Glamorgan: South African Dale Steyn ready for Glamorgan T20 debut

Dale Steyn joins Glamorgan following a spell playing for Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League

Glamorgan recruit Dale Steyn says he is ready to go for the county despite only playing one match in the Indian Premier League, which finished on Sunday.

Steyn, 32, was in the Gujarat Lions squad, having made two appearances in the T20 World Cup for South Africa.

He is scheduled to play six games for Glamorgan in the T20 Blast.

"I'm ready to go, bowling fast and the body's good so I really want to get back on the park," he told BBC Wales Sport.

"I want to get some overs under my belt. I was supposed to be rested [by South Africa] but I felt like going home and doing nothing was not going to benefit me at all. I needed to play."

Steyn's appearances for Gujarat Lions were limited because the franchise was dependent on its overseas batsmen, and there is a limit of four non-Indians per match in the IPL.

He had previously been sidelined after breaking a bone in his shoulder in the first Test against England in Durban in December 2015, having dismissed Alastair Cook for nought.

Morkel tip

Steyn revealed his link with Glamorgan came about when fellow South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel, who was due to play for the Welsh side, was recalled by the national side for a one-day series.

"Morne Morkel was supposed to come here and he got selected to go to the Caribbean and I was rested, but I just wanted to get out and play some cricket," Steyn added.

"He said 'maybe you should get hold of [Glamorgan captain] Jacques Rudolph because I was going to go to Glamorgan', and within an hour I was on the phone to [Glamorgan chief executive] Hugh Morris. By the next day I was on my way to get a visa and here I am.

"I'm just excited to be here because I haven't played a lot of cricket this year."

Essex memories

Steyn will make his Glamorgan debut on Wednesday at the SSE Swalec Stadium against Essex, for whom he played in 2005.

Steyn played alongside current England captain Alastair Cook at Essex

"It's really cool. My first county was Essex with guys like Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook - we were just kids at the time," Steyn said.

"These guys have gone on to do amazing things. Cooky became the first English batter to score 10,000 Test runs the other day and that's incredible, it's quite a journey.

"Ravi's played for England and he's done really well. Hopefully I can get him out again."

Winning in Cardiff

Steyn made a vital contribution in Cardiff to a South African win over West Indies during the 2013 Champions Trophy.

"One memory is that I bowled Marlon Samuels here, then just before the rain came down Kieron Pollard played the worst shot of his career and I caught him at third man. I can even remember where [on the ground] I caught that ball," he said.

"As we went to the middle to celebrate it started raining. The game was tied [on Duckworth-Lewis method] and we went on to the semi-final and they were out - so good memories."

Steyn will go on to play for Jamaica in the Caribbean Premier League before rejoining South Africa for a Test series against New Zealand in August 2016.