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Picture of Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn

Batting style:
Right Handed bat
Bowling style:
Right-arm fast
Played for:
South Africa, Africa XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Cape Cobras
Roles played:
Bowler
ICC Rank:
Batting:
104
Bowling:
1
Batting:
212
Bowling:
14
Home country:
South Africa
Born:
June 27, 1983, Phalaborwa

Profile

The relatively quick metamorphosis of Dale Steyn from an express bowler to an express world class bowler mirrors South Africa’s progress form mediocrity to world beaters. Inspired by the generation of Lees and Akhtars, the shortcomings on pace alone were grasped sooner by Steyn than his contemporaries. With a mixture of accuracy and swing to combine with pace, he soon rose to the pinnacle of Test bowling to become cricket’s best emerging strike bowler.

The contrast is evident in two series, away to Sri Lanka in 2006 where bulk wickets at irregular intervals were masked by an economy rate higher than six. While always possessing the penchant for wickets, his ability to raise the game towards higher echelons led to a strategic drop in the return series against Pakistan in the same year. It did wonders for Steyn, recalled for the welcoming of New Zealand the series after. He ended up playing both Tests, dismantling the Kiwis with 10 wickets in each, leading South Africa to historic victory margins by notably honing the reverse swing.

It was a timely improvement, as veteran Shaun Pollock announced his retirement months later. Along with Makhaya Ntini, the trio had been South Africa’s spearheads since Steyn’s arrival. Following the New Zealand tour, Steyn’s bowling displays often revolved around refreshing discipline with a decrease in economy. In the tour to Australia in 2008-09, in tandem with Ntini, Steyn helped South Africa clinch their first Test series win against the Aussies. He added another 10-wicket haul to his credit at Melbourne, a match which the Proteas won by 9 wickets.

IPL contracts too ensued in the midst, with Steyn penning a jackpot deal with Bangalore, and then for Hyderabad. While comparisons with contemporaries continue, it’s fair to say Steyn’s consistency in strikes over large periods has been unmatched in the modern era of pop Cricket, already making him the best bowling product following the turn of the millennium.


Fast Facts

  • Dale Steyn became the fastest South African to reach 100 Test wickets.
  • A 10-wicket haul by Steyn against New Zealand in 2007 led to South Africa winning by 358 runs – their highest victory margin in Tests.
  • He is South Africa’s fifth highest Test wicket-taker, behind Pollock, Ntini, Donald and Kallis.
  • He was rewarded with the ICC Test Player of the Year award in 2008.


Statistics

Show:
  Matches Innings Runs NO Avg. SR 100's 50's HS
Test 54 67 770 16 15.09 43.65 0 1 76
ODI 63 23 142 6 8.35 73.57 0 0 35
T20 21 4 8 2 4 80 0 0 5
IPL 52 19 70 4 4.66 86.41 0 0 13
CLT20 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Matches Innings Balls Runs Wickets BBI BBM Avg. Econ. 4w 5w 10w Extras
Test 54 101 11135 6307 272 7/51 / 23.18 3.39 17 17 4 173
ODI 63 62 3071 2605 91 5/50 / 28.62 5.08 3 1 0 123
T20 21 21 468 531 29 4/9 / 18.31 6.80 1 0 0 31
IPL 52 52 1189 1304 59 3/8 / 22.10 6.58 0 0 0 74
CLT20 11 10 240 272 9 3/26 / 30.22 6.8 0 0 0 18
  Catches Stumpings Runouts
Test 14 0 2
ODI 15 0 3
T20 8 0 0
IPL 12 0 4
CLT20 4 0 0

Career

Span:
Test:
2004-2012
 
ODI:
2005-2012
 
T20:
2007-2010
 
IPL:
2008-2012
 
CLT20:
2009-2011
Test
Debut:
South Africa Vs England at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth - Dec 17, 2004
Last played:
South Africa Vs New Zealand at Basin Reserve, Wellington - Mar 23, 2012
ODI
Debut:
Africa XI Vs Asia XI at SuperSport Park, Centurion (Verwoerdburg) - Aug 17, 2005
Last played:
South Africa Vs New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland - Mar 03, 2012
T20
Debut:
South Africa Vs New Zealand at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Nov 23, 2007
Last played:
South Africa Vs West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua - May 20, 2010
IPL
Debut:
Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Chennai Super Kings at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore - Karnataka - Apr 28, 2008
Last played:
Deccan Chargers Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad - May 20, 2012
CLT20
Debut:
Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Victoria at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore - Karnataka - Oct 15, 2009
Last played:
Cape Cobras Vs Trinidad and Tobago at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Oct 04, 2011
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