Steyn’s absence a sore point, but to risk him would be costly
THE concern over the fitness of the Proteas’ premier fast bowler has reached a point where the team management has decided to get reinforcements. Marchant de Lange is on his way from South Africa to join Kyle Abbott as the second SOS test squad member over the last week.
While the rest of the team sat through four days of nothing but frustration at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium waiting for the sun to shine, Dale Steyn has been enduring even more frustration on the treatment table.
His groin strain of Mohali has refused to heal, and he has now endured two weeks of intensive rehabilitation with physio Brandon Jackson. Steyn broke down on the second day of the first test in Mohali, on November 6.
At the time, the decision was taken to not risk him aggravating it, with an eye on the second test in Bangalore. There was hope that Steyn, the world’s top-ranked test bowler, would bounce back and look to help South Africa do the same in the series.
Alas, Bangalore has now come and gone and the speedster is still not fixed. The nature of the injury is such that he simply cannot be risked, not with the itinerary that lies ahead for the Proteas this summer.
While the two test matches that remain in the series against India are of vital importance to Hashim Amla’s charges, and Steyn is central to all they do, the risk is too much for him to go into a contest less than 100 percent. He was only rated as 60-40 on the eve of the Bangalore test, and the next few days ahead of the Nagpur outing will have plenty of work with “Jacko” for Steyn.
De Lange, who has only played two tests in his injury-plagued career, has rediscovered the pace that saw him burst onto the scene in international cricket, with a seven-wicket haul against Sri Lanka.
He certainly has pace, but the tourists do not lack for that. All of Morné Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Abbott can nudge past the 140km speed mark regularly, but the South African team will be looking for more.
On largely unresponsive tracks, pace alone won’t budge India, who have reached a point in the series where they could start looking at protecting what they already have – certainly with the bat – instead of chasing the game. That will put the onus on South Africa striking up front, before the spinners are introduced. De Lange is the backup and will give the Proteas and coach Russell Domingo another option.
But the recovery of Steyn remains South Africa’s biggest priority ahead of the third test.