Dale Steyn is returning to the Cape to work on reaching a fitness level that will see him through a Test match.

Steyn has played three games of T20 cricket for the Titans, but will miss Friday’s match against the Dolphins in Benoni as he plans to work on his stamina.

Since returning from injury at the start of the tournament, Steyn has played three matches, with a collective return of 4-61 from 10 overs and a best of 2-16 against the Cape Cobras.

‘By bowling only four overs, he will not get strong enough to bowl 20 overs in a day,’ Boucher told Netwerk24 at Centurion.

Steyn has not played for the Proteas since November last year when he injured his shoulder in the first Test against Australia.  If all goes according to plan, he will play in the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth. The new Proteas coach, Ottis Gibson, has made it known that if Steyn is fit and ready for Test cricket, he would walk into the team. ‘This is Dale Steyn we are talking about,’ he said.

Immediately after the Zimbabwe Test, the Proteas face a gruelling summer with three Tests against India, along with six ODIs and three T20s, and four Tests against Australia between January 5 and the end of March.

Steyn needs just five more wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock (421) as South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.

Adding to the concerns is the withdrawal of Morne Morkel from the rest of the T20 series as he continues to overcome a side strain.  He has not played since sustaining the injury in the match against Bangladesh in late September.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images