Notably, Lara recently celebrated the 19th anniversary of the day he scored the historic knock (400*) against England in Antigua in 2004.
Speaking on the franchise’s YouTube channel, Steyn stated that Lara, head coach of SRH, got nostalgic about his record innings.
He further revealed the chain of events on how Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene was on the verge of breaking the historic record in a match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2006.
"I literally just looked at him (Brian Lara) and said, 'You're welcome. You still have your record due to South Africa’. Mahela (Jayawardene) and (Kumar) Sangakkara are batting together, Sangakkara is on strike. We never sniffed a wicket in that entire time,” Steyn said.
“At Tea on day three, we'd been fielding for two and a half days in the sun. Ashwell (Prince, who was captain on the tour) and the South Africans all get together and our team talk was not about how we're gonna draw or win this game. Mahela was on 370 somewhere and we just said, 'We need to do anything possible to make sure he didn't break Brian Lara’s record,” he added.
As the Sri Lankan closed in on the record, South Africa somehow managed to dismiss him just 26 runs short.
"We come out of tea. Andre Nel is the bowler. And I’ve been fielding at mid-off for most of this game. I’d seen everything happen in this game at mid-off. I think he had run every milestone to me. I think he just blocked the ball and ran to me at this point,” shared Steyn.
“Nel ran in, he dragged one short, it was halfway down the pitch. I basically looked at the square leg because the bulk of the time that was where the ball was going. And for some crazy weird reason this ball didn’t get higher than ankle height and it castled Mahela’s stumps and we got him out for 374", he concluded.
While Lara’s 400* is still intact, Jayawardene’s 374 remains the fourth-highest individual score in Test history.
Meanwhile, Lara, who has scores of 400* and 375, features in the top-four list twice, whereas Matthew Hayden's 380-run knock against Zimbabwe in 2003 is the second-highest individual score in Test history.
Steyn has not played for the Proteas since last March, but the paceman is set to return against Eoin Morgan's side.
De Kock was named as permanent ODI skipper ahead of the ongoing series with England and will also lead his country in the shortest format, as Faf du Plessis has been granted an extended period of rest.
Kagiso Rabada has also been given extra time off after being rested for the ODI series, which South Africa lead 1-0 with one match to play at the Wanderers on Sunday.
Uncapped batsman Pite van Biljon and seamer Sisanda Magala were included in the squad for a T20 series that gets under way with a day-night contest at Buffalo Park, East London next Wednesday.
Magala's participation is dependent on him passing a fitness test.
Cricket South Africa acting director of cricket Graeme Smith said: "We are pleased with the group that we have selected for this upcoming T20 series against England.
"We have once again taken the opportunity to reward some of the hard workers of our domestic franchise system while some of our key senior players continue with their much-needed rest period and we have again, put our faith in Quinton to lead this group of exciting cricketers, picking up where he left off in India where he showed exemplary leadership."
He added: "With a T20 World Cup not too far away, we have begun the process of identifying several players whom we will be looking at over a period of time and hope that by the time September comes along, we will have the best possible squad of 15 representing South Africa."
South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Pite van Biljon, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, JJ Smuts, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klaasen.
The Proteas paceman claimed 3-70 in Pakistan’s first innings during the series opener in Karachi, with the last of those wickets seeing him get to the notable personal landmark in his international career.
Hasan Ali was bowled to see Rabada make it to 200 on day three of his 44th Test outing; only Dale Steyn (39) and Allan Donald (42) have managed it in fewer appearances for South Africa.
He is also the third quickest ever when it comes to deliveries bowled – Waqar Younis and Steyn sit above him on that list – having recorded nine five-wicket hauls and taken 10 in a match on four occasions.
For Rabada, there remains the appetite within to keep on improving, worrying words for opposing batsmen around the world when you consider he is still just 25.
"It's just hard work and spending a lot of time on your craft, seeing where you can get better," Rabada told the media about his success in the Test arena. "Analysing it, but not over-thinking it.
"It hasn't all been easy – you find yourself trying to perfect something that might seem so simple, but it's constant repetition, hours and hours of work, so being relentless with that and trying to see how much better you can get and finding ways."
Asked about being in the same company as compatriot Steyn and Pakistan great Waqar when it comes to balls bowled, Rabada replied: "It's a massive feat to be included in a list of such names.
"When you start playing you don't ever think that you'd be on such a list and have such statistics. All you want to do is the best that you can.
"I'm really glad, it's satisfying; it's a great milestone, but the show goes on."
