Perth, Dec. 16 : South Africa's new "White Lightning", Dale Steyn, has vowed to work on the Australian batters with raw pace.

Steyn and Australia rival Brett Lee will engage in their own pace showdown in the captivating battle which will set the tone for the grudge series, reports the Courier Mail.

Both men are known to send the speed gun soaring past the 150km/h mark.

Steyn, who has taken 60 Test wickets at 19.41 in 2008, has promised to leave nothing on the tarmac.

"They''re the world''s best team; they''re the Aussies, so I suppose you are bound to pick a fight with them sooner or later," Steyn declared in a South African cricket magazine.

"There are a lot of mind games that go on out there. I''ve got to ensure my mouth stays in check, or that when I chirp it''s for the right reasons," he added.

Lee and Steyn are polar opposites in their upbringings and lifestyles. Lee is a trendy city slicker, while Steyn has been raised in the obscure mining town of Phalaborwa, which lies at the foothills of the Kruger National Park in northeast South Africa.

But they have melded well in their few encounters, with Steyn greeting Lee with a warm South African "howzit?" when the two had a private meeting in a room at the WACA Ground on Monday.

Lee later described his South Africa rival as "an amazing athlete and a really good bloke".

"It is great for the crowds, there is bit of a buzz around about Steyn," Lee said.

There has been debate over who bowls quicker but Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Monday insisted Lee''s tracer bullets were faster than Steyn''s.

"I think Binga (Lee) is quicker and he has proved that over a long period," Ponting said.

"Steyn is still relatively new to international cricket and has not played in Australia. Neither has Morne Morkel. There has been a lot spoken about those two since they have been here and no doubt they will carry a bit of that into the Test. We will see what happens over the next few days but I will back Binga any day of the week," Ponting added.

Steyn admitted his performances on the world stage would mean nothing unless he dominated the Australians.

"You want to be known as the guy who did well against the Aussies," Steyn said.

Pace icon Dennis Lillee has tipped Steyn to seriously trouble the Australians on a blood-and-thunder WACA pitch.

"All goes well for a bit of chin music. Steyn is a nuggety guy, he slips on to the bat. He bowls a lovely little late inswinger," Lillee said. (ANI)