"I always thought the left-arm quicks were special and Wasim Akram was a genius" : Dale Steyn

[Abdullah719]

"I always thought the left-arm quicks were special and Wasim Akram was a genius" : Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn has played with and against some of the finest Test cricketers of all time - so how will he narrow those stars down to a dream XI?

That was the challenge the South Africa seamer was posed by Sky Sports' Rob Key ahead of the Royal London One-Day Cup final, in which Steyn's Hampshire locked horns with Kent.

Anyway, here is Steyn's XI, plus his 12th and 13th men…



Graeme Smith (South Africa) - captain

I guess Graeme will go down as number one, I'll probably make him captain. Of the 80-odd Test matches I have played he probably captained 60 of them and I thought he was fantastic. He was a pretty good batter - anybody that averages close to 50 opening the batting, especially in South African conditions, is going to get the nod.


Virender Sewhag (India)

He was tough to bowl to - he could take you apart in six balls and then your captain comes up to you and says "take a breather". The ball doesn't swing as much in India so I felt someone like Sehwag, who hits the ball well through point and the covers and throws his hands at it, got away with it there. He'd pretty much middle it every single time.

In South Africa, Australia or England, where it would do a bit, you were always in the game. I once got him out caught at third man from the first ball of a Test match. How often does that happen?! However, he once scored 300 against us in a day in Chennai, so why wouldn't I have him?


Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Our bearded warrior. He is amazing - he averages in the fifties and is very cool, calm and collected. Whenever you feel like you are in a crisis, Hash settles the situation. He is he first South African to score 300 and he used the same pair of gloves! He doesn't sweat! Nothing bothers the Hash.

He had that awkward back-lift [when he started] and a bent-over technique so people judged him. He had to get over that but once he scored runs and the team found out where he needed to be batting, he just took off.


Sachin Tendulkar (India)

Sachin was amazing. In Test cricket he was like a wall. I remember bowling at him in India and I just felt he had everything covered. He kind of knew when I going to bowl an away swinger and could leave it. He kind of knew when I was going to bowl an in-swinger and had to play at it, or if I was going to bowl a short ball and he had to duck. He had me covered. I've never felt so hopeless before! I just felt like I couldn't get him out and had no answer.


Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

The guy can bat, bowl and field - he took tons of catches for me at second slip with his bucket hands. He is very quiet, doesn't say a lot but catches anything. He was more than handy with the ball - he could bowl 15 overs in a day for us and rev it up to 140-145kmph if he wanted to. And that man could bat! He is my favourite player and when I first met him I was blown away.

I had a birthday card signed by Jacques when I was about 12 or 13: "To Dale, Happy birthday, Best wishes, Jacques Kallis". I never thought I'd be playing alongside this guy. Strangely enough we are really good friends now, live in the same estate probably about 300 metres away from each other and I see him on the odd night for a barbecue.


Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) - wicketkeeper

Sanga can take the gloves, just because! He is probably my favourite player other than Kallis - he is just amazing and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I had him dropped on about three in Colombo and then bowled off a no-ball two balls later before he put on a world-record partnership with Mahela [Jayawardene] of about 700 runs! Jacques Rudolph dropped him at point and I was so angry I ran in at the speed of light and bowled a no-ball, which he dragged on. So Sanga was always going to make it into my top batters!


AB de Villiers (South Africa)

We played against each other from about the age of 11 and worked our way through. I remember this blond kid running around. Once we finished high school we got together and played professional cricket. He was always special - people were tipping him to play for the Titans when he was still in high school. What pushed it for him was in 2003 he played a game for the Titans while still in school, against Canada, I think, and made a hundred against an international team! We never really worried about him - even if he scored 10 ducks in a row, you knew he'd come good.


Andrew Flintoff (England)

I loved watching Freddie. If you look at his stats he may not have been the best player in the world but he bowled a heavy ball and had that fear factor and a presence. If you played against him in England the crowd was buzzing. I felt like Fred had game-changing moments and you can't not have someone like him in the side. There were probably better players but everyone knew when he was coming in with bat or ball in hand. You had to have done your homework because he was special.


Shane Warne (Australia)

The spinner is always going to be a toss up between Shane Warne and Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan]- but I'll go with Warney just because he was a leg-spinner. He was a showman, too. People paid money to watch him play. I'd still pay money to watch him abuse a batter and work somebody out. Watching him as a player was so exciting - even if he got hit for four off the worst ball it felt like he'd planned it. The batters never knew what was coming. He was magic.

I never played a Test against him but I played against him for Warwickshire against Hampshire and tried to reverse-sweep him. He walked halfway back to his mark and then turned around and said: "If you can't bat right handed, don't even try and bat left-handed!"