Rabada missed the chance to bring up his 200th wicket on home soil as he did not feature in the recent series against Sri Lanka in South Africa, the Proteas understandably taking no risks with their premier strike bowler upon his return from a groin injury.
It meant his appearance against Pakistan was his first in the format since the third match of the series against England, back in January 2020.
"Test cricket never gets old, never gets any easier as well – you are constantly challenged," Rabada explained upon his return to duty for his country
"Playing in Pakistan as well, it's quite an amazing place. The only place that I haven't played previously, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to play here.
"It's been hard work, just like any Test match, especially in the subcontinent where you have to be more patient. It teaches you a lot of lessons and I've been reminded of some of them."
An eight-wicket trouncing in front of a crowd of 54,478 on Saturday reflected the changing fortunes of these teams since they met at nearby Docklands Stadium in the title match 11 months ago.
Michael Klinger's Renegades have gone into reverse gear this season and this was a sixth straight defeat for the defending champions, who are proving to be a shadow of the side led by Andrew McDonald last season.
The Stars have soared to the top of the table with five wins in six games for David Hussey's side, who scythed down the Renegades from 117-2 to their eventual 142-9 total.
Shaun Marsh and Beau Webster looked like lifting the Renegades to a substantial total as their third-wicket partnership reached 62.
Yet Marsh's dismissal for 43 to a brilliant boundary catch, Ben Dunk tossing the ball back to Nathan Coulter-Nile, off Sandeep Lamichhane's leg spin triggered a collapse, with Dan Christian stumped for a golden duck and Webster also soon back in the dressing room.
Marcus Stoinis anchored the Stars response with an unbeaten 68 from the top of the order to becoming the leading scorer in the competition, with skipper Glenn Maxwell plundering a snappy 40 not out as the Renegades attack sorely lacked bite.
The 38-year-old took 439 wickets across 93 Tests to become South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker in the longest format, adding a further 260 dismissals across 172 limited-over international fixtures.
His returns in Test cricket ranks him eighth for all-time dismissals and his strike rate of 42.3 is the best of any player to take 250 wickets, though he did announce his retirement from red-ball internationals in 2019.
However, Steyn continued to operate as a white-ball specialist and, despite missing out on a central contract with South Africa, wanted to play in the T20 World Cup before the coronavirus-enforced delay.
He may have been considered an outsider for the rearranged T20 World Cup this year but he will not feature for South Africa again after taking to social media to announce his retirement.
"It’s been 20 years of training, matches, travel, people, wins, losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood," Steyn wrote on Tuesday as he prefixed his post with lyrics from the Counting Crows.
"There are too many memories to tell. Too many faces to thank. So I left it to the experts to sum up, my favourite band, the Counting Crows.
"Today I officially retire from the game I love the most. Bitter sweet but grateful.
"Thank you to everyone, from family to teammates, journalists to fans, it’s been an incredible journey together."
Steyn has not featured in franchise T20 cricket since March in the Pakistan Super League, though he remains one of the pioneers of the shortest format.
The South Africa bowler appeared in leagues across England, Pakistan, India, the West Indias, Sri Lanka and Australia, but pulled out of this year's Indian Premier League, insisting he was not retiring.
However, with Tuesday's announcement, an international in February 2020 and his final franchise appearance in March prove to be his last.
Former team-mate and fellow South Africa legend, AB de Villiers quickly responded to Steyn's post, adding: "Great player, great man, amazing memories! You picked a good song to sign off my bud. Legend forever!"
Steyn was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the 2020 edition of the Twenty20 tournament, with the competition temporarily moved to the United Arab Emirates due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in India.
The 37-year-old played in three games, taking one wicket, but has made himself unavailable for the franchise in the 2021 campaign.
However, revealing his decision on Twitter, South Africa's record wicket-taker in Test cricket confirmed he will still feature in other T20 leagues around the world in the coming months, as he has no immediate plans to hang up the bowling boots just yet.
"Just a short message to let everyone know that I've made myself unavailable for RCB at this year's IPL," Steyn wrote.
"I'm also not planning on playing for another team, just taking some time off during that period. Thank you to RCB for understanding. No I'm not retired."
He then posted a further tweet, adding: "I will be playing in other leagues, nicely spaced out to give myself a opportunity to do something's [sic] I've been excited about as well as continue to play the game I love so much.
"NO, I'm NOT retired."
Steyn did retire from Test cricket in August 2019, finishing his career in the longest format with 439 wickets at an outstanding average of 22.95.
However, he has continued to play for the Proteas in the T20 format; his most recent international appearance came against Australia in February 2020.
