Melbourne, Dec 15 : South African pace spear head Dale Steyn has vowed to knock down Australian opener Matthew Hayden by targetting his head during this week's first Test in Perth.

Skipper Graeme Smith has identified Hayden as the key target for the Proteas, as it can be revealed that Steyn has made it his personal mission to blunt Australia's batting bruiser, the Courier Mail reports.

Hayden has long been the cornerstone of Australia's batting fortress but chinks have been appearing in the armour of the 37-year-old opener, who has averaged just 26 in his past six Tests.

Steyn, in his extensive handwritten study notes on Australia's batsmen, has noticed that Hayden's feet are not moving as quickly as they once were.

The 25-year-old fast bowler, with an astonishing 60 Test wickets at 19.41 this year, has pledged to get the better of Hayden - and his skipper Smith is tipping for an explosive contest.

"Dale is a great character, I don't think he is the type of guy who will shy away and I don't think Matty is either," Smith said.

"The proof will be in the pudding. There is two quality people against each other, I am excited to watch that battle," he added.

The duel between Hayden and Steyn will be one of the highlights of the summer with both men intent on dominating the other.

Just last week, Hayden claimed Steyn still had a lot to prove at the highest level because he had not tangled with Australia in the Test arena.

That will change on Wednesday at the WACA - with the Proteas turning up the heat on Hayden by claiming his batting scalp is an important part of their blueprint for the summer. (ANI)