's been unbelievable. He is like a good red wine and is going to get better with age. I think it's going to be special when he gets his 400th one, but I think there is plenty more left in the tank for him."