I’ve got a couple of new tricks: Steyn

With his South Africa teammates ready to face Australia in the upcoming ODI tri-series in the Caribbean, Dale Steyn is in Wales rather than the West Indies this week.

Steyn will play the first of six T20 matches for Glamorgan in Cardiff on Wednesday night after being rested for the Caribbean tri-series beginning this weekend in Guyana.

The Proteas fast-bowler balked at Cricket South Africa's plan to hold him back for Test cricket and believes there's little to be gained from an extended break before South Africa host New Zealand in August. Instead, Steyn jumped at the opportunity to play under Glamorgan captain and former South Africa Test batsman Jacques Rudolph when fellow quick Morne Morkel pulled out of a stint with the county.

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"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 told reporters.

"He said 'Maybe you should get hold of 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."

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His hunger to keep playing will see him go to the West Indies just as most of his countrymen are leaving. Steyn is set to join the Jamaica Tallawahs for the Caribbean Premier League in July, before South Africa's home Test series against New Zealand in August.

The 32-year-old arrives in the United Kingdom from India, where he was overlooked by new IPL franchise the Gujarat Lions for all but one match in the recently-concluded IPL despite a stellar record in the competition.

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But with each side restricted to selecting four overseas players per match, the skiddy quick struggled to get a look in ahead of the likes of Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo at Gujarat.

While being benched for most of the tournament was a new experience for Steyn, the 82-Test veteran used his time in the nets to add some variations to his repertoire.

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"I've played nine years of IPL so I've seen it all," Steyn said. "Unfortunately this year I had to sit on the sidelines, but that was okay as it gives you a different perspective.

"I watched the games from the side, sat back without that pressure to perform and win games. It can be quite overwhelming to continually go out under pressure to win.

"I got a lot of training done, which means I've got a couple of new tricks in the arsenal. So it was a different kind of IPL for me but now I'm ready to go.

"I've been bowling fast, my body's feeling good and I just want to play some cricket for Glamorgan now."

With the IPL over, Steyn joins a host of other internationals in the UK for the third season of the domestic T20 competition.

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Somerset have named star pair Chris Gayle and Mahela Jayawardena for their first appearances of the summer away to Sussex. Former Perth Scorchers fast bowler Yasir Arafat will also be in action for the visitors, as a local player.

Gayle, another notable omission from the ODI tri-series in the Caribbean, returns for his second stint for Somerset after belting 29 sixes in just three hits during last year's edition of the tournament.

With the powerful Jamaican notching scores of 92 off 59 balls, 151 not out (62 balls) and 85 not out (49 balls) in 2015, Somerset supporters will be hoping he can continue his remarkable form for the club.

England Test players Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have all been released to play in the competition, following their series-clinching win against Sri Lanka on Monday in Durham.

Root and Bairstow's Yorkshire travel to Manchester on Friday in a star-studded clash against rivals Lancashire, who recently welcomed back Jos Buttler and Martin Guptill from the IPL.

Moeen will play for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire while Woakes will turn out for the Birmingham Bears against Durham.

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Middlesex's clash with Gloucestershire will have a strong antipodean flavour to it, with Adam Voges, Brendon McCullum (Middlesex), Michael Klinger and Andrew Tye (Gloucestershire) all likely to feature.

Former Australia ODI player Dan Christian is captain of Nottinghamshire for the 2016 T20 competition and will lead the Outlaws in their two games this round against Durham and Lancashire.

Mark Cosgrove and Clint McKay will also be in action for Leicestershire against Derbyshire.