Chris Gayle - file

johannesburg, south africa, cmc:

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur is looking forward to see how West Indies' batsmen handle fast bowling tyro Dale Steyn during their coming series.

West Indies contest two Twenty20 internationals, three Tests, and five one-day internationals during their tour of South Africa.

"I don't think we have ever tested Gayle with the ball swinging into him because we have never had that option before," Arthur said.

New dimension

"But in Dale we have a bowler who swings it in, and at high pace, so it will be interesting to see how Gayle and Chanderpaul cope.

"Dale brings a whole new dimension to our attack, but the others, like Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, and Charl Langeveldt have to back him up."

Arthur believes bowling could be West Indies' strength, but batting will be the key to if they can be competitive in the series.

"That could be their weak spot and if we can get into the middle order with the ball still new, I think we could do some damage," he said.

"If our top order could hold out the West Indies strike bowlers, they could score tons of runs.

"They don't have a recognised striking spinner, so they might have to use Dwayne Bravo to do a holding job, and that could be a problem for them."

Mini battles

Arthur feels the secret to his side's success would be to win the series of mini-battles inside the greater war.

"They have genuine strike bowlers in Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, and Darren Powell and I think the one battle will be them against Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs," he said.

"If their strike bowlers all fire at the same time they could set us back seriously."

Arthur dismisses all the talk about what effect a missing Brian Lara might have on the West Indies on this tour.

"I don't believe they will miss Lara that much and, who knows, his absence might have a unifying effect on the squad," he said. "They might be more willing to play for each other. I don't think it's a factor."

Although Makhaya Ntini is not at his superb best at the minute, Arthur is not worried about the form of South Africa's most recognisable fast bowler.

"Makhaya is a totally different proposition against the West Indies with all their left-handers," he said.

"He takes the ball away from most of their top guys. And he also has quite a good record against Gayle over the years, so I think we should not write off Makhaya as a force just yet."