Steyn’s refined bowling style could do the trick

THE Proteas, having observed a weekend of calm and Eid festivities, are back to work this morning, as they look to rediscover their touch in time for tomorrow’s opening Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

A key part of the Proteas’ gameplan will be based around being patient on tracks that will offer precious little for the famed trio of pacemen. Dale Steyn, Mornè Morkel and Vernon Philander have taken wickets the world over, but they are usually at their best on pitches with a tinge of green. They won’t find any of that nonsense in Chittagong, but the increasingly wily Steyn will be looking to his third and fourth spells as perhaps more important than his new ball stints on the sub-continent.

Over the last few years, Steyn has developed a potent ability to reverse swing the ball late, often bowling with greater pace as the ball jags back perilously. In many ways, Steyn will hold the key for a South African attack that will need to strike in clusters, if they are to uproot their stubborn hosts.

The last time Steyn played at the at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdury Sta- dium, way back in 2008 , he made hay. He helped himself to seven wickets in that contest, mixing pace with that eternal ingredient on slow pitches; patience.

For many people, South Africa’s premier fast bowler has been a little off colour in his recent appearances for the Proteas. Indeed, the World Cup was a serious disappointment by his own considerable standards. Now, at 32, he is no longer obsessed with bowling faster than the speed of light, and has instead honed himself into a predator who thrives on opportunity.

Significantly, Steyn is just four vic- tims away from the exclusive 400 club in Test cricket, a sure sign of both longevity and an enduring standard of excellence. Tellingly, only Shaun Pollock has passed that mark for South Africa.It is a serious slice of history, then, and though Steyn insists that numbers and records mean little to him when stacked up against the team’s fortunes, every bowler knows his numbers.

It’s the least that he deserves, having carried the torch for his pace pack for the last decade. Of course, Steyn may well have preferred to do it a little closer to home.