Happy Birthday Dale Steyn: A look at his splendid feats
South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn turned 37 on Saturday. The Proteas legend is one of the greatest seamers the world has seen. His brute pace coupled with a prodigious movement across the wicket, made him the most fearsome bowler of modern era, especially with the red ball. Let us have a look at his terrific records in international cricket.
Dale Steyn in international cricket
In a career spanning 16 years, Dale Steyn has served as the linchpin of South African bowling attack across formats. He has snapped up a record 699 wickets from 265 internationals at an incredible average of 23.37. Meanwhile, he is the leading wicket-taker for SA and fifth highest among fast bowlers in Test cricket. Steyn has claimed 439 scalps in 93 Tests at 22.95.
Fastest to 400 Test wickets
In 2015, Steyn added yet another feather to his cap in the longest format. He became the fastest player to take 400 Test wickets, in terms of balls bowled. He took 16,634 balls to reach the landmark, the fewest in Test history. Steyn is also the joint fastest to 400 scalps, along with Sir Richard Hadlee, in terms of matches played.
Best strike-rate in Test cricket
As Steyn retired from Test cricket last year, he finished with a strike-rate of 42.3. This is the best strike-rate for bowlers, who have played a minimum number of 200 Test matches. The likes of Waqar Younis (43.4), Malcolm Marshall (46.7), Allan Donald (47.0), Vernon Philander (48.6), Fred Trueman (49.4), Mitchell Starc (49.9) follow him on the elite list.
Five-wicket hauls against each nation
Steyn is the only fast bowler in the history to have taken five-wicket hauls against nine Test-playing nations (excluding Ireland and Afghanistan). The oppositions include Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Most Test wickets by a visiting bowler in Asia
Steyn owns most number of Test scalps among the visiting bowlers in Asia. He leads the chart with 92 wickets from 22 matches at 24.11. Shane Warne leads the overall tally with 127 wickets, followed by Daniel Vettori (98), Nathan Lyon (95) and Steyn. Notably, Steyn has a lead of a staggering 15 scalps from the fith-ranked Courtney Walsh (77).
