Dale Steyn overjoyed after his team’s victory at the Oval - Cricket News Update
Dale Steyn is delighted after his team’s historic win against England at the Oval, and said that it was a surreal experience of beating the world’s best Test side so comprehensively.
Steyn was the man in charge during the third innings of the first Test of the Investec series when he bagged the 18th five-for of his already illustrious career. The South African spearhead ran through the English middle and lower-order on the final day which saw the visitors clinch an emphatic victory on Monday.
The tourists not only managed to take 20 English wickets on a flat pitch but such was their batting prowess that almost half of their batting strength waited for their turn as the top order did the major damage, posting a mammoth 637 on board.
“It was a massive team effort. To think that three top players in AB De Villiers, Jacques Rudolph and JP Duminy, didn't even get a bat,” the 29-year-old said in his interview for the Daily Mail.
However, the right-arm pace man, is not getting carried away and wants to keep his focus on the upcoming Test matches.
“Yes, that was an emphatic victory but I'm not going to say 'wow' or criticise the England team in any way,” said the bowler.
England had a good start to the Test match with their batters denying the Proteas to make any significant inroads on the opening day of the match. The home side was sitting comfortably on 267 for 3 with centurion Alastair Cook still on the crease, but the visitors came back strongly on the second morning and wrapped up the English innings in 35 overs, claiming their remaining 7 wickets for 118 runs.
“I know people were questioning us after the first day and wondering if we could take 20 wickets. But we really didn't think we had bowled badly and, crucially, hadn't let England get away,” Steyn said.
“We just vowed to stick to the same plans on day two when we got that little bit of luck with overhead conditions,” the Proteas star bowler said.
Tags: