Steyn will use every bit of energy that’s left in his reserve tank
DURBAN: Dale Steyn must be feeling like he has awoken from a horrific nightmare only to discover that it’s actually the reality he and the rest of his Proteas teammates are faced with.
The last time Steyn formed part of a Proteas Test side – right here in the Kingsmead dressing-room during last year’s Boxing Day Test against England – South Africa were still holders of the world No 1 Test crown and he was the world’s champion fast bowler.
The ICC rubber stamp and golden mace that came with it was something Steyn was particularly proud of.
After all, it was his consistently brilliant performances all around the world that formed the foundation of the success achieved.
Those are all distant memories now though. Steyn enters a Proteas dressing-room that is in an altogether different state and him being displaced atop of the bowling rankings by England seamer James Anderson and Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
All the talk of leaving a legacy has dissipated as the Proteas are now a team that have won just one out of their last 10 Tests and who are dangerously flirting with the lowly No 7 Test ranking.
Not even when Steyn nervously debuted against England 12 years ago were the Proteas ranked so close to the basement dwellers of Test cricket.
He also enters a changeroom that does not boast the calmness of an experienced Test captain surrounded bya core of senior players.
Instead, in the absence of the injured AB de Villiers there’s a temporary man in charge in the form of Faf du Plessis, who will lead a side consisting of a few greenhorns for the first time in a Test when the Proteas engage battle with New Zealand in the first of two matches here on Friday.
Personally Steyn also faces a period of intense scrutiny to ascertain whether at 33 years
I haven’t been around for long enough recently to know the ins and outs (of what’s gone wrong). But I am back in the side and when I put my head down to something I generally mean it and hopefully we can push towards moving back into the top three again, maybe even No 1 again.”
old he remains the irresistible force he once was, after a series of long-term injuries, and if indeed rising star Kagiso Rabada now carries the mantle of being the spearhead of the Proteas attack.
Equally, for how long Steyn will further put his increasing fragile body through the rigours of Test cricket is another cause for trepidation.
However for all the uncertainty surrounding the Proteas, and Steyn in particular at the moment, the one definite is that he is going to call on every bit of energy that’s still left in his reserve tank into helping South Africa climb that rankings ladder pretty soon.
“I haven’t been around for long enough recently to know the ins and outs (of what’s gone wrong). But I am back in the side and when I put my head down to something I generally mean it and hopefully we can push towards moving back into the top three again, maybe even No 1 again,” Steyn said.
“It’s not going to be easy, it’s a hard thing to achieve, but we have the potential in this team. It’s not going to happen tomorrow and we know its going to be a process of two/three years. We can only get the team back there by winning cricket games. People within the team playing good cricket is the key. Unfortunately we miss out on our captain AB, but Faf steps up. We need people to step up.”
It may be a positive omen that Steyn is starting this new journey against the Black Caps. For all the criticism he faced after failing to defend 12 runs in the final over against the Kiwis in the aftermath of ill-fated Auckland World Cup semi-final last year, Steyn has actually been the chief nemesis of New Zealand batsmen when armed with a red ball on previous tours here.
Steyn has bagged 49 Kiwi wickets in seven Tests on home soil, averaging 15.30, in comparison to his overall career average of 22.53.
In tandem with Vernon Philander, who also returns to the Proteas Test side after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, he was particularly venomous three years ago when the Black Caps were last here, claiming 13 wickets at 11.53 with a best haul of 5/17 to win the man-of-the-series award.
The ace fast bowler knows the Kiwis won’t roll over again like they did last time – they were bowled out for 45 in the first innings of the New Year’s Test at Newlands – as they are a much improved team now and for the fact that Friday’s Test will be his first five-day match after a horrid last 12 months.
“I am not interested in records. It would be a record if I can get through a game,” Steyn chirped.
“I want just to play some good, hard cricket. I do like playing against them though. I’ve had personal success. It (the banter) started with the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) already where I nicked off Martin Guptil and he said to me ‘I can’t wait to get to South Africa’ and I was like ‘No, you don’t!’”