In a day and age where most pace bowlers rely more on variation and slower balls than speed, South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn is among the rare breed of cricketers to have kept the tradition of pure fast bowling alive. A bowler who believes in the old-school virtues of running in hard and undoing the batsmen with pace, Steyn’s success has proved that there is still a place in world cricket for bowlers who want to go all-out and outdo the opposition batters with their raw appeal. In this piece, we analyse Steyn’s career so far, and conclude why he has already done enough to stake a claim to be among the all-time greatest fast bowlers.
Best against the best
To judge a cricketer’s impact fairly, his performance must be assessed in view of how well he has done against the best teams of his era. In that respect, Steyn has tasted success against all major Test-playing nations of the last decade. Against Australia, he has grabbed 57 wickets in 11 Tests with two five-wicket hauls and an average of 27. Against India, he averages 19 with 53 wickets in 10 Tests, with four five-wicket hauls. Playing against Pakistan, he has grabbed 30 wickets in six Tests, averaging 22 with three five-wicket hauls while against Sri Lanka he has picked up 22 scalps in five games, averaging 27 with two-five wicket hauls. It is against England that his average is on the slightly higher side –23 wickets in five Tests, averaging 32.
Steyn’s home-away record, which is another indication of how good a player is, also stands on impressive ground. In 33 Tests at home, he averages under 21 and in 28 Tests away from home rises slightly under 25, which is all but negligible at the international level. In Australia, he averages 28 after six Tests. In India, he averages 20 after 5 Tests, in Pakistan 25 after 2, and in England 32 after 5. It has been in Sri Lanka that his performance has been on the slightly disappointing side –averaging nearly 37. Here again, it must be mentioned that he has featured in only a couple of Tests there, so it is too early to come to a conclusion.
All in all, it must be said that Steyn has performed brilliantly against all opponents in all conditions, which makes him a serious threat against the best of opposition.
Steyn in comparison to other great fast bowlers
Steyn: 63 Tests (till date) 323 wickets, average 22.67, 21 five-wicket hauls
Wasim Akram: 104 Tests, 414 wickets, average 23.62, five-wicket hauls: 25
Allan Donald: 72 Tests, 330 wickets, average 22.25, five-wicket hauls: 20
Malcolm Marshall: 81 Tests, 376 wickets, average 20.94, five-wicket hauls: 22
Dennis Lillee: 70 Tests, 355 wickets, average 23.92, five-wicket hauls: 23
Glenn McGrath: 124 Tests, 563 wickets, average 21.64, five-wicket hauls: 29
Richard Hadlee: 86 Tests, 431 wickets, average 22.29, five-wicket hauls: 36
Kapil Dev: 131 Tests, 434 wickets, average 29.64, five-wicket hauls: 23
--By A Cricket Analyst
