Donald wants bowlers who won't back down

Allan Donald, the newly-appointed South Africa bowling coach, wants to create an attack that is "cocky and arrogant in all the right ways," during his time with the national team. Donald, who retired from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup, believes that bowlers who don't back down will be key to South Africa's success in the future.

"The training ground is meant to be the most hostile," he told ESPNCricinfo. "That's where it must all happen so when the captain goes in the match, he will be absolutely sure of what everyone can give him." Donald aims to use net sessions to inject a match-day type of antagonism into the bowlers, similar to the one he had in his playing days.

South Africa's bowling attack can hardly be accused of a lack of aggression, especially after their performance at the 2011 World Cup. They were the only side to bowl out their opposition in all six of their group stage matches. The pace and swing of Dale Steyn combined with the bounce of Morne Morkel has earned them the reputation of being the most feared new ball pair in Test cricket. Donald said that although the two men were as "technically sound" as can be, mindset was something that could always be worked on, both with Steyn and Morkel and with the younger players coming through the ranks.

"It starts with the A team. That's where the message must get across so that the players aren't scared and know what international cricket is about." Donald's first task as the bowling coach will be to travel with the A team to Zimbabwe later this week, where they will take part in an ODI tri-series which includes the hosts and Australia A. The trip means that Donald's work will begin a month earlier than head coach Gary Kirsten and assistant Russell Domingo, who will report for duty on August 1, because of Donald's desire to get to know the country's bowlers.

Despite having worked with England, the Mountaineers in Zimbabwe's domestic competition, and most recently New Zealand, Donald has never coached in South Africa. He has watched some of the bowlers but wants to take the time to get to know them in order to "get into the psyche".

Most importantly, Donald wants to create an internal environment of competition, to ensure a strong of supply of players for the national team. "I want the younger guys to punch a hole into the line up and not just sit and wait for their turn."

Donald's commitment to developing the best South African attack he can stems from his passion for the country he represented, the one he was willing to change his future plans for at short notice. He accepted the job of bowling coach on the eve of relocating his family and signing a two-year deal with New Zealand, who he had worked with since January and was involved with when they knocked South Africa out of the World Cup in March.

Donald applied for the Australian bowling job, which Craig McDermott won, before recommitting New Zealand and has expressed his commitment to them. "We had just started to spark something there and I think the players were looking forward to what was going to happen. I had been in close contact with some of the guys during the IPL, like Brendon and Nathan McCullum."

Some of New Zealand's players, including Jacob Oram, credited Donald with teaching them to be more aggressive and infusing them with self-belief. Even though he won't be around to continue that work, Donald says he hopes to "stay good friends" with the players and administrators at New Zealand cricket.

He singled out Tim Southee and stood by his statement that the 22-year-old would go on to become the best swing bowler in the world. Donald also added to his prediction, saying that Southee has the potential to become a genuine allrounder.

"He is such a talented guy. We were working on some other variations to his bowling which I hope he develops. What people don't know about him is that he can hit a cricket ball a very long way. He has the skills to become a very good allrounder."