Steyn fires warning to England

Dale Steyn, South Africa's top-ranked fast bowler, has warned England's batsmen he is returning to peak pace ahead of Friday's tour opening Twenty20 international at the Wanderers. Steyn has been short of top form in recent series for South Africa but, in an ominous sign for the tourists, has hit speeds in excess of 150 km/h at training over the past week.

South Africa are desperate for their attack spearhead to return to his intimidating best against an England side still buoyant following their surprise Champions Trophy victory over Graeme Smith's men. Steyn's combination of express pace, skiddy bounce and late swing have brought about the undoing of many an international batsman, and the 26-year-old is confident he will pose England problems from Friday.

"I'm hitting the 150 km/h mark again and I haven't done that for a while," Steyn said. "I'm very happy. I've had some good run-ins with the ball and got some good overs under the belt. I'm looking forward to the challenge on Friday night."

Steyn implored his South African team-mates to view Friday's Twenty20 international as a springboard for the ODI and Test series against England. South Africa are keen to put behind them the memories of their failed Champions Trophy and World Twenty20 campaigns, and England represent their first major hurdle.

"Even in Twenty20, if you can take pressure and a win into a series and get a wave of form going, you can just ride into the ODIs and Test matches," he said. "That's where we want to start. Our preparation started against Zimbabwe and our real training started today. To get a win on Friday night would be a good start.

"Twenty20 cricket has become a massive form of the game, not only for the crowds but for the players. You can see that certain players have achieved some wonderful status from Twenty20 cricket, getting some massive IPL deals. These are people's futures and careers we're talking about. That kind of money can set you up for the rest of your life. It's a massive form of the game, it's become a massive part of cricket worldwide. It's brought crowds in, players have become more interested. We take it very seriously and it all starts again on Friday night."