http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dale-c52110 Steyn – The Proteas' pace powerhouse – Player Profile
South African pacer, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409, is widely considered one of the best fast bowlers in modern day cricket, having proven himself in varying conditions around the world. Today he is a crucial weapon in South Africa’s bowling arsenal with his fiery pace
and swing, and has consistently been ranked the world’s top Test bowler by the International Cricket Council for the past three years.
Born in 1983 on June 27 in Phalaborwa, Steyn was naturally inclined towards sports and athletics, but took up cricket after he was gifted a http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wessel-Johannes-Cronje-c96502 cricket set for Christmas at the age of 11. However, it was after graduating from high school that his
cricketing career really took off. After being enrolled in the Limpopo Cricket Academy in Tzaneen, he went on to join the Northerns, making his First-Class debut against the Western Province at Centurion in October 2003. Since then, he has also gone on to
play for the Titans, and is currently affiliated with the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Cape-Cobras-c776 in the domestic circuit.
The right-armer made his international debut in 2004, during a Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 at Port Elizabeth, and an ODI debut followed soon after in 2005, in an Africa XI v Asia XI match.
As his career progressed, the 28-year-old began to go places, making his County debut in 2005 for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, and picked
up his first five-wicket haul, ending the 3-match series with a total of 16 wickets at 26.00. Since then, he has gone on to claim 16 five-wicket hauls in Tests, with his best being a 7 for 51 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at Nagpur in 2010.
While his ODI career has also been outstanding (63 matches with 91 wickets), it is his performances in the extended-overs format of the game that take centre-stage. Currently, Steyn’s Test career spans 54 matches, with a total of 272 wickets to his credit.
He is the fastest Proteas bowler to have gotten up to the 100 Test wickets milestone, which he reached on March 2, 2008, during his 20th match. His bowling strike rate of 38.9 is among the ICC’s top five of all time in Test matches.
In addition to playing extended-overs cricket for the national side, the “Phalaborwa Express” has also made an impact in the rising phenomenon of T20 cricket – he has played for both the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise (for whom he has claimed 27 wickets
in 28 matches) and the Deccan Chargers (32 wickets in 24 matches) in the Indian Premier League.
He was one of the few players to be brought for over a million dollars in the IPL 2011 auction, with the Deccan Chargers franchise snapping him up for $1.2 million. Steyn managed to claim a total of 18 wickets in the 2012 edition, and remained the only highlight
of the Chargers’ bowling performances, as they faltered in the tournament, and eventually finished second last on the points table.
His bowling style is renowned for its raw pace and aggression, and he can reach speeds of up to 150 km/http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Beau-Casson-c47541 from bowling fast” and wants to be “the quickest in the
world”.
However, aggression is not without its drawbacks – Steyn’s deadly deliveries have injured many a batsman, with Kiwi cricketer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-Cumming-c1289 having ended up in intensive care after being hit in the face by one of Steyn’s deliveries in 2007/2008. The Proteas
pacer, known for his competitiveness on-field, has also been reprimanded and fined 100% of his match fee for having committed a Level 2 offence in June 2010 during the 3rd Test of a series between South Africa and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, when he appeared
to have spat in the direction of fielder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SJ-Benn-c2535.
However, these incidents hardly take away from what is shaping up to be a phenomenal career. His nominations in the upcoming Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 (CSA) awards are a testament to the overall brilliance of the right-arm pacer, who has yet to reach his prime
– he has been nominated for the Player of the Year, and Test Player of the Year categories.
The fifth bowler to reach the 250 Test wickets landmark in South African cricket history (which took him 49 Test matches to complete), Steyn is one wicket away from the record of the great http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Anthony-Donald-c43680. At the rate he is going, the bowler is likely to overtake
current record holder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shaun-Maclean-Pollock-c89847 (421 scalps) and become South Africa’s leading wicket-taker – a feat which does not seem beyond him.
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