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Dale Steyn vs Allan Donald: Who is the greater South African legend

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aarizzler720

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If there's one thing the rainbow nation is famous for, it's for producing argubably one of the best pacers ever. Two of them are : Dale Steyn and Allan Donald probably the greatest in the red ball format and they both have a contention to be one of the best test pacers ever:

Why many consider Dale Steyn SA’s greatest bowler​

1. Peak dominance

  • Steyn at his prime was arguably the best fast bowler in the world across formats for nearly a decade.
  • He topped the ICC Test bowling rankings for a record 263 weeks.
2. Strike rate

  • Steyn’s Test strike rate (41.7) is one of the best in cricket history, especially remarkable for a fast bowler in the modern era.
3. Overseas performance

  • He performed brilliantly in all conditions—Australia, England, India, Sri Lanka, UAE, you name it.
  • His ability to swing the ball at 145+ km/h made him lethal everywhere.
4. Match-winning spells

  • Known for “x-factor” bursts that changed matches in a few overs.
  • His spells in Melbourne 2008, Nagpur 2010, and Durban 2006 are legendary.

🥈

1. Pioneer of post-isolation SA cricket

  • Donald carried South Africa’s attack in the early years after return from isolation.
  • He was the first SA bowler to strike fear worldwide.
2. Technique and aggression

  • Known for immaculate lines, pace, and intimidation.
  • His duel with Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge 1998 is iconic.
3. Excellent numbers

  • 330 Test wickets at 22.25 and a superb strike rate (47.0).
  • But his career was slightly shorter and less dominant across different conditions compared to Steyn.
  • So who was the best? Discuss!
 
I have seen Steyn from his debut till his retirement.

I have seen Donald partially (I watch cricket since 1997).

When all things are considered, I think Steyn was much better.
 
I've seen both and it's not that easy to decide. Donald was a great bowler.

I would give Donald the edge in ODIs and Steyn in Tests but it can go either way.
 
sweep_shot said:
I have seen Steyn from his debut till his retirement.

I have seen Donald partially (I watch cricket since 1997).

When all things are considered, I think Steyn was much better.
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Really? A fading White Lightning Vs a rising star? Donald created a fear of PERSISTENT shear pace that not many in the history. I personally like God fearing pace with accuracy. Donald any day over Steyn.
 
CricVet said:
Really? A fading White Lightning Vs a rising star? Donald created a fear of PERSISTENT shear pace that not many in the history. I personally like God fearing pace with accuracy. Donald any day over Steyn.
Click to expand...

Who achieved more? It was Steyn.

Donald was intimidating but didn't achieve as much as Steyn.

Donald was like Kane (scary big red machine but didn't win many titles) while Steyn was like Randy Orton (14-time World Champions).
 
sweep_shot said:
Who achieved more? It was Steyn.

Donald was intimidating but didn't achieve as much as Steyn.

Donald was like Kane (scary big red machine but didn't win many titles) while Steyn was like Randy Orton (14-time World Champions).
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Steyn has slightly better SR in tests.

Donald has a better bowling average in ODIs and almost the same SR.

Two bowlers from 2 different eras.

Donald will be my choice for unrelenting pace in any format.
 
Donald put South African fast bowling on the map.

Steyn was great, no doubt but it’s hard to argue against Donald who probably would have been just as great if he could have started his international career a bit earlier
 
Steyn made me fall in love with test fast bowling. There's not many bowlers who made tests watchable. His spells were always high intensity and made every ball worth watching. He would be laying the trap in the open for the batters and everyone could see it yet he will would go on and see the batter walk into it and do nothing about it.
There's very few pacers who made test bowling a spectacle and he did it consistently for for 8-9 years.
Asif for his short career was one of them as well as was Akhtar.
 
I pick Alan Donald. His bowling was menacing and he missed the best part of his youth to the ban on SA team.

While Steyn is an excellent Test bowler, Donald is something else. Its just fire and pace and accuracy were amazing. I have never seen anyone destroy Donald or dominate him.
 
My dad always rates Donald as one of the greats, he was there at Trent Bridge when he bowled that unbelievably frightening spell vs Atherton (whilst I was with my mum in the maternity ward 😂)

But Steyn took SA to different heights and he arguably is the greatest fast bowler of all time

Especially with his SR and the fact that he performed all over the world on any surface
 
Dale Steyn is the best SA pacer of all time. Donald is no.2.

