Dale Steyn is set to mentor some of England's top up-and-coming fast bowlers during the England Lions tour of South Africa next month. Steyn, who took 439 wickets in his illustrious Test career for South Africa, will join Andrew Flintoff’s coaching staff, alongside former South Africa international Neil McKenzie, in Flintoff’s first stint as England Lions head coach.
Steyn's role will be on a short-term basis as he works with the Lions squad, which will primarily focus on a training camp running from November 20 to December 14. The tour will wrap up with a four-day match against South Africa A in Western Province.
The 19-man squad, named by the ECB earlier this month, features a strong seam-bowling contingent, including two players with international experience: Pat Brown and Josh Hull. The group also includes unused squad members from the summer, Dillon Pennington and John Turner, alongside six other promising fast bowlers: Zaman Akhtar, Kasey Aldridge, Henry Crocombe, Tom Lawes, Harry Moore, and Mitchell Stanley.
Ed Barney, who replaced Mo Bobat as ECB's performance director, pinpointed that the seam-heavy squad reflects both the immediate and long-term needs of England’s teams across all formats. Barney mentioned that over half of the squad consists of fast bowlers, highlighting the focus on nurturing their potential.
McKenzie, who has previously worked with South Africa's national team and Desert Vipers, will be responsible for overseeing the batters. He will coach three players from England’s recent Under-19s setup: Freddie McCann, Ben McKinney, and Hamza Sheikh. Dan Mousley, after participating in England’s white-ball series in the Caribbean, will also join the Lions tour, along with James Coles, Matty Hurst, and James Rew.
McKenzie has worked with Flintoff before, earlier this year when Flintoff coached Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. McKenzie also served as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach, a position recently taken over by Dinesh Karthik.
The ECB has been utilising local expertise during development tours, as seen earlier this year when Karthik briefly coached the Lions in India. It is understood that Jacques Kallis was considered for the South Africa camp, although he is not expected to be part of the final coaching team, which will be fully revealed later this week.