Dale Steyn had a one-day series to forget against Australia, but don’t be fooled by that – he is “just a different breed” in Test cricket.
The Proteas pace spearhead experienced the embarrassment of conceding a South African record of 2/96 in the third ODI at Kingsmead in Durban as Australia piled on 371/6 in their 50 overs.
That took Steyn past Wayne Parnell’s 95 against India at Gwalior in 2010, and placed Steyn in joint-15th on the world list.
The 33-year-old then sat out the fourth game in Port Elizabeth before featuring at Newlands on Wednesday, where things didn’t go his way again as he went for 56 runs without a wicket in 9.2 overs. The first two matches were also a mixed bag as Steyn claimed 2/65 in 10 overs and 1/37 in seven.
But while it wouldn’t have been the kind of return that the “Phalaborwa Express” would’ve wanted before next month’s Test series Down Under, captain Faf du Plessis is adamant that things will change drastically when Steyn lines up in the first match on November 3 at the Waca in Perth.
“I think Dale in Test cricket is just a different breed. In one-day cricket, it’s going to happen – as you saw tonight. KG (Rabada, who has gone for 86 and 84 in his last two innings) as well… He would be the first to say that he didn’t bowl at his best,” Du Plessis said at Newlands after the Proteas wrapped up an historic 5-0 series win.
“But in Test cricket, it’s about consistency and making sure that you can bowl in an area for a long period of time. So when Dale gets that red ball in his hand, he is just a different bowler.
“He is still our number-one bowler in Test cricket, and for us to have a successful tour of Australia, Dale Steyn will be the guy to make or break that for us. He is a huge player in that Test team, so I’m confident that he will have a really good series.”
They say you’re only as good as your last game, and if that adage is applied to Steyn in Test cricket, it makes for impressive reading. He claimed eight wickets in the second Test against New Zealand in Centurion in late August, taking 3/66 in the first innings and 5/33 in 16.2 overs in the second.
After a difficult 2015 marred by injury, that famous away shape was back, and a fair amount of pace too. That gammy right shoulder problem also seems to be a thing of the past, according to Du Plessis, and it could result in a full pace attack at the Waca of Steyn, Rabada, Vernon Philander and the fit-again Morné Morkel.
Shaun Pollock’s SA record of 421 Test wickets in 108 games is also on the horizon for Steyn, who is on 416 after 84 matches.
“His shoulder looks okay… that is obviously going to be the challenge, to make sure that that stays fit and that he can bowl for long periods of time – because Test cricket is not just 10 overs. You need to bowl 18 to 20 overs a day for the next month,” Du Plessis remarked.
“So, we need a fit Dale Steyn. Our bowling attack needs to be fit for us to win a series in Australia.”
The Proteas will depart Johannesburg on Sunday and travel to Adelaide, where the first of two first-class matches – lasting two days each – will be played on October 22-23 at the Adelaide Oval.
October 22-23: Two-day tour match, Adelaide Oval (5.30am, pink ball)
October 27-28: Two-day tour match, Gliderol Stadium, Adelaide (1.30am)
November 3-7: First Test, Waca, Perth (4.30am)
November 12-16: Second Test, Hobart (1.30am)
November 19-20: Two-day tour match, Melbourne (5am, pink ball)
November 24-28: Third Test, Adelaide Oval (5.30am, pink ball)