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Harsha Bhogle
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Hail Dale
It's time to acknowledge that Steyn is among the all-time great fast bowlers
February 8, 2013
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There must be a reason why South Africa are knocking teams over for scores normally seen in the first round of a local inter-school tournament. And, in relative terms, finishing matches as quickly. Quite apart from having four batsmen (Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers) who might feature in their all time top ten (now there's a list in itself!) they have three bowlers - Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel - who between them take a wicket every seven overs, and are forming a team that threatens to be among the best in recent times (my vote for the last similar trio is Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie).
The leader of their attack sends a tingle down the spine of most batsmen and makes spectators sit on the edge of their seats. It is human nature to underrate the present and grossly overrate the past, but if you outlaw that trait, the time has come to place Steyn among the greatest fast bowlers of the game.
He's going at over five wickets a Test (323 from 63), averages under 25 (22.67) and takes a wicket in less than 50 balls (40.8). Those numbers for bowling averages and strike rates are acknowledged to be possessed by the best, and if you add another cut-off (25 Tests, to take away the anomaly of one or two great years only), he makes the top ten on any criterion. (In the lists that follow, I looked at bowlers since the Second World War, since the numbers of those who played before then are terribly skewed, almost suggesting that batsmen took a bat along like a senior citizen might a walking stick: only in case of an emergency!)
So looking purely at strike rates the hall of fame for fast bowlers has Dale Steyn, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Malcolm Marshall, Allan Donald, Colin Croft, Fred Trueman, Joel Garner, Richard Hadlee and Michael Holding. And if you choose the bowling average as your preferred indicator, the list changes, but only somewhat. Alan Davidson, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, Neil Adcock (perhaps he wasn't mourned as much as he should have been: 104 wickets at 21), Fred Trueman, Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald, Richard Hadlee and Dale Steyn. Only one player who is on both lists is playing today, and he is enriching our game.
There are few sights more thrilling in sport than a fast bowler in full flow running in. And thrilling is only one of many words you could use to describe Steyn when he is in rhythm.
He doesn't look like a gym addict. Indeed, he is more Daniel Craig than Hulk Hogan - wiry and athletic. As were Brett Lee and Malcolm Marshall. And every time I see him, I am reminded of what Michael Holding told me about fast bowling many years ago. He had asked if he could borrow my t-shirt to do a piece to camera (on-air branding, remember!) and when I expressed surprise that a fast bowler should fit into my t-shirt, he reminded me about how fast bowling was not about size but about rhythm. ("Never wore an 'L', Haasha, never," he laughed.) The days he bowled at his quickest was when he didn't realise he was bowling quick, he said.
It is so with Steyn too. Possessed of an action that doesn't place too much strain on him and is easily reproduced, he allows himself to get into an excellent rhythm. And when the ball snakes away from the right-hander at pace, cricket is a game to be enjoyed by everyone but the man at the other end.
| It is human nature to underrate the present and grossly overrate the past, but if you outlaw that trait, the time has come to place Steyn among the greatest | |||
And he wants to bowl fast. They are a bit like fighter pilots, these fast bowlers, looking down at anything that dilutes the thrill. (When asked if he would fly commercial aircraft for several times his salary, my cousin who flew MIGs sneered and said, "Anyone can fly that, even the plane itself.") These guys will sneer too if you ask them to run up and bowl medium pace at three-quarter lengths. It is a more comfortable life, like flying a jetliner, but it isn't them.
Many years ago, when Waqar Younis was still a tearaway and one of the great sights in the game, he went to play in England, where the importance of a steady line and length was being impressed on him. "Naw" he said (and he was still shaking his head sideways in the interview, looking back), "I don't do that. I am a fast bowler." Steyn, for all his accuracy, is a fast bowler. It is Philander who does that other job (and mighty well too for South Africa).
And it doesn't seem to matter what form of the game Steyn is playing. His over to Richard Levi in the last IPL was, to me, the highlight of the event. The ball came fast, straight, and snaked away from the batsman at the very last minute, with the bat, as often happens in such situations, completely irrelevant.
Three hundred and twenty-three wickets don't look as daunting as they might have done when Fred Trueman was huffing and puffing his way to 307. Is 500 possible? Steyn is 30 now, and at a stage when every year matters. South Africa don't play Tests from March to November. Maybe his body will ask questions, maybe he will have to do line and length. Or maybe he will only play for as long as he can bowl fast, for as long as he can be in the cockpit of the fighter jet, and not worry too much about the three-quarter length and about "putting it there" at 132 kph. Till he is doing that, Dale Steyn will be the bowler of his generation.
Harsha Bhogle is a commentator, television presenter and writer. His Twitter feed is here
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Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle is one of the world's leading cricket commentators. Starting off as a chemical engineer and going on to work in advertising before moving into television, he is also a writer, quiz host, television presenter and talk-show host, and a corporate motivational speaker. He was voted Cricinfo readers' "favourite cricket commentator" in a poll in 2008, and one of his proudest possessions is a photograph of a group of spectators in Pakistan holding a banner that said "Harsha Bhogle Fan Club". He has commentated on nearly 100 Tests and more than 400 ODIs.
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whenever any bowler bowls for blood, goes straight for the jugular, he is treat to watch. may it be a rawalpindi express or whispering death, or any sultan of swing or be it any kingpin of turns. thats why a strike bowler is a better exponent of the game than a containing one. I'll give him one thing, dale has vicious outswing. shoaib's spell aginst aussies in australia, bamboozling england in '05 & india in '06 @ home was another. brett lee's devastation of india & england in whitewashes & ashes respectively was a magnificent one too. the same way bhajji's turban-turbining of the aussies in India was a sight to behold. Man, just the way steyn swings the ball away from the righties - awinspiring.
