Australian spin legend Shane Warne may be the secret weapon in South Africa's quest to defeat England.

Proteas captain Graeme Smith revealed he would be consulting Warne during the tour, which begins later this month, to see if he can provide any tips for beating England.

Smith told Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Sondag he had enjoyed playing alongside Warne in the recent Indian Premier League, adding he planned to phone Warne "to share a few ideas about England".

"I think I learnt most from him whenever we chatted about cricket in general," said Smith.

"He has a great cricketing brain and it was great for me to work with him and learn the way he thinks and works.

"There is no question he is a genius of the game and it was very interesting to hear how he plans to get a side to submit.

"It was also nice to see how he thinks about the game and he is a self-assured, positive captain.

"He can get the best out of players and we worked well together tactically.

"It will be nice to swap a few ideas with him when we are in England."

Smith also spoke about his hamstring injury, which may see him miss the first Test against England.

"I have a lot of pain at the moment," he said, "I have just started walking again and I am hopeful that I will be ready when we face Middlesex in a warm-up game, but I am unsure if I will be ready by then, especially as I have never had an injury like this."

South Africa leave for England on June 23 and face warm-up matches against Somerset and Middlesex, before the first Test begins at Lord's on July 10.

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