Wasim Akram (Pakistan)

I always thought the left-arm quicks were special and Wasim was a genius. I never played against him but he was a guy I grew up watching. I have vivid memories of 1992 and thinking 'Wow, this guy is amazing'. When I started playing I realised there was a lack of quality left-arm bowlers and just how special he was. He could swing it and bowl at high speed. Even guys who played against him, like Kallis and Mark Boucher, said that he was one of the best.


Glenn McGrath (Australia)

I loved his control - he was fantastic to watch. He ran in, assessed conditions, and felt like he knew exactly what he was doing. I loved watching him in the Ashes where he used the slope at Lord's, whether he was bowling from the Pavilion End or the Nursery End. Ashes cricket is like Love Island - you become obsessed and can't miss it. I wish more series were like the Ashes - with social media and TV the Ashes has gone in one direction and we haven't really cottoned on.


12th and 13th men - Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes (South Africa)

They were my favourites growing up. When I was running in as a kid I was Allan Donald every single day of the week. If I was fielding for my school team, I was Jonty Rhodes. My mum hated me as I would come home and my clothes were absolutely filthy. She'd say "what are you doing?" and I'd say' "I'm Jonty". Both of them are now good friends of mine. It's amazing how the world works.

http://www.skysports.com/cricket/ne...a-seamer-dale-steyn-picks-his-dream-test-team

 

[big_gamer007]

Excellent list one of the best lists made.. I would trade Amla for ponting but I can understand why he chose Amla..

Top notch guy Dale Steyn,

 

[Ab Fan]

So, Steyn picks his batting quartet- Kallis, Smith, Amla and ABDV.

I would probably trade Amla for Ponting and de Villiers for Gilchrist. Also, Steyn himself comes in place for Freddie as bowling looks one bowler short.

Warne at 8, Akram at 9 and Steyn and McGrath to finish the XI.

 

[Majid Khan]

Looks like the OP missed out Steyn’s views on another legend.

M. Hafeez (Pakistan):

“Hafeez was without doubt the toughest batsman I had to bowl at, we rated him very highly in the SA dressing room and on his day, we knew that Hafeez is a great player of genuine fast bowling and was the kind of batsman who can play that match winning innings that very few can and could take the game away from you. I spent many sleepless nights worrying how I would cope when bowling against Hafeez, knowing that there was very little margin of error in line or length against this guy and especially his ability to hook anything short, so just glad that I didn’t do too badly statistically against him. Special thanks to Alan Donald for all the tips and advice on how I should bowl at Hafeez, as he clearly recalled the tough times he had when facing Lara and Tendulkar in his era and shared his experiences of how to cope when bowling against great batsmen.”

 

[Majid Khan]

Great bowler

 

[Saj]

Looks like the OP missed out Steyn’s views on another legend.

M. Hafeez (Pakistan):

“Hafeez was without doubt the toughest batsman I had to bowl at, we rated him very highly in the SA dressing room and on his day, we knew that Hafeez is a great player of genuine fast bowling and was the kind of batsman who can play that match winning innings that very few can and could take the game away from you. I spent many sleepless nights worrying how I would cope when bowling against Hafeez, knowing that there was very little margin of error in line or length against this guy and especially his ability to hook anything short, so just glad that I didn’t do too badly statistically against him. Special thanks to Alan Donald for all the tips and advice on how I should bowl at Hafeez, as he clearly recalled the tough times he had when facing Lara and Tendulkar in his era and shared his experiences of how to cope when bowling against great batsmen.”

Indeed a fearsome prospect for any bowler who faced him and an opponent who the world's best bowlers have struggled to contain.

 

[Majid Khan]

Indeed a fearsome prospect for any bowler who faced him and an opponent who the world's best bowlers have struggled to contain.

Very true and just came across an interesting article discussing the Hafeez v Steyn duel and how it ranks compared to other duels between great batsmen and bowlers.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/694175.html

Most interesting is the rankings list on that page which Hafeez sits at No.1 with some legendary batsmen in that list, both Tendulkar and Lara just about make it into the Top 10. ["BOWLERS WHO'VE DISMISSED A BATSMAN MOST OFTEN IN ALL INT CRICKET SINCE JAN 2002"]

 

[Sirris]

Looks like the OP missed out Steyn’s views on another legend.

M. Hafeez (Pakistan):

“Hafeez was without doubt the toughest batsman I had to bowl at, we rated him very highly in the SA dressing room and on his day, we knew that Hafeez is a great player of genuine fast bowling and was the kind of batsman who can play that match winning innings that very few can and could take the game away from you. I spent many sleepless nights worrying how I would cope when bowling against Hafeez, knowing that there was very little margin of error in line or length against this guy and especially his ability to hook anything short, so just glad that I didn’t do too badly statistically against him. Special thanks to Alan Donald for all the tips and advice on how I should bowl at Hafeez, as he clearly recalled the tough times he had when facing Lara and Tendulkar in his era and shared his experiences of how to cope when bowling against great batsmen.”

Great to read the insights of a fast bowler when tasked to take on the best of the best.