Top 10 South African pacers of all time-

1. Dale Steyn
2. Allan Donald
3. Shaun Pollock
4. Kagiso Rabada
5. Neil Adcock
6. Peter Pollock
7. Mike Proctor
8. Vernon Philander
9. Fanie de Villiers
10. Morne Morkel/Makhaya Ntini
 
Allan Donald remains my favorite fast bowler ever. Having said that Steyn was just as good, if not better.
 
Allan Donald is certainly the best bowler by a decent margin. However, Allan Donald’s runout shenanigans which cost his team a final berth in 1999 would always define his career.
 
Dale Steyn is vastly superior to Donald. No comparison. Donald had pace but little else

Steyn was complete bowler
 
Why does people say that Donald was faster than steyn? Steyn's fastest was 157, never saw Donald clock more than that
 
anikrc1 said:
Why does people say that Donald was faster than steyn? Steyn's fastest was 157, never saw Donald clock more than that
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Naah. Donald was consistenrly in the late 140s & sometimes early 150s

Steyn was more 140-145 kph
 
There was a different kind if aura when Steyn on song particularly in Test cricket, who can forget that 6/8 when Pakistan joined 49ers club
 
Steyn was ripping through batting sides in Asia (including India). He was effective on all pitches.

Donald was more like a home track bully or SENA track bully. I never saw him do well in Asia.
 
I am going with Donald because it was a bit more thrilling to watch him bowl and he had more variety, bit like Waqar, and well, he was arguably the greatest overseas WCC player ever, to think we had him & Lara at the same time is nuts, those were the golden days for the county championship. You can’t picture a more all star set up with Woolmer, Lara & Donald.
 
Steyn looked like taking a wicket every ball when he was in rhythm

Donald looked like he will hurt the batsmen physically every ball when in rhythm.

Steyn was threatening in the sense of running through line ups, Donald was threatening in the sense of sending the batsmen to emergency room.Donald was scary.
 
sweep_shot said:
Steyn was ripping through batting sides in Asia (including India). He was effective on all pitches.

Donald was more like a home track bully or SENA track bully. I never saw him do well in Asia.
Click to expand...
Donald record in Asia is brilliant though, albeit a lower sample. Matches - 9, Avg 20.
 
sweep_shot said:
Steyn was ripping through batting sides in Asia (including India). He was effective on all pitches.

Donald was more like a home track bully or SENA track bully. I never saw him do well in Asia.
Click to expand...
Naah both Steyn and Donald had amazing records in asia especially against india, however yeah steyn was something else on flat tracks of Pak and Ind there is no one who matches his supreme record not even pidge, however both Donald and Steyn had sucked in Aus with high avgs, howver Donald was amazing in Eng and NZ while Steyn struggled there
 
If Donald had a longer career and picked 400+ wickets like his contemporaries, Ambrose and Wasim did, he would have been rated no lesser than Steyn. It is a bit unfortunate that he didn’t played that long and as a result, Steyn swept all the records for SA. In terms of skills and effectiveness purely, there is not much really to separate them.
 
People here have not seen Donald at his prime and fastest. He was the most feared fast bowler in the world and batsmen would wet themselves just thinking about facing him the next day. Steyn will go down as the better bowler overall but even at his best, he didn't have Donald's fear factor.
 
Savak said:
People here have not seen Donald at his prime and fastest. He was the most feared fast bowler in the world and batsmen would wet themselves just thinking about facing him the next day. Steyn will go down as the better bowler overall but even at his best, he didn't have Donald's fear factor.
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AD scared the hell of batsman. In county cricket only Sylvester Clarke was more scarier
 
Bewal Express said:
AD scared the hell of batsman. In county cricket only Sylvester Clarke was more scarier
Click to expand...

England's tour of South Africa in 1995, India's tour of South Africa 1996 and Australia's tour of South Africa 1997 are perfect example, Donald was smashing stumps for fun and beating established batters for pace.

Mike Atherton may not go down as an ATG opener but he played some of the ATG knocks i.e. 185 not out against Donald in his prime and the 98 not out in 1998 where he got peppered non stop by Donald and dealt with some nasty verbals in the process but he didn't budge an inch.
 
In the early 90s, we saw Peak Waqar and peak Donald and it was amazing. The sight of Keith Piper taking the ball above his head of AD, standing 30 yards back is something that brings back great memories of cricket from my youth
 
This is tough, Donald missed on his younger peak years due to SAs isolation, Dale Steyn did not... Have a small bias towards Donald but I would say overall Steyn is best bowler SA has ever created.
 
This is a really tough call... Steyn, in his prime, was brilliant. Allan Donald played in an era where pitches were not that well prepared, but his skill level cannot be undermined.. Donald was scary as well.
 
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