Steyn on way home and firing
by Telford Vice
2016-07-22 05:00:00.0
"MY LAST game for Jamaica tonight‚" Dale Steyn tweeted. "Come down and scream your heads off at Sabina Park!"
The fans did‚ and Steyn rewarded them with a haul of 4/27 to bowl the Jamaica Tallawahs to victory over Barbados Tridents.
Steyn duelled lustily. He was hit for two sixes and two fours but took all his wickets in 19 balls‚ removing Kieron Pollard and David Wiese three deliveries apart.
That‚ as well as a stand of 127 between Chadwick Walton and Kumar Sangakkara‚ sealed Jamaica’s place in the semifinals.
Wednesday’s performance was Steyn’s best in the 2016 Caribbean Premier League and put him one scalp behind Sohail Tanvir as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. In 25.5 overs Steyn took 12 wickets at an average of 14.66.
By the sometimes soft standards of events such as the Caribbean Premier League that might not mean much. But the sticks of Martin Guptill‚ Dwayne Bravo‚ Colin Munro and Carlos Brathwaite were part of Steyn’s bundle.
So why was this his last game for the franchise? Because his contractual obligations to Cricket SA demand his attendance at the organisation’s awards dinner in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Call it boardroom bumptiousness or suitorial stupidity‚ or more evidence that those who think they are in control are not going to be able to take their much-needed reality check with their heads stuck so far down in the sand. Whatever. South Africans will not complain that Steyn is on his way home in one piece and‚ apparently‚ firing like he has not done for months.
They will hope the injuries that took him out of the equation for most of SA’s Test series against India and England are unhappy memories rather than signs of things to come for a bowler who‚ at 33 years, the last dozen of them spent roaring in like a man possessed by his own gift‚ cannot have much time left at the top.
"When I started bowling quickly and someone saw me bowl fast‚ they said‚ ‘oh‚ you bowl fast? Never stop bowling fast’‚" Steyn said.
READ THIS: SA’s Caribbean cruise ends ingloriously
But he has learnt a few things in the fast lane. "Cricket has taught me many lessons and they’re all relevant to different stages of life. Right now patience is the one thing cricket is teaching me‚ and that’s relevant to my life right now."
New Zealand will play two Tests in SA in August‚ the first engagement in a programme of 15 Tests‚ up to 24 one-day internationals and seven Twenty20s against Ireland‚ Australia‚ Sri Lanka‚ England‚ Pakistan and India — and whoever SA play if they reach the Champions Trophy knockout rounds — that stretches to next August.
Steyn will not play all of those games‚ even if he is in better physical shape than he has been at any stage of his career. But‚ as has been the case for most of his career‚ if he stays fit he will be relied on to win more than his fair share of them.
Patience‚ then‚ will be more than a virtue for him and those urging him on. Instead‚ it will be vital.
TMG Digital
Dale Steyn. Picture: REUTERS/STEVE CHRISTO
"MY LAST game for Jamaica tonight‚" Dale Steyn tweeted. "Come down and scream your heads off at Sabina Park!"
The fans did‚ and Steyn rewarded them with a haul of 4/27 to bowl the Jamaica Tallawahs to victory over Barbados Tridents.
Steyn duelled lustily. He was hit for two sixes and two fours but took all his wickets in 19 balls‚ removing Kieron Pollard and David Wiese three deliveries apart.
That‚ as well as a stand of 127 between Chadwick Walton and Kumar Sangakkara‚ sealed Jamaica’s place in the semifinals.
Wednesday’s performance was Steyn’s best in the 2016 Caribbean Premier League and put him one scalp behind Sohail Tanvir as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. In 25.5 overs Steyn took 12 wickets at an average of 14.66.
By the sometimes soft standards of events such as the Caribbean Premier League that might not mean much. But the sticks of Martin Guptill‚ Dwayne Bravo‚ Colin Munro and Carlos Brathwaite were part of Steyn’s bundle.
So why was this his last game for the franchise? Because his contractual obligations to Cricket SA demand his attendance at the organisation’s awards dinner in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Call it boardroom bumptiousness or suitorial stupidity‚ or more evidence that those who think they are in control are not going to be able to take their much-needed reality check with their heads stuck so far down in the sand. Whatever. South Africans will not complain that Steyn is on his way home in one piece and‚ apparently‚ firing like he has not done for months.
They will hope the injuries that took him out of the equation for most of SA’s Test series against India and England are unhappy memories rather than signs of things to come for a bowler who‚ at 33 years, the last dozen of them spent roaring in like a man possessed by his own gift‚ cannot have much time left at the top.
"When I started bowling quickly and someone saw me bowl fast‚ they said‚ ‘oh‚ you bowl fast? Never stop bowling fast’‚" Steyn said.
READ THIS: SA’s Caribbean cruise ends ingloriously
But he has learnt a few things in the fast lane. "Cricket has taught me many lessons and they’re all relevant to different stages of life. Right now patience is the one thing cricket is teaching me‚ and that’s relevant to my life right now."
New Zealand will play two Tests in SA in August‚ the first engagement in a programme of 15 Tests‚ up to 24 one-day internationals and seven Twenty20s against Ireland‚ Australia‚ Sri Lanka‚ England‚ Pakistan and India — and whoever SA play if they reach the Champions Trophy knockout rounds — that stretches to next August.
Steyn will not play all of those games‚ even if he is in better physical shape than he has been at any stage of his career. But‚ as has been the case for most of his career‚ if he stays fit he will be relied on to win more than his fair share of them.
Patience‚ then‚ will be more than a virtue for him and those urging him on. Instead‚ it will be vital.
TMG Digital
