"Not many people get that opportunity to play in a Lord's final, so I'm really looking forward to it"
Saturday 30 June 2018 10:51, UK
South African fast bowler Dale Steyn says he is really looking forward to playing in the Royal London One-Day Cup for Hampshire against Kent at "special" Lord's on Saturday.
In an interview with Sky Sports Cricket ahead of the game - which you can watch live from 10.30am on Saturday - 35-year-old Steyn also talks about his recovery from injury troubles, Hampshire captain James Vince's fine form and the mental side of bowling.
Click on the above to watch Rob Key's interview with Steyn in full.
"I've been very lucky that since I've come to Hampshire, I've played two Royal London One-Day games - we've managed to win in the semi-final - and I now get to play in a final at Lord's," said Steyn.
"Not many people get that opportunity, so I'm really looking forward to it.
"I got here and had a shocker against Somerset [conceding 80] - I hadn't held a white ball in about six months, so it was always going to be a daunting task and just good to get it out of the way.
"For me, I need to bowl lots of overs in order to start getting back into form - much like a batsman needs to hit a lot of balls. You can only rack up X amount of deliveries per day, in training, so game time is the most important thing you can get.
"I then bowled 26 overs in a four-day game against Surrey and so by the time we played the semi-final against Yorkshire, I was good to go. It was a lot better."
Steyn took 1-34 from his seven overs - dismissing India's Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck, edging to slip - in Hampshire's convincing 107-run semi-final win that secured their spot at Lord's.
Steyn is relishing the prospect of a return to the home of cricket, where he has previously appeared in two Tests, two ODIs and a T20I for South Africa.
"Lord's is a special place," said Steyn. "I used to love watching games there as a youngster and I've been fortunate enough to play a couple of games there.
"The biggest thing is to try and get onto the honours board - I actually got on there, only for my fifth wicket, lbw, to be taken away by DRS. I was almost there, but not quite."
Going into Saturday's final, Hampshire skipper James Vince is in sensational form, having hit three hundreds in his last five games across all formats, including a match-winning 171 off 126 balls in the semi-final.
"He is a serious player," said Steyn on Vince. "He's scored two hundreds in the two white-ball games I've watched him play. He looks so relaxed, so composed at the crease.
"How are you going to squeeze him into the England side? I don't know who he can replace in the white-ball side? It's a strong team at the moment; scoring 481 is amazing!"
Given that world-record ODI score of 481 England smashed against Australia at Trent Bridge earlier this month, Steyn believes it has never been tougher to be a bowler.
"It has become such a mental thing," added Steyn. "It used to be all physical, but now can you go for 100 in 10 overs and bounce back to win the game for your team?
"Every ball matters - if with the last ball the opposition need four to win, and you've gone for 96, can you get that out of your mind and bowl a dot ball and win the game?"
Watch the Royal London One-Day Cup final between Kent and Hampshire from 10.30am, Saturday on Sky Sports Cricket.
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