Graeme Smith has backed pace bowler Dale Steyn to perform in the Test series with Australia despite a niggling hamstring injury.

Dale Steyn has emerged as one of the most lethal fast bowlers in world cricket in the past year and, while he did not have as good a time of things in England, Smith is confident the 25-year-old will perform well with the Kookaburra ball in Australia.

"He has got a lot of confidence out of his performances, but it's his first tour here and as much as there's huge expectation around our bowling attack, they are still young and have a lot of learning to do," said Smith. "We are well aware of that and work every day on developing certain areas of their game.

"A lot of confidence would have been gained out of touring England as it's a similar environment to here. The Kookaburra ball will also make a big difference. It's something they are more accustomed to as we also use it back home."

Steyn was limited in his movement in South Africa's first training session at the WACA in Perth today and is unlikely to play a one-day tour match against Western Australia on Thursday, but is expected to play in the two-day game starting on Friday as he warms-up for next week's first Test.

"He picked up a hamstring niggle in the Bangladesh series," added Smith. "It's nothing serious, we are just building him up for the first Test.

"Dale bowled superbly well in India and he might be slightly different to some of the Australian guys, but the biggest thing about him is that he has a really big heart and keeps coming.

"A lot of people talk about his swing and pace, but he has a lot of character and also has a killer instinct with an ability to pick it up when he gets a sniff."

Along with Steyn, another youngster in Morne Morkel and veteran quick Makhaya Ntini will carry the Proteas hopes with the ball and Smith has no doubt they can do the job.

"Both South Africa and Australia play in similar conditions and grow up with more pace and bounce than anywhere in the world, so the batters are more equipped mentally and technically to deal with that," he said.

"Australia has a wonderful batting line-up and it will be a challenge for our bowling attack, but in 13 of the last 18 Tests they have taken 20 wickets and you can't argue with that stat. It's going to be our challenge to again achieve that."