Former South African pace ace Allan Donald believes the England attack "is a nose in front" of the Proteas bowlers ahead of their four-Test series, starting in Centurion on 16 December, cricket365.com reported on its website on Tuesday.

"The one massive thing for us - and this is a worry for coach Mickey Arthur - is the South Africa bowling attack," Donald exclaimed on Monday.

"Mickey is really concerned they won’t take 20 wickets.

"It is the back-up bowlers he is worried about, there is too much of the same type of bowling and that is a concern.

"There are concerns in the South African team.

You can see that Graeme Smith is worried and that Arthur is concerned about his bowling attack. They are not where they should be confidence-wise and the vibes I’m picking up are that they are a concerned side.

Donald believes England’s pace aces Stuart Broad, Graham Onions and the like hold an edge over Dale Steyn and fast-bowling company.

"I think the South Africa attack is a bit weaker than England’s. The England attack is a nose in front with tall bowlers, guys who can make the ball talk, guys who bowl heavy lengths," he said.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Proteas coach Eric Simons has questioned Albie Morkel’s selection in the ODI unit.

Morkel, renowned for his hefty hitting, has proved instrumental in South Africa’s limited-overs side of late. But Simons believes the 28-year-old all-rounder’s inability to rotate singles could prove his and the team’s downfall.

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 in the batting order. I don’t think he can bat up the order.

"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."

The hosts and English kick off their five-ODI series in Johannesburg on Friday.