Warner ready to attack Steyn and Co

David Warner, the explosive opener, has Dale Steyn in his sights as he aims for a spot in Australia's squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June. Warner and Shane Harwood, the Victoria fast bowler, have been brought into the visiting outfit for the two warm-ups for the one-day series in South Africa.

Warner, 22, said he wanted to take on Steyn and Co, starting with Friday's opening contest in Johannesburg. "He [Steyn] is one of those guys that if he gets on top of you, he's hard to handle,'' Warner told AAP. "My goal is to try to take it to them.

"You don't want to be on the back foot to them because if they are going to get on top of you, you're cooked. He is definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced. He has got me out a couple of times. I think I'm his bunny."

Warner's international career is very short and he only made his first-class debut in New South Wales' final Sheffield Shield match of the Australian summer. However, he burst on to the limited-overs scene with 89 from 43 balls when facing South Africa at the MCG and played six ODIs before being reduced to a Twenty20 role.

"That innings boosted my profile a bit and then it just became a bit of a surreal experience for myself,'' Warner said. "From being dropped, you learn a lot of stuff as well. From there [scoring 89] I made my mark. Sometimes it doesn't come off but that's cricket.

"I've gone back and scored a couple of hundreds in grade cricket. I've had time out in the middle, got my first first-class game. Come back here and score more runs and hopefully I can get back into the one-day team, eventually.''