And his story gives hope to many crickers who hail from the unfancied provinces around the cricketing world. The story of Steyn's discovery goes like this. Northers (who hail from the sporting dominant city of Pretoria with great sporting schools and universities, great scouts and great feeder systems), were on a pre-season tour of the province of Limpop (which is the far-northern part of South Africa). Steyn was playing as an 18 year old for one of the local club sides and had the Northerns boys, including some of the current Proteas players, hopping around in the ccrease. He was offered a contract after the match and was in the Protea side shortly afterwards and made his debut (too soon as it turned out) against England.
He is a fierce competitor on the field and one that people pay money to see. Watching him live at the Wanderes against Pakistan was a pleasure to behold.
Great article! Steyn's such a rare commodity in today's batsman-dominated era.. a lovely ambassador for fast-bowling. This man's test scalps are increasing at a rate as pacy as his bowling. Talking about IPL and the Levi over.. It's worth mentioning here another beauty of a spell by this beast.. In the last group game against RCB in the same season.. Steyn removed the dangerous Gayle and Dilshan in a breathtaking opening spell, finished the game with figures of 4-0-8-3 and helped Deccan knock RCB out of the tournament by defending a paltry 132. It was a combination of blistering pace and remarkable accuracy for a T20. MCG '08, Nagpur 2010, and those absorbing duels with Sachin and Clarke respectively..both Capetown at the start and end of 2011 are few other ferocious spells I remember
Excellent and much needed article.Thank you Mr.Bhogle.Dale Steyn is the rare,unique ans most spectular element in world cricket today...a genuine fast bowler.Having seen Fred Trueman,Wes Hall,John Snow,Dennis Lillee,Holding,Roberts etc in action i can honestly say there is nothing more thrilling and stirring to the sight than a great fast bowler in action AND if we can put in a batsman of Garry Sobers or Viv Richards class who can combat them in style...that's all i will ever ask of cricket.Dale Steyn deserves a place with the greats of all time.A joy to see in action.
I once tried to explain to a Cricket-hating friend from the Middle East the sheer joy of watching cricket, and he scowled at me. He said there is nothing artistic in watching this "boring" game. I then thought back to the sight of Whispering Death ambling in to bowl, and I sneered back at him. That "is" art. Watching Michael Holding at his best (something which I wasn't able to do except on TV) is pure artistic pleasure. And one of the few bowlers who has given that to my generation is Dale Steyn. For a while, it looked as if Shane Bond was going to be that bowler before injuries got the better of him. Besides him, there've been quite a number of good to great fast bowlers, the English ones, a handful Aussies etc. But none of them can give me the sheer pleasure that only Dale Steyn can. It is good that Harsha mentioned "that" IPL over. It is the perfect example of what I am talking about. Nothing had me riveted more during that IPL than that one over from Steyn. Long may it continue!
Brilliantly put Harsha! Like most of your articles, this one too ends with a gamut of possibilities for the future - pondering over the changes that might take place. Currently, Steyn is THE most formidable pace bowler and he doesn't look like a 30 yer old - not when he's galloping towards the wicket, not when he delivers those deadly missiles from his strong wrists, not even when he exults after scalping the stumps! True entertainer for a cricket-lover. And I loved the " he is more Daniel Craig than Hulk Hogan" bit. Keep writing...
Brilliant article Harsha! But maybe we are forgetting something. Glenn McGrath's greatest strength was to keep it simple and maintain line and length. Probably everyone is overlooking the fact that seam presentation and swing control is one of Dale Steyn's greatest strengths and that's his way of keeping it simple. If that's the case, him being 30 and the possibility of his pace reducing doesn't pose much of a threat to his longevity.
Very well written Harsha....What i specifically like about steyn is his intensity, his first and last ball of the day will have the same effort and intention.... and i love the use of the term " snake away"...his swingers indeed snake away. Harsha, i would love it, if you could do a similar piece on Shoaib Akhtar. As i see his records, he has only bowled 8000 balls in 46 matches, and his strike rate is really impressive. could he have done better, if he bowled more?? Steyn has played 18 more tests and bowled 6000 odd more balls. I would love to read a similar piece on Akhtar.
Think about it. Cricket today is mainly a batsmen game. Most rules are benefiting the batsmen, T20 cricket itself suits batsmen more than bowlers. Dale Steyn is fighting all this today. Waqar,Wasim,Lillee,Thomson,Ambrose and all the other greats don't even come near Steyn's. Dale is in a whole new league he has created and should not ever be compared to the above legends because Dale is not only fighting the batsmen but fighting the ICC. Steyn has made a young quicks believe in something. Hail Steyn!
Inarguably, Steyn has to be the best of this generation of fast bowlers. We tend to mark greatness among batsmen by looking at their Home & Away records. Same is true for the bowlers too. Agreed, he plays more matches in south africa where bowlers have enjoyed the conditions over last decade- I remember an article by S Rajesh on this topic, which said SA has been most difficult for batsmen to score runs, but still Steyn's overall record is awesome. I still remember the spell at Nagpur in 2010 when he blew away Indian line up, Sachin including, and SA went on to win the game by an innings. 7/51 was his analysis. His duel with Sachin in Capetown in 2011 was a sight for the connoisures . What a bowler!!!