Dale's picture postcard from Sri Lanka

Dale Steyn has sent Sri Lanka's batsmen a picture postcard to let them know, in the nicest way possible, that he is in their 'hood and looking for trouble.

Not long after the Proteas' squad touched down on the lush Asian island, Steyn published a photograph on Instagram yesterday of the view from his hotel room. Louche palm trees, warm terracotta roofs and candyfloss clouds in a satin sky framed a sighing stretch of limpid ocean. If this cricket gig doesn't work out for Steyn, a career in travel photography awaits him.

Steyn captioned his picture: "Colombo! Good to be back!" The Lankans who will have to deal with his bowling in the first one-day international on Sunday might have muttered a reply of: "Wish you weren't here."

The last time SA played ODIs in Sri Lanka, last July, Steyn was rested to allow his recovery from a side strain. On top of that, Hashim Amla missed two matches through illness and injury and Jacques Kallis opted out of the tour. SA were drilled 4-1 in that series.

Now, Steyn, Amla and Kallis are back on the bus as SA start their engines on a journey in which they hope to hit top gear at the World Cup in Australasia in February and March.

A slew of statistics can be listed to quantify what SA having their own Big Three back in harness means - not least that they account for 489 ODI caps between them (325 of them belonging to Kallis).

But all the numbers in the world cannot calculate the effect that, for instance, a bowler of Steyn's calibre steaming in with pace and passion to burn has on the Proteas as well as on their opponents.

"It does make a difference, because cricket is such a psychological game," former Proteas coach Eric Simons said yesterday.

"Winning and losing often comes down to what happens with a ball or two. If a player knows he is going to have to face Dale Steyn at the end of the innings, he will play differently earlier in the innings.

"If he knows he doesn't have to face Steyn, he will play with more confidence for the rest of his innings."

Steyn has only 79 games worth of experience in ODIs, but he has built a big enough aura as a Test bowler for that not to matter.

Also irrelevant will be the fact that Sri Lankan conditions do not favour fast bowling: because of who he is and what he has accomplished, Steyn rises above all that.

Friend and foe alike know that Steyn, Amla and Kallis are world-class players regardless of where they are playing and who they are taking on. So simply crossing the boundary with stars of their constellation can only boost the rest of the side's morale.

Or, as Simons put it, "they know they've got mom and dad there".

They do. Home or away, they will not be alone.