 

[Abdullah719]

Ball-tampering a 'cry for help' in unbalanced sport - Steyn

MUMBAI (Reuters) - South African paceman Dale Steyn believes this year’s Australian ball-tampering scandal could be viewed as a “cry for help” because the balance between bat and ball in cricket has become so skewed in favour of the batsmen.

Steyn, one of the most prolific wicket-takers of his generation, did not condone the actions of the Cape Town trio but said the incident exposed the need for cricket to change to prevent the loss of the art of reverse swing bowling.

“It’s obviously not on, but if you think about it, it’s almost like a cry for help. We need to do something,” Steyn told Reuters in an interview.

“There’s so much in favour of batsmen these days. Fields are small, two new balls, powerplays, bats have got bigger than they used to be, the list can go on.

“You bowl a ‘no ball’ and it’s a free hit. But I have never seen a rule change that favours the bowler.”

Steyn, who is tied on 421 wickets with Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in tests, felt the desperation to get the ball to swing was forcing cricketers to flirt with regulations.

Typically, swing bowlers use the new ball to deviate it in the air to outwit batsmen but Pakistan fast bowlers stunned the world in the 1980s by introducing reverse swing to test cricket.

The skill of making an old and battered ball move in the air in the opposite direction to conventional swing was developed into an art form in the following decade by their successors Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

In March, with South Africa already leading by more than 100 in the second innings for the loss of a single wicket on the third day of the third test, a trio of Australians hatched a plan to tamper with the ball to get that reverse swing.

They paid a heavy price with batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was spotted with sandpaper in his hand, suspended for nine months, while Steve Smith and David Warner were stripped of the captaincy and vice captaincy and handed one-year bans.

“It’s a big plea and it would be a sad day to see (reverse swing) disappear,” Steyn said at a promotional event for GoPro.

“I grew up watching Akram, I grew up watching Waqar and all these geniuses run in and reverse swing the ball.

“And you just don’t see it today. What inspiration will other fast bowlers have if they don’t have anybody to inspire them to become fast bowlers. You might as well put a bowling machine there and everyone try and become a batter.”

The International Cricket Council in 2011 introduced an extra new ball in one-day games, a move which many believe has made the already batsman-friendly 50-over format even more difficult for the bowlers.

India batting great Sachin Tendulkar, among others, recently called for a return to the use of one new ball from each end in order to revive the moribund art of reverse swing in the format.

Steyn agreed, adding that other rule changes like the limit of two bouncers per over were more of a hindrance than a help for bowlers.

“They changed the rule and said we will bring two new balls into the game,” the 35-year-old added.

“I don’t want a new ball when I am bowling in the subcontinent. I want an old ball that can’t get hit out of the ground. I want a ball that when I bowl doesn’t have true bounce, so that the batsman can’t hit it.

“These are not rules that favour the bowler at all. They are, if anything, add to the batsman.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-...-help-in-unbalanced-sport-steyn-idUKKBN1KK0IE

 

[Saj]

Modern day fast bowlers bore me.

Very few characters, very few genuine pace-bowlers. Too many bowlers who bowl one decent spell and get hyped up as if they are world-beaters.

 

[Ab Fan]

Well said, Steyn

 

[zulfiqar]

Looks like the OP missed out Steyn’s views on another legend.

M. Hafeez (Pakistan):

“Hafeez was without doubt the toughest batsman I had to bowl at, we rated him very highly in the SA dressing room and on his day, we knew that Hafeez is a great player of genuine fast bowling and was the kind of batsman who can play that match winning innings that very few can and could take the game away from you. I spent many sleepless nights worrying how I would cope when bowling against Hafeez, knowing that there was very little margin of error in line or length against this guy and especially his ability to hook anything short, so just glad that I didn’t do too badly statistically against him. Special thanks to Alan Donald for all the tips and advice on how I should bowl at Hafeez, as he clearly recalled the tough times he had when facing Lara and Tendulkar in his era and shared his experiences of how to cope when bowling against great batsmen.”

This is 100% true.

 

[TeamPak95]

Looks like the OP missed out Steyn’s views on another legend.

M. Hafeez (Pakistan):

“Hafeez was without doubt the toughest batsman I had to bowl at, we rated him very highly in the SA dressing room and on his day, we knew that Hafeez is a great player of genuine fast bowling and was the kind of batsman who can play that match winning innings that very few can and could take the game away from you. I spent many sleepless nights worrying how I would cope when bowling against Hafeez, knowing that there was very little margin of error in line or length against this guy and especially his ability to hook anything short, so just glad that I didn’t do too badly statistically against him. Special thanks to Alan Donald for all the tips and advice on how I should bowl at Hafeez, as he clearly recalled the tough times he had when facing Lara and Tendulkar in his era and shared his experiences of how to cope when bowling against great batsmen.”

*sniff, wow.... beautiful