• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

All hail Dale Steyn

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
A top class bowler and one, who if he remains injury free, I believe will be the world's best over the next decade. His outswingers are just wonderful to watch, and at a handy speed too. I can't really comment as to whether Lee is a better bowler than him, as I haven't seen any of Lee's bowling this summer. But given that Lee has a 7 year head start in terms of refining his game, Steyn's efforts still come off as being pretty impressive by comparison.
 

Termanati

Cricket Spectator
I don't necessarily disagree with Steyn being in better form but the below is simplistic;



All pretty ordinary batting line-ups right now, at home or away. Their records in the last 5 years prove it. When was the last time any of them won a series on the back of their batting against even a mid-table team?



In one Test played on a very advantageous deck where Ntini took the big wickets and Steyn cleaned up the tail (which he did well, let's not take too much away from him). He bowled okay in the first Test after an ordinary start, though. In Australia, there were nothing but pancake flat decks all summer and Lee was at the very least threatening on each of them. He took a bundle of wickets, yes, but he didn't take them in hauls of 6 or 7; he spread them out over the whole summer. Every time he had the ball in hand, he was a handful to face against a batting line-up which had an in-form Tendulkar, Ganguly (before