Proteas ready for England backlash

Mickey Arthur has warned his South Africa side to beware the wounded lion after their Test series victory triggered a change in the England captaincy.

Kevin Pietersen leads England for the first time in a Test against the country of his birth at The Brit Oval on Thursday, having replaced long-time skipper Michael Vaughan.

It is the second time in as many tours the Proteas have played a prominent part in an English change of regime.

Vaughan took over five years ago following Nasser Hussain's resignation in the aftermath of the Edgbaston Test.

"When England changed captains it did suggest to me that they might be vulnerable, but you should always beware the wounded lion," Arthur said.

"We are expecting a huge backlash from England. They have new leadership, a new direction, they are all going to want to impress KP, so we are expecting a really tough challenge.

"KP is going to bring a lot to the job; he has had challenges thrown at him all along the way and he has always seemed to come out doing really well - he seems to thrive on it.

"It will be a huge challenge to him. Does it affect his batting? What is his vision going to be?"

Whatever the answers, the animosity towards Pietersen that might once have existed in his homeland after he swore allegiance to England has now dissipated.

"There is no feeling among us that Pietersen is still one of ours," Arthur said. "He made his decision, it has clearly been a good move for him and he is regarded as the enemy now. We can't claim him.

"I don't know what reaction there has been in South Africa but I am pretty sure there will be some proud people there, people who have probably had an influence in KP's career somewhere down the line."

South Africa, who are likely to be unchanged from their five-wicket triumph in Birmingham last weekend, will move on to tougher challenges following this npower series, with Australia on the horizon this winter.

But they want to head Down Under with a comprehensive, morale-boosting 3-0 victory.

"We had probably the best atmosphere I have ever experienced in the dressing room on Saturday night in Birmingham," said Arthur. "We only left there about 11-11.30pm.

"It was amazing but today we have had a chat about getting our feet back on the ground. There is one more Test to play and we will take this one very seriously indeed.

"We are a very goal-driven side and we want to become very ruthless. We want to be a resilient team and this is part of the journey.

"For us there is no dead rubber, no dead Test match, it is about playing to the best of our ability come Thursday.

"We have been able to tick one box but we are looking to improve on our performances all the time, to become the complete package, which I don't think we are yet."

Fast bowler Dale Steyn, meanwhile, has been held back for the one-day series that follows the Oval finale.

Steyn, 25, has had his fractured thumb in plaster for the past fortnight after incurring the damage at Headingley and was scheduled to attempt a comeback this week.

But Arthur said: "We decided not to risk Dale Steyn in this match. Had it been 1-1 we would have had that plaster cast cut off but now he will be ready and firing in our warm-up games for the one-day series."