Against Australia in the recent five-match ODI series in South Africa, Proteas pace sensation Dale Steyn made a comeback to the ODI format. The speed gun was apparently rested for the tri-series in the Caribbean, as other pacers in the form of Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell were given a go ahead of him. In the meantime, Steyn spent some valuable time, plying his trade in franchise based T20 leagues, in order to strike form.
The ODI series wasn’t an extraordinary one for Steyn, as he was expensive and even dropped for the 4th ODI. In the third ODI at Durban, Steyn went on to concede 96 runs in his spell. According to Australian opener David Warner, however, Steyn is still a world class bowler and could challenge the Kangaroos in the upcoming test series between the two sides Down Under.
“You’ve always got to respect Dale,” Warner said to the press after the fifth ODI. “World-class bowler, great athlete, always charges in and you just never want to upset him.”That’s something I learned fast when I first made my international debut.”
Recalling Steyn’s magic in the Port Elizabeth test of 2014, Warner said, “He’s a guy that can really get on top, and we’ve seen it before here in the Test series when the ball was reversing in PE. “He has this spark in him and this spell in him, and you’ve got to get through that. “And you’ve got to really work hard to try and negate what he throws at you,” Warner added.
South African skipper Faf du Plessis went on say that Steyn was still the side’s number one test bowler. “In one-day cricket it’s going to happen as you saw tonight, he would be the first to say he didn’t bowl at his best.”But in Test cricket, it’s about consistency and making sure you can bowl an area for a long period of time. “So when Dale gets that red ball in his hand he’s just a different bowler. “He’s 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,” du Plessis said.