2) Making his one day international debut, Dale Steyn played a highly anticipated game against Asia XI. Playing for Africa XI, Steyn, then a relatively unknown figure in international cricket picked up the wicket of Ashish Nehra in his maiden international game. The year was 2005
3) In his debut match, Steyn dismantled England’s Marcus Trescothicks’s defence with a fierce in-swinging delivery. However, he failed to put up a stellar performance in the series, eventually being dropped from the side
4) Early on in life, Steyn is said to have loved skateboarding. However, upon the move to Pretoria, he decided on pursuing a full-time cricket career
5) His talent was capitalized upon at an early age. Having played just 8 first-class matches, Steyn was drafted into the South African Test squad. This has enabled him to play 82 Tests and 112 ODIs
6) One of the great qualities of a fast bowler is his sense of nagging the batsmen. He may not scalp a wicket or clean up a batsman but, if he can be intimidating and work up a cold stare too many, then he can be an daunting force to contend with. Interestingly, Steyn, who happens to be one of the most aggressive fast bowlers out there doesn’t consider himself to be much of an aggressor out there.
He’s famously said, “I can come across as being overtly competitive, but I know where to draw a line”.
7) Though Steyn became the second fastest to reach 350 wickets behind Muttiah Muralitharan, he took much lesser time to take the next 50 scalps. For a bowler, who consistently clocks 145 km/h, this record is indeed sensational
8) Steyn’s strike-rate reads 41.7, which is the best among bowlers who have delivered over 10,000 balls
9) Bass fishing, or simply, the activity for catching freshwater fishes can be a skilled manifestation for those who take fishing seriously, or just a casual hang out activity for the laidback among us. But with Dale Steyn, Bass fishing is a stress buster and an activity he relished ever since he was a kid, long before his association with Cricket. Steyn often plunges on solo bass fishing trips as and when his cricket schedule allows him
10) While playing in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he clocked his fastest delivery and the fastest in IPL cricket recorded at 156.2 km/h. His fastest ball in international cricket was clocked at 155.7 km/h (96.8 mph) against New Zealand, making him tied 4th fastest active bowler with Lasith Malinga as of 3 January 2015
11) Steyn’s aggressive wicket taking quality is exemplified by the pace of deliveries wearing down the most potent batting attacks. But it is often a less visited fact that in all versions of their game, Dale Steyn is the fastest to reach the landmark of 100 wickets for South Africa
12) The season 2007-08 is marked as Steyn’s most successful phase, pocketing 78 wickets at a staggering average of 16.24, which eventually earned him ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award. While he was named Wisden Cricket of the Year in 2013, he added one more to his trophy cabinet in the following year by bagging Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack
13) Got a break in Hollywood: Yes, you read it right. The stylish cricketer acted in a movie named Blended, boasting of a cameo of himself
14) Every fast bowler has at least one batsman who he can rattle even on an odd day. In Dale Steyn’s case, the one batsman he has dismissed on more occasions than any other bowler is Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez. From 23 games, across all formats, Steyn has removed Hafeez 15 times. Quite amazingly, in 2013, he dismissed one of Pakistan’s most formidable batsman on 10 separate occasions
15) Steyn has over 600 wickets to his name in international cricket, but still enjoys fishing more than fast bowling. He believes he might get dropped if fails to take a wicket. On the other hand, if he fails to catch a fish, he can at least go fishing again. Some fascinating philosophy, it is!
16) Perhaps, we never regard cricketers at being ripe at other vivid talents, apart from the game. One of Steyn’s truly glamorous quotes wherein he described his approach to his life and the game, makes him nothing less than a poet. He once famously said, “When I am off the field, I am the calm, very quiet kind of easy-going ocean. But, when I am on a hot streak with the cricket ball, I can be the most disastrous waters you have ever been in”. Quite a wordsmith Mr. Steyn.
No comments:
Post a Comment