Former South African all-rounder Brian McMillan is confident that the Proteas will seal a Test series against England at Edgbaston on Wednesday and in an exclusive interview reveals he has lost none of his fire.

The Proteas go into the third Test 1-0 up in the series, meaning a win at Edgbaston will clinch the series — the first for SA in England since re-admission — and McMillan is expecting Graeme Smith's men to come out firing.

The loss of seamer Dale Steyn is a massive blow for the Proteas, but McMillan is more than happy with the replacement — fiery quick Andre Nel.

"He (Nel) is the only other bowler with the same amount of experience," McMillan told sport.iafrica.com.

"He is a big asset to any team he plays in and his aggression will be key for us (today). The fact that we're up in the series means we need to jump on the Brits and he will come hard at them from the start.

"He's definitely the right man to replace Steyn."

England, of course, will not simply lie down, a fact that McMillan knows well from his own experiences as a Test-match cricketer, and the former Western Province star is expecting the hosts to fight tooth and nail to claw their way back into the series.

"They are a proud nation and they will have been taking a lot of flak at home," he said of the English who are 0-1 down with two Tests to play.

"They will try and come back, they have to come back, some of them will be playing for their positions in the side... they know they have to come back hard now."

The English camp has been roundly criticised for their selections of late. The row that enveloped the call-up of unknown bowler Darren Pattinson at Headingley in the second Test only escalated with the re-call of veteran Steve Harmison this week.

In the end, Harmison was not even selected for the final XI, but McMillan still sees his recall as significant, saying: "The fact that they thought about Harmison at all proves how crucial this Test is.

"They are desperate; their backs are up against the wall. They batted well in the first Test, but could not bowl us out, and in the second Test they could not hold us off at all. They have to come back at us in this Test."

McMillan is also not sure why they chose to dump young Stuart Broad from the side — recalling Paul Collingwood in his stead — and he admits he would have stuck with the same side.

"As far as I am concerned if they played those bowlers in the first Test (and the second) they were the best available. Why drop Broad? He's bowled pretty well, and I think he is sitting on the top of the batting averages (for England) as well... personally, I would have stuck with the same side."

Edgbaston has not been a happy hunting ground for the South Africans. Of the five Tests they have played, they have managed only two draws. But as far as McMillan is concerned, history means little — a wicket is a wicket and a Test is a Test.

"Yes, we haven't got great track record at Edgbaston," admitted McMillan.

"But it's just another Test wicket. If it's overcast it could move around a bit, but otherwise it's a pretty flat wicket — it's your usual Test wicket. Assuming we win the toss, we should bat first and try to put on the runs.

"We need to play to win, we don't want to rest on our backsides now and 'Smithy' will be thinking that as well, and I am sure a guy like Jacques Kallis will be wanting to have a bat and get some runs behind his name."

Everything seems to be playing out in favour of the South Africans as the start of the third Test approaches; England are in disarray, their top players are out of form, while the Proteas — with the exception on Steyn — are good to go. Cynics might point to an air of overconfidence, but McMillan does not agree.

"These guys are professionals, they're not stupid," stressed McMillan.

"They will be quietly confident, but we have England down now and it is time to put the boot in! If we bat first and put on a big total, there is no doubt their heads will drop, and if that happens, they will roll over for the rest of the game."