He hasn’t been involved in a match since the Boxing Day Test against England, but that’s about to change for Proteas pace spearhead Dale Steyn.
After two months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, Steyn will make his comeback to the cricket field on Saturday for Western Province Cricket Club.
The clubcricket.co.za website quoted Steyn’s agent, Dave Rundle, on Tuesday confirming that Steyn will turn out for WPCC against St Augustine in a WP Cricket Association Premier League clash at WPCC’s home ground at Avenue de Mist in Rondebosch.
WPCC tweeted: “We look forward to welcoming @DaleSteyn62 to #MyWPCC on Saturday as he works his way back from injury.”
Steyn will only play in the first day of the two-day fixture as he will return to the Proteas T20 set-up next week ahead of the three-match series against Australia, which is the final tune-up for the ICC World T20 taking place in India next month.
Proteas selection convenor Linda Zondi has stated that Steyn needs to prove his fitness against Australia to be ready for the World T20.
Independent Media witnessed Steyn bowling at good pace in the Newlands nets prior to last Friday’s T20 against England, gradually building up steam on Wednesday and Thursday.
The 32-year-old would want to play a big role in the ICC tournament following the heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup semi-final last year, when Grant Elliott hit him for six to win the game.
Steyn, though, will have a tough task breaking into the best XI following the excellent displays by the four-pronged pace attack of Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Chris Morris and David Wiese in limited-overs cricket against England.
Rabada is likely to be given a break against Australia after a long summer. This will give Steyn much-needed game time. But if Steyn is back to his best, one of the bowling all-rounders in Morris and Wiese may have to lose out at the World T20.
Morris has been outstanding with the bat at the end of the innings, but his bowling has been inconsistent. Backing up Rabada and Abbott is one of the few areas that the Proteas can improve on in the T20 game. “We will look to rotate a few players against Australia, if we can and when we can, to get the whole squad some cricket,” captain Faf du Plessis said after the nine-wicket win over England at the Wanderers on Sunday.
“It was a great finish with the ball, but we weren’t as good as we could’ve been from overs 13 to 16 (when they conceded 61 runs in four overs).”
@IndyCapeSport