Melbourne, Dec 9 : South African main attack bowler Dale Steyn has been rested from tour’s opening warm-up match against Western Australia on Thursday, to ensure his survival for rest of the series.

Skipper Graeme Smith played down the injury on Monday after the Proteas’ first training run, a game of football, which Steyn did not play. The injury does not bode well for the record-breaking fast bowler to survive three Tests jammed into as many weeks.

“He just picked up a little hamstring niggle in the Bangladesh series, it’s nothing serious, we’re just building him up into the first Test,” Smith said at Perth’s WACA Ground.

“I don’t think he’ll play the first game. I think we’re looking to probably play him in the two-day game,” FOX Sports quoted him, as saying.

South Africa play Western Australia on Thursday followed by a two-day encounter against a WA XI on Friday and Saturday, with the first Test against Australia starting at the WACA Ground on December 17.

Steyn, 25, is the Proteas’ trump card, the leader of a strong pace attack, which includes ageless veteran Makhaya Ntini and tall paceman Morne Morkel, 24.

The unprecedented decision to have the three-Test bout between the world’s top two teams played over just 21 days is in danger of putting an unacceptable strain on Styen already battling hamstring concerns.

The Sydney Test has been pushed back a day from its usual January 2 start to give players extra recovery time from the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Steyn’s impressive tour of India this year sets him apart from Australia’s opening bowlers, where both Lee and Stuart Clark recently had a dreadful series. (ANI)