Kings of speed: Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada

28 February 2016 - 02:01 By Liam del Carme

Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada became brand ambassadors for Nissan this week. Liam del Carme asked the pacemen about life in the fast lane.When are you getting your driver's licence?Rabada: After the World Cup, definitely.Do all fast bowlers like fast cars?Steyn: Yes!Rabada: It is in our nature. Dale drives an R8. Hopefully if I'm successful I can get myself a fast car like the GTR. I'm an adrenaline junkie.Please explainThere is nothing that gets the blood flowing like bowling does, especially when the pressure is on in a middle spell. It's about bowling against top-quality opposition in packed stadiums like the Wanderers where all the energy reflects onto you.story_article_left1What fires you up most?Steyn: It is not one specific thing. It could be anything that inspires you in a particular moment.Your captain could say: "I want something out of you now." It could also be you going to the captain and saying to him you can feel it bubbling inside you. You could feel something needs to happen and you're the guy that is going to make it happen. It could also be a fielder. Paul Harris used to slap me before the start of a test match and it would fire me up.Rabada: We won't discuss what I did.Do you see yourself as the leader of the attack?Rabada: I'm encouraged by Dale because he told me just to bowl and express myself. At the same time, I'm not leading the attack.Is leading the attack something someone needs to tell you or is it something you sense and feel?Steyn: Any time you have the ball in your hand you are leading the attack. 'KG' is the youngest bowler in the team but that doesn't mean he can't lead the attack. When he has the ball in his hand and I'm standing at fine leg, I have no control over what happens. You could have somebody on a bit of a hot streak or in a purple patch and 'KG' is very much in one of those.What gives you the biggest thrill as a fast bowler?Steyn: If you have a plan and a strategy to get a guy out and it happens you see the biggest celebrations.Mind you, any wicket you get gets you going. It doesn't matter whether it is a slog caught at cow, or you hit top of off and it goes flying whether that is No1 or No11. They are all the same, they count the same. You don't get extra wickets for getting Joe Root out as opposed to No11.Rabada: Running in with people watching and there is a situation in the game. You can just feel the adrenaline. I love that, running in you feel so alive.story_article_right2So you don't value one scalp more than the other?Steyn: I say that but I also know the importance of getting a big player out. I always target captains. I think if you can cut the head off the rest seems to follow.England rely heavily on Ben Stokes and Joe Root. I have played in games where No5 is batting with No11 and they put on a 100 partnership. Trust me, that wicket means a lot.Is there a batsman that gets you worked up and gives you the most pleasure when you get him out?Rabada: I didn't like Virat Kohli. Also Joe Root. At Centurion when I got his wicket that was the most thrilled I've ever been.What's your favourite end?Steyn: I don't know the name of the end, it's at Newlands. Oh yes, the Wynberg End.Rabada: My favourite ground is the Wanderers but my favourite end is the Pavilion End at Centurion.What has the series against England done for your career?Rabada: It was a great experience, especially as a youngster. You just felt the intensity. When Stokes was smashing us at Newlands I came around the wicket hoping he'd top-edge one but he top-edged a few for six. Then you try a yorker and he hits that too. When you look back on that you say 'wow'. It is an amazing experience when you look back. To have been part of it, I will never forget. Doing well was just a bonus. I'm happy I did well but that is in the past.You must have been tearing your hair out watching all of that from the sidelines?Rabada: It has been a bit frustrating. I went from nought to 100 way too quickly and the shoulder went and I was out for eight weeks. From a selfish point of view, I would have loved to be there but from a Proteas point of view, it showed that the closet is full of players. 'KG' stepped up to the plate.Will you be in tip-top shape when you return?Steyn: I was training with the boys last week and everything is fine and I'm as fit as a fiddle.story_article_left3I was quick enough and it will get quicker. Now it's 10 days of full practice and I should be 100% by the time we play Australia. I will play a club game. There was the option of playing for the Cobras in the Momentum Cup final but having not played competitive cricket I didn't think it was fair to walk into a final. I'm preparing for a World Cup not the Momentum Cup final.Do you sense you will be the object of more scrutiny?Steyn: That's fine. If you play at the highest level that is what you deal with. You always have to remind yourself that you are one good performance from people loving you again. I've done nothing wrong. People say you are only as good as your last game. The last time I played I took four wickets against England. When you are not playing people start to love new people. They find new heroes. And rightly so. I don't have much to worry about.How do you deal with pressure?Rabada: Coming into the series, I felt a few insecurities because I was so young. There was pressure to perform. There were butterflies and nerves before I bowled. I just tried to keep it together.How often do you ask the senior pros for advice?Steyn: It is important to note, he would have had advice from me and a lot of different people.He asks the right questions. Everybody is trying to get him to go into the right direction. He needs to listen to himself too. We all work out things our own way. What works for me might not work for him. I will give him advice anyway. He processes things himself and creates his own blueprint.Rabada: I ask Dale for tips and he gladly shares. He was my hero growing up. Opening with him in India was amazing.sports@timesmedia.co.za..

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