Dale Steyn has risked incurring the wrath of England’s players by claiming South Africa are already the world’s No 1 team ahead of their eagerly anticipated Test series.
The fast bowler, who will lead the tourists’ attack at The Oval when the first Test gets under way on Thursday, believes the official ICC rankings, which see England rated two places ahead of the tourists at the top of the table, are wrong.
An update on Saturday saw England’s lead extended to nine points over South Africa, following a sustained run of excellence under captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andrew Flower that has seen them win back-to-back Ashes and seven successive home Test series.
The last time these sides met in 2009-10, England scrapped their way to a 1-1 draw in South Africa, although Graeme Smith’s men got the upper hand when they last visited these shores in 2008, when their 2-1 series win ended with a tearful Michael Vaughan resigning the England captaincy.
A Test series win this time around would see them overtake England at the top of the official rankings and Steyn believes that would not only confirm his belief that his team are superior but would help produce more talent to keep them there.
“I don’t worry about England – that’s why we’re the No1 Test team in my eyes,” said Steyn. We’ve got all the players, we cover all bases, so is there something wrong with me thinking we’re the best team in the world?
“But while we are No 1 in my mind, we need it on paper. Then it would inspire other people back in our country to want to play cricket for the Proteas. That’s where we’re going to find the next Graeme Smith, the next Mark Boucher, the next Jacques Kallis, the next superstar.”
One undisputed ranking is that which puts Steyn, 29, at top of the bowling list. With 272 wickets in 54 Tests at an average of 23.19, he boasts an extraordinary strike rate of a wicket every 40 deliveries.
England currently have three bowlers in the world’s top 10, with Jimmy Anderson the highest ranked in third spot. The world’s two leading fast bowlers have a history of heated onfield exchanges, one of which saw Steyn pin Anderson with a wicked “throat ball” when the Lancashire bowler batted as a nightwatchman in the second Test at Headingley four years ago.
“I remember hitting Jimmy on the head, good things like that,” said Steyn with a beaming grin. “He’s a good bloke, actually, not a bad guy. It’s what’s in you. Once I step over that white line I become the bowler.
“When I’m sitting down here, I’m obviously another guy. I probably wouldn’t be saying the same things if you interviewed me out in the middle after I’d taken a wicket. There would be a couple more beeps in it! I think that’s what happens when guys walk across the line – they become warriors, fighters. When they’re sitting around the table they have to say nicer things.”
Both Anderson and Steyn have risked raps over the knuckles from the authorities for their habit of verbally engaging batsmen in the middle, but the South African insists it is an important part of his armoury.
“I don’t think I try to say too much,” added Steyn. “I try to let the ball do most of the talking. But I’m a fast bowler and that brings a responsibility of saying a word or two and sometimes getting in a guy’s face. It not only sends shivers down the opposition’s spine but it gets your team up and bouncing around. When a captain sees a bowler really getting at a batter, it forces the team to go along with him in the battle.
“Fast bowlers also make things happen when the game has gone quiet. Those are the sort of responsibilities that fall on my shoulders.
“I honestly couldn’t care about what Jimmy says to me. I’m probably going to try to do exactly the same thing. That’s the responsibility of a fast bowler: to get his team motivated and then, obviously, to bowl the opposition out.”
Steyn’s express pace, allied to his superb control and ability to swing the ball away at high speed, have earned him the reputation as the most dangerous fast bowler on the planet, joining an illustrious list of high-class fast men to have emerged from post-apartheid South Africa.
“When I was 13 I always wanted to be part of a world No 1 team,” he said. “And I always wanted to be the No 1 bowler. I always wanted to be the fastest runner around my house with my mate. I wanted to embarrass him, in all honesty, that’s how much I wanted to beat him.
“There’s always room for improvement, you don’t stop learning until you retire. I’ll probably still learn while I’m sitting on the couch watching other guys play. I think there’s a lot more room for improvement. I think I can still add extra pace.
“m not talking about 5km/h quicker, I’m talking about consistently bowling maybe at 150km/h rather than bowling 145 some of the time.”
Alongside Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, ranked fifth and 10th in the world respectively, South Africa possess the only pace attack that can compare with England’s trio of Anderson (3rd), Stuart Broad (6th) and Tim Bresnan (14th).
“In the past I worried a bit more about our bowlers, but then Morne and Vernon started looking after themselves,” Steyn added. “These guys are good enough; I’ve just got to be there when they need me.” – Daily Mail