Dale Steyn - The World-Class Express Bowler
Dale Steyn is a South African player who is known for his fiery presence on the field. He is generally the fastest bowler of any team he plays for and has made it big with his world-class performances.
Steyn was awarded the ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of The Year Award for picking 78 wickets at an average of 16.24 for 2007 /2008. Hewas named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the Year 2013. In 2014, he was named in Wisden Cricketers Almanack and in 2019, he was even featured in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade list. This bowler can clock 150 kmph consistently and can produce a rare combination of controlled swing and blazing fast speed.
Dale Steyn Awards and Records
- Steyn earned a place in the ICC Test Team of The Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and again in 2016.
- Steyn bagged a place in the ICC ODI Team of The Year for 2011 and 2014.
- He was ranked number one in ICC test rankings for a record period of 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014.
Personal Information
Dale Willem Steyn, the 37 years old cricketer, was born on 27 June 1983 in small-town Phalaborwa in South Africa. Dale Steyn’s age was 11 when he started playing cricket and has worked hard ever since to reach where he is now.
Domestic and International Career
This fast bowler started his career as a first-class cricketer on 17 October 2003 for Northerns. Dale Steyn played just two games but gave impressive performances in both. This led to his selection in the Test squad against England team, but unfortunately, he couldn’t perform to his potential.
This fast bowler made his test debut on 17 December 2004 in the 1st Test against England. Dale Steyn took eight wickets at an average of 52 in the series. He was dropped for the 4th Test because of his poor performances, at one point bowling eight no-balls in nine overs.
Dale Steyn took his second 5 wicket haul in a Test during South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka. Moreover, when he played in the Test series against Indian team, he picked up six wickets at an average of 19 in the two Tests he played.
His best performance in a test was against New Zealand in which Dale Steyn took his fourth and fifth wicket hauls (5/35 and 5/49). Also, he took his first ten-wicket haul and was awarded Man of the Match for it.
This menacing bowler performed well in the 2nd Test too, taking 4-42 in the first innings along with his sixth five-wicket haul (6-49) to take his team to victory. Dale Steyn won the Man of the Series award and also stood in the top 5 rankings of test bowlers.
Dale Steyn’s ODI career started on 17 August 2005 against Asia XI, and later he made his South African debut against Australia at Melbourne on 20 January 2006. But his poor performances led to him being dropped from the side.
However, upon his comeback, playing the 2001 World Cup Quarter Finals, he picked 2-42 in 10 overs and returned with career-best ODI figures of 5-50 against India. In the 2015 World Cup, he led the South African bowling attack but failed to record impressive numbers. Dale Steyn’s retirement on August 5, 2019, from Test cricket, came as a shock to cricket enthusiasts.
Dale Steyn’s Stats
BATTING CAREER SUMMARY
| M | Inn | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 200 | 50 | 4s | 6s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 93 | 119 | 27 | 1251 | 76 | 13.6 | 2824 | 44.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 36 |
| ODI | 125 | 51 | 12 | 365 | 60 | 9.36 | 562 | 64.95 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 9 |
| T20I | 47 | 12 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 3.5 | 26 | 80.77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| IPL | 94 | 37 | 15 | 167 | 19 | 7.59 | 160 | 104.38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
BOWLING CAREER SUMMARY
| M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR | 5W | 10W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 93 | 171 | 18608 | 10077 | 439 | 7/51 | 11/60 | 3.25 | 22.95 | 42.39 | 26 | 5 |
| ODI | 125 | 124 | 6256 | 5088 | 196 | 6/39 | 6/39 | 4.88 | 25.96 | 31.92 | 3 | 0 |
| T20I | 47 | 47 | 1015 | 1175 | 64 | 4/9 | 4/9 | 6.95 | 18.36 | 15.86 | 0 | 0 |
| IPL | 94 | 94 | 2152 | 2465 | 97 | 3/8 | 3/8 | 6.87 | 25.41 | 22.19 | 0 | 0 |
T20I Franchise Career
Dale Steyn’s T20 debut came against New Zealand on 23rd November 2017, where he bowled four overs, giving away just 17 runs. He played Twenty20 Internationals against West Indies, where Steyn performed exceptionally well, taking four wickets in three overs, giving away only nine runs.
Steyn did not play for South Africa in the T20 format for long, but he was outstanding whenever he played. While playing in the T20 World Cup, this bowler popularly called as Steyn gun, was pretty successful, claiming nine wickets in five matches. Moreover, Dale Steyn made history with the ball when he defended seven runs off the last over against New Zealand and took his team home.
Dale Steyn’s IPL Career
Dale Steyn is a key bowler for any IPL franchise and was bought by RCB in 2008. He played for three years with them and performed well. Then, Dale Steyn’s RCB career came to a halt when Deccan Chargers picked him up for $1.2 million in the fourth season of IPL in 2012.
In the 2013 season, Steyn was drafted to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and he played for them in three IPL seasons, performing well with both bat and ball. In 2016, Steyn was purchased by Gujarat Lions for Rs 22.3 million; however, he only played one match for them. For IPL 2019, Dale Steyn’s bowling style got him picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore, hoping to make full use of his ability to swing the ball in the air as well as off the pitch.
Playing Style
Dale Steyn is an aggressive and fiery out-and-out fast bowler capable of delivering the ball at a speed of 150 km per hour. While playing in a match, he is generally chosen to bowl with the new ball to maximize his chances of getting wickets with his swingers.
Steyn is very competitive on the field, so he is always found celebrating his wickets energetically. His aggression on the field pumps the whole team up and pushes every player to give their best, no matter what the situation.