South Africa's leading wicket taker Allan Donald may not be fit in time to play the opening cricket Test against Australia starting in Adelaide in 12 days.

Donald, 35, touched down in Perth today with the rest of the touring team but his captain Shaun Pollock hinted the veteran may not be ready for the first Test as he battles back from injury.

Donald hasn't played a Test since the tour of West Indies finished in April.

He missed the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in September after being struck down with flu and was then kept out of the Indian series after straining a stomach muscle.

Pollock said much would depend on how Donald performed in the only lead-up game against Western Australia here next week.

"It might be a good idea to give him a run (against WA)," Pollock said.

"Whether he's fit for the first Test or for the next two we'll just have to wait and see how he goes."

After the first Test, South Africa will play a four-day game against NSW before back-to-back Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

Donald, who has 325 Test wickets at an average 21.64, has acknowledged South Africa has taken a risk by bringing him on this tour given the number of times he's broken down.

But he said he was "definitely up to it" and felt he was capable of doing "something special" in Australia.

Pollock said his team didn't take too much encouragement from the fact Australia was struggling against New Zealand in the third Test being played here.

"I don't think we need to take heart from anything," he said of Australia's plight.

"I think we've got a side that's playing good cricket at the moment. We believe we've got a side that's good enough to do the job."

He dismissed talk of Australia having a psychological edge over the South Africans after winning a number of vital matches - including the dramatic World Cup semifinal in 1999.

"I don't think there's a mental barrier - they've just played better than us in the last while and have come out on top.

"I think we've gained a bit more experience since then. We've got a lot of younger guys but they're all experienced in their own right."

Having just one match to prepare for cricket's heavyweight championship didn't worry Pollock.

"We might have taken a bit more time if it wasn't Australia - the conditions here are pretty similar to what we get at home and we're pretty well adapted to those sort of conditions.

However, he added "Perth is probably not the ideal preparation for an Adelaide wicket".

The confident Pollock, who said he had developed as a captain after being thrust into the job at an "immature age" following Hansie Cronje's banishment for match-fixing, was unfazed by the task ahead of his team.

"We know what to expect and we know what they're all about - we know what challenge we're up against."

© 2001 AAP