Q And A With Dale Steyn

Steyn shares a moment Kevin Pietersen at Lord's.

Lucy Benjamin speaks to South Africa's premier fast bowler about his injury frustrations, KP as captain and the challenge that awaits in Australia.

How disappointing was it to be sidelined for the last two Test matches, only to go on and see South Africa clinch the series?
It was hard to do, however if someone had said to me before the Test series started that I would have been part of a winning Test series side against England but only played two games, I still would've taken the opportunity no doubt. Looking back however, I would have loved to have been a part of all four games, but it's just the way it happens. At the end of the day it is a team sport and I am happy that we go home with the spoils.

What would it have been like to beat England 3-0?
It would've been fantastic to beat England 3-0, and no South African team has done that before so it would've been an achievement. But [the fourth Test] was one of those games where England were under the leadership of a new captain, they may have played differently but we also took our foot off the pedal a little bit with the series won already. It's no excuse and we set high standards for ourselves, but these things happen and we are still thrilled about the series. Now it's about looking towards the one-day series and being able to contribute to that now that my thumb is on the mend.

Watching from the sidelines what do you make of England's bowling attack? Is it lacking something or someone? If so, who?
There is no pressure when you're watching from the sidelines and seeing England and South Africa play and I actually thought 'wow - these guys are actually brilliant'. When you're in the game and under pressure you don't necessarily spot things that you do in a more relaxed way when you're on the sidelines.

Kevin Pietersen said after the fourth Test that he believed South Africa missed your presence and that you were going to be key for taking wickets in Australia this winter. What do you make of that comment?
I guess to get a comment like that from one of the world's best batsmen, I'll take it. I'm disappointed I didn't get to play in those two games and I could've added something but my spot went to someone more than capable of doing a good job in Andre Nel. What KP said is quite nice, he was one of the outstanding players in the English side and now he's the captain. It's always nice to get compliments off one of the world's not only best batsman but also one the most aggressive players of the game - it's a good compliment to take.

Surprised that they made KP captain?
I'm not too fussed about what is going on in the English camp, but if you look at what a lot of the commentators were saying and people in general - I guess he's the one player who's been in the side all the time, in all forms of the game and not been in and out the side like some of the other players. So I guess he's the right man to give it to right now, but whether he will captain England as long as, say, the likes of our captain Graeme Smith has for South Africa or Ricky Ponting for Australia is another question, you never know. There are many other candidates that you could've given the captaincy to - but at the time right now he is the best man for the job and he's probably the man to change the team. That type of confidence can rub off onto the rest of the side - especially as captain.

Having never played in Australia, except once as a sub in 2006 bowling five overs, how do you prepare for Australia and what do you expect from the pitches etc out there?
I'm expecting a pretty high standard of cricket. We've been preparing for the two major tours (England and Australia) for the last year and a half now and I think we can put a tick next to England now. Although we didn't play as well as we wanted to, we still won the series and we played some tough competitive cricket and now we go to Australia at the end of year and we're going to send our best team down there to take on the best in the world. This is why you play cricket so you can test yourself at the highest level, and test yourself at the highest level on your opposition's home ground - they have the X-factor over us but then they come to us and we can turn it around. This is where you want to do well, I can't wait and I'm totally up for the challenge that it holds.

Do you prefer Test or limited-overs cricket, and why? Do you see Twenty20 as being the way forward for the game?
I've said many a time that I love Test cricket, but actually I just love playing cricket in general. Whether it's playing ODI cricket or Twenty20 it doesn't matter as long as I'm playing. I must be honest though it looks like Twenty20 cricket is bringing a new dimension to the game and people are bringing the style of the T20 cricket into the Test arena. It's great because it's more exciting and more people are coming to watch as people see Test cricket as not being as boring as it was once thought. It takes cricket to places where it's not been played before - I know personally where I come from in Phalaborwa, there isn't a lot of cricket being played there and now one of my mates has set up a Twenty20 league of eight teams out there. Whereas when I first started playing cricket in Phalaborwa there wasn't a single team so it shows you what it can do for the game, which is fantastic in my opinion.

Finally, Andre Nel replaced you for the final two Test matches and the UK media went a bit mad for his bowling alter-ego Gunther - do you have a bowling alter-ego?!
I've got nothing of the sort to be honest, I play the game as hard as anybody else does - once you cross the white line and go onto the field you become The Cricketer, and the character that I'm going to portray as a fast bowler and I act as that person. I'll have the stare and back it up with bouncers, fast balls and the odd verbal, but then once I'm off the field I'm back to my normal self so I guess I just play as hard as anybody else. But I definitely don't have a name for my character!

Lucy Benjamin is a freelance cricket journalist in the UK. Visit her website at www.lucyben.co.uk.