Dale goes in for the kill

A draw in the third cricket Test between Australia and South Africa that starts in Perth early tomorrow morning (South African time) would preserve the Proteas' No1 ranking.

But Dale Steyn will have none of that kind of thinking.

"We didn't come to Australia to draw," Steyn said yesterday.

"We've played below what we're capable of in this series, but it's still 0-0.

"Australia have thrown everything they can at us and they still haven't beaten us. If we can play to our potential, I think we'll go home 1-0 winners."

A day lost to rain and an unresponsive pitch probably prevented Australia from winning in Brisbane, while debutant Faf du Plessis' 110 not out was all that stood between the home side and victory in Adelaide.

But, with just three days separating the second match of the series from the third, the South Africans have come to Perth the fresher side - and are inspired to duplicate their series win in Australia in 2008-09.

"Not many times do teams come to Australia and beat them twice in a row, and we have the opportunity to do that," Steyn said.

Whether South Africa achieve that goal could depend to a significant extent on the fitness of Jacques Kallis, whose strained hamstring prevented him from bowling for much of the second Test and may yet rule him out of the decider.

But Kallis's innings of 58 and 46 were crucial to the cause of saving the Adelaide Test, and even though he will not bowl in Perth, the Proteas know they will not be the same force without him in their batting line-up.

The other wounded warrior from the Adelaide Test is Peter Siddle, who looked physically and emotionally drained after bowling 33 overs in Australia's failed bid to dismiss South Africa in the second innings.

"I'm not sure what [Kallis is] going to have to do to recover," Steyn said.

"Our physio [Brandon Jackson] reckons every time he runs another half-marathon a few days after having run a half-marathon, he can still feel the effects of the previous one.

"That's similar to what Siddle has put himself through. But we would want him to play, because you want to play against the best attack and he's up there with the best Aussie bowlers."

Steyn is the top-ranked bowler in Test cricket, but he has taken just five wickets in a series that has been dominated by batsmen. The South African spearhead will hope to buck that trend at the WACA.

"This last game is going to take everything out of everyone to win it, and I pride myself on standing up and doing something when we really need it," he said.

"There's a bit more want, a bit more need. It all boils down to the last five days, the last game, and that extra push."