South Africa’s Dale Steyn To Miss England ODI Series
May 14, 2017 at 11:06 PM
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn will miss the Proteas’ upcoming tour of England, as he continues his recovery from a shoulder surgery.
The 33-year old right-arm pacer, who is just five wickets away from overtaking Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker, has remained on the sidelines since breaking a bone in his right shoulder during the Perth Test against Australia last November.
He was expected to play in two four-day games for South Africa A to prove his fitness ahead of the squad announcement for the four-match Test series against England starting on July 6 but he has now decided to give the matches a miss, as he is still recovering from the injury.
“My recovery is going well but it is taking a little longer than I expected it to. I am able to do a lot of things, like running, hiking and gym work, but bowling is not one of them, and I won’t be ready in time,” Steyn said at the CSA Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday (May 13).
He was initially expected to return to action six months after suffering the injury which would have seen him playing the series against the Three Lions.
But with his comeback was not going according to the plan, as Steyn is now targeting the home series against Bangladesh in September-October to make a comeback. He also joked about the possibility of him playing in the English county.
“We have to understand that fast bowling is not something normal people do, so it’s going to take time. Normal people do things mostly below the shoulder line; it’s unusual to have something above the line except for things like bowling and tennis. I just have to be patient,” Steyn said.
“Obviously, one of the reasons for me playing with the A side was so that I could get some match fitness before the Tests. So, before that Bangladesh series, I will need to play a bit. In a way it could be quite funny – South Africa will be playing a Test series in England and maybe at some ground down the road, Dale Steyn will be playing for another team,” he added.
South Africa’s series in England starts with a three-match ODI series from May 24 before the series will be stopped for the ICC Champions Trophy.
After the tournament, which concludes on June 18, both the teams will resume their rivalries with a three-match T20I series before locking horns in the four-match Test series.