Phalaborwa, might just be a new word to a lot or a small town for a few. But, for cricket lovers it means a lot more than just a place. It has a fleeting and furtive air of triumph in it and it has given a devotee of the game of cricket, an individual who fleets himself up in the air upon claiming a wicket either in-swinging the off stump out of its roots or by capturing the batsman plumb and right in front of the wickets with a ball that hardly drifts away from the pitch.
If pace bowling is an art, then it has many Picasso. We all have enjoyed and rejoiced watching the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, James Anderson - the legends and legions of the game.
But he is someone who stood firm in the midst of deadly winds and turned out to be successful like a new and fresh rose would blossom. He has the ability to break himself out of the shuddening air. He is someone, that every team rightly needs.
Among the fast bowlers, England's James Anderson is currently the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket. He holds the record for most wickets by a pacer in Test cricket by taking 584 wickets. When he went past Glenn McGrath's record of 563 wickets, he put Glenn McGrath and another fast bowler ahead of him. The pacer is none other than Dale Steyn. Is he not a legend in delicately handling the new ball on a pitch that offers nothing but boredom to a bowler of his caliber? Is he not, a hero amongst many, who rose to the occasion like the gladiators to the core? Is he not the best, who has been harassing batsmen year after year with speed as well as swing?
Dale Steyn is a great bowler, many will admit it without any hesitation in their mind. But how great is he?
He currently holds the record for most wickets in Test cricket for South Africa. Only three fast bowlers have taken more wickets than him in world cricket, all three have played far more Test matches than Steyn. Although he has not been named the best bowler of all time in Test cricket, he will remain at the top of the list.
Dale Steyn didn't simply took wickets, he made a statement in Test cricket that is not even close to many legendary fast bowlers. Steyn is considered the best fast bowler of the era. Just how good is he?
Steyn made his Test debut against England in Port Elizabeth in December 2004. He took 439 wickets at an average of 22.95 in 93 Tests. The big break in Steyn's career came in the 2007-08 season when he ended with 78 wickets - a record then for the most wickets in a single season.
Later that year, in the home series (Two Tests) against the Kiwis, he picked up 20 wickets including three five-fers. He followed up that with 20 wickets in three Tests against West Indies at home and 14 in two in Bangladesh. He was duly adjudicated Player of the Series in each of the three series - that announced the arrival of Dale Steyn to the world.
Steyn finished 2008 with 74 wickets and he was awarded ICC Test player of the year in 2008 for his efforts in red ball cricket. Between 2007 and 2014, Steyn was the leading bowler in the world with more wickets than any other bowler.
Steyn has been an excellent tourist to Asia throughout his career, showing great skill on Asian soil. The real test of a fast bowler is on the sub-continent. The wickets here are made in favor of the spinners. Especially against non-Asian countries. Dale Steyn is also quite successful on Asian soil, taking the most wickets as a non-Asian fast bowler on Asian soil. In 22 Tests in Asia, he has taken 92 wickets at 24.11 with a strike rate of 42.9. Only five bowlers have taken more wickets than him on Asian soil in this century, all of them are Asian. Although these five bowlers have taken more wickets than him, all but Shoaib Akhtar, are far behind him in terms of bowling average and strike rate. His strike rate of 42.9 is only bettered by Richard Hadlee's 42.7, among bowlers with at least 50 wickets. A career-best of 7 for 51 resulted in a innings defeat for India at home and his match figures of 10 for 108 in the Test was his best in sub-continent.
Who is the best Test fast-bowler of this era? There should not be too much disagreement on the answer to such a question. Dale Steyn is well ahead of his contemporaries. Especially when his closest rival frankly admits that Steyn is a much better pacer than him, then there is no question of arguing.
Now, Let's find out how far he is ahead of the legendary pacers of the '90s. Dale Steyn has taken 439 wickets at an average of 22.95, while the average of other fast bowlers of his time is 33.31. In other words, the difference between his and other contemporary pacer's bowling average was 10.36! Only Glenn McGrath, who has a bowling average of 21.84, has beaten him in this list. McGrath's other contemporary fast bowlers had a bowling average of 32.00, which means his bowling average also differed by 10.36!
Strike rate is very important in Test cricket, and from this perspective he is far ahead of other pacers with a strike rate of 42.3 - the best among the 74 bowlers with 200 or more wickets.
Dale Steyn has been the biggest contributor to South Africa's success in this century. No other pacer like him has contributed so much to the team's victory. Only Richard Hadley and Imran Khan have a lower bowling average than those who have taken at least 100 wickets in Test match victory. If case of 200 wickets, Steyn is the best out there. South Africa have won 48 of the Tests played by Dale Steyn. In 94 innings of these 48 matches, he has taken 305 wickets at an average of just 16.60 with five-fors in 22 innings and ten-fors in five matches. His average in wins (16.60) is the second-best among bowlers with at least 200 wickets in victories, only behind Muralitharan's 16.18. His strike rate of 32.1 is the best among the bowlers on this list.
Steyn is one of the four bowlers and only pacer to take five-wicket hauls against all of the ten oldest Test-playing nations. One of the most remarkable aspects of Steyn's Test career is his consistency in numbers across the four innings. He averages best in the third innings (21.82) and in terms of his strike rate, he was again at his best in the third innings (38.8). He has taken at least five five-wicket hauls in each of the four innings and his economy rates vary from 3.12 to 3.36 across the four innings.
With all these numbers considered and put into historical context, Steyn's career comes out looking even more monstrous than perhaps he has got credit for. How many bowlers in history can claim to have dominated matches in Galle, as well as at the Wanderers?
Test cricket has seen many legendary fast bowlers in it's rich history. If you want to make a list of the best fast bowlers of all time, many people will have various opinions. There is stiff competition for the pace-bowling spots in an all-time XI. But for sure, Steyn's name will hit your mind again and again, a fast bowler who blew opponents with his stormy speed at Wanderers, as well as harassed the batsmen on a turning track. Towards the end of his career, if he had not been out of the field most of the time due to injury, he could have taken himself to a higher level. Despite playing in one of the most batting-friendly eras in history, he deserves to be part of any all-time XI conversation and there's nothing wrong in saying that Dale Steyn is the greatest fast bowler of the century.
Dale Steyn, has achieved everything a pace bowler dreams and wishes for. His artful strokes of policy in sticking to the line and length and never swaying from it, in the modern day are what truly make in a class apart; keep aside his jaw breaking short balls and swingers that would deceive your vision for a good amount of time. There's a sobriquet for him which is 'Steynsational', as in sensational.
He will, forever be an inspiration for those who dreamt of becoming a Speedster, but failed in the chase of achieving it. He will always be the finest grammar of fast-bowling. As he start off his run up it's like a sonnet set in motion. It's like pure beauty. He is the fastest, fiercest and the greatest of all-time.
Happy Birthday Steyn Gun. Thank you for everything brother!
✍️ Subham Dey
No doubt that he was the best👍. His pace and energy was something that we cricket fans used to enjoy.
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