CAPE TOWN – English county Hampshire confirmed on Friday that Dale Steyn will be joining them in June for a “training programme” to get him ready for the Proteas tour of Sri Lanka.
Steyn announced on SuperSport TV during the final Test against Australia at the Wanderers that he was going to continue his comeback with Hampshire, and the county spelled out the terms of the deal in a statement on Friday.
The 34-year-old paceman will train with Hampshire, and then play in a 50-over match against Somerset and a four-day County Championship clash against Surrey in June.
That will be as a replacement for Hashim Amla, who will play for Hampshire for the first three months of the season.
But Hampshire hopes to have Steyn returning to the Rose Bowl towards the end of the season once the Proteas tour ends on August 14.
South Africa will begin their trip with two Tests (July 12 in Galle and July 20 in Colombo), before playing in five ODIs and a lone T20 international.
Steyn needs just two more wickets to surpass Shaun Pollock’s SA record of 421 in Test cricket, and will hope to get back on to the field for his country against the Sri Lankans.
Despite having been out of action since the Newlands Test against India in January, Steyn is highly rated by Proteas coach Ottis Gibson, and with Morné Morkel having retired, the experienced paceman will compete with Lungi Ngidi for the third spot behind Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
“Dale is one of the best bowlers in the world and is extremely motivated to get going after a frustrating period on the sidelines. It seems a great fit for both parties – we hope that we can help him get back to his best and we look forward to welcoming him to Hampshire,” said director of cricket Giles White.