With the advent and popularity of One day Internationals and lately T20 Cricket, the pundits and the purists of the game were fearing that test cricket is on its last heels. To make the matters worse the nature of pitches and promulgation of new rules were not helping the cause either. On top of that paucity of quality fast bowling which is the pinnacle of the game was driving the crowds away. If loads of runs and raining of boundaries were an attraction for the common spectator then ODIs and T20s were quenching that thirst already. Fast bowlers were unable to show their art in limited overs matches on a consistent basis because of type of pitches, number of restrictive rules and over-commercialization of the game. The legacy of Garner, Roberts, Holding, Thomson, Lillee, Imran, Willis, Hadlee, Marshall, Walsh, Ambrose, Wasim, Waqar and Donald was fast disappearing into oblivion. A Lee or a Shoaib or a Bond was all that was treating the fans of fast bowling but suddenly with their departure there was a complete silence as far as true fast bowling was concerned. But there was another man appearing from the horizon of fast bowling heritage who was getting his feet wet in this art. He is Dale Steyn, the White Lightening Version 2, who has successfully taken the baton from Allan Donald the original White Lightening.
Dale Steyn has shown on many an occasion what an express fast bowler can offer to the game of Cricket. At Nagpur, India in February 2010, he produced a breathtaking spell that reduced the best batting line-up of the world to rubble on a placid track. He was fast, accurate and intelligent. He used the reverse swing, the crease, the pace, the length and the brain to hunt down his preys within a matter of few overs. He has one of the best averages and strike rates around. He performs on every kind of surface against any opposition on a consistent basis. He is the man who can bring South Africa back to the number one position in test cricket.
The thing which ranks him above his contemporaries is that he is not only fast but he is accurate, disciplined, cunning and aggressive at the same time. He can swing the ball both ways but his weapon is the ball which leaves the right hander. He can move the old ball as well as the new cherry as he has a rhythmic flowing action which he can modify easily to make use of the older ball. His action is as worth admiring as his performances are. You can watch him all day and never get bored. He gets into the skin of the batsmen and never lets the pressure go off. He gets angry as easily as a grumpy girl-friend when things are not going his way but it does not distract him from the real job that is to take wickets. His smile when the batsman is beaten off his bowling is as poisonous as his stare when he is hit for a boundary. Like all fast bowlers he responds with hostility when he is hit, looks aggressively when a fielder misfields off his bowling and celebrates to the full when he snares a batsman.
His start was not an auspicious one in 2004 against England at home. He was fast but lacked aggression and accuracy. His average was an average 32.57 after ten test matches and was seen as a good fast bowler who could improve to become a spearhead for his team. But against New Zealand in late 2007 he took his first 10 wicket haul and then his second a match later and suddenly he was being seen as a potential great. He had learned to become what he is now and was seen as the best fast bowler around. He destroyed West Indies, preyed on Bangladesh, tortured the Indians, feasted on the Englishmen, tormented Australians Down Under and at home, teased Pakistan despite being half-fit and now is tearing down the Indians again. He has been wisely preserved by South Africa and plays in only selected One Day Internationals.
Steyn has played 44 test matches so far and is in his 28th year. This is the peak age for a fast bowler and if he continues to perform he can go a long way in his career. He may not break Muralidharan’s record for the most test wickets but he seems to be the only one at the moment who can threaten that record. Whether he ends up with 400 test wickets or 700, he is surely the man the test cricket would be thankful and proud of whenever he calls it quits.
Dale Steyn has shown on many an occasion what an express fast bowler can offer to the game of Cricket. At Nagpur, India in February 2010, he produced a breathtaking spell that reduced the best batting line-up of the world to rubble on a placid track. He was fast, accurate and intelligent. He used the reverse swing, the crease, the pace, the length and the brain to hunt down his preys within a matter of few overs. He has one of the best averages and strike rates around. He performs on every kind of surface against any opposition on a consistent basis. He is the man who can bring South Africa back to the number one position in test cricket.
The thing which ranks him above his contemporaries is that he is not only fast but he is accurate, disciplined, cunning and aggressive at the same time. He can swing the ball both ways but his weapon is the ball which leaves the right hander. He can move the old ball as well as the new cherry as he has a rhythmic flowing action which he can modify easily to make use of the older ball. His action is as worth admiring as his performances are. You can watch him all day and never get bored. He gets into the skin of the batsmen and never lets the pressure go off. He gets angry as easily as a grumpy girl-friend when things are not going his way but it does not distract him from the real job that is to take wickets. His smile when the batsman is beaten off his bowling is as poisonous as his stare when he is hit for a boundary. Like all fast bowlers he responds with hostility when he is hit, looks aggressively when a fielder misfields off his bowling and celebrates to the full when he snares a batsman.
His start was not an auspicious one in 2004 against England at home. He was fast but lacked aggression and accuracy. His average was an average 32.57 after ten test matches and was seen as a good fast bowler who could improve to become a spearhead for his team. But against New Zealand in late 2007 he took his first 10 wicket haul and then his second a match later and suddenly he was being seen as a potential great. He had learned to become what he is now and was seen as the best fast bowler around. He destroyed West Indies, preyed on Bangladesh, tortured the Indians, feasted on the Englishmen, tormented Australians Down Under and at home, teased Pakistan despite being half-fit and now is tearing down the Indians again. He has been wisely preserved by South Africa and plays in only selected One Day Internationals.
Steyn has played 44 test matches so far and is in his 28th year. This is the peak age for a fast bowler and if he continues to perform he can go a long way in his career. He may not break Muralidharan’s record for the most test wickets but he seems to be the only one at the moment who can threaten that record. Whether he ends up with 400 test wickets or 700, he is surely the man the test cricket would be thankful and proud of whenever he calls it quits.
Published in Sportpulse.net
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