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Steyn sets sights on major Test milestones

Cape Town - Proteas speedster Dale Steyn is eyeing a unique Test milestone for the Proteas ... and it's not Shaun Pollock's record as the country's leading wicket-taker in the format. 

Steyn needs just three more wickets to surpass Pollock's 421 and make that record his own, but now that he is back to full fitness he is considering the possibility of becoming the ninth South African to play 100 Test matches for the Proteas. 

"I'd love to play all formats. Like I said, I love playing cricket," Steyn said in an interview with Cricinfo.

"I think Test cricket is the pinnacle. I'd love to try and play 100 Test matches, I don't know whether I'll get there.

"I'm at 86, so that's about 14 more, but being a World Cup year, there's a lot of white-ball emphasis right now. So I think we've only got five Tests until around this time next year."

Steyn, currently enjoying a short stint at English County club Hampshire, is happy with how his body is feeling at the moment and he is hoping for a long, injury-free run that will allow him to put the focus back on the Proteas.

"If I'm going to look to play the 100 Test matches, I'm going to be around for the next three years. That's 38. I think I can do it," he said.

"The body seems fine. I've always been fit. It's a mental thing. How long do you actually want to do it for.

"If you've got a family and if you've got kids - which I don't but I do have a girlfriend and two dogs that miss me - and how much are you willing to give up.

"I think AB [de Villiers] hit the nail on the head. He's got two young kids and he's looking at life after cricket right now. He's reached that point but I'm not there right now."

Steyn added that he is not expecting to walk back into the Proteas side in Sri Lanka, especially given the success of youngsters such as Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.

The first of two Tests between the Proteas and Sri Lanka gets underway on July 12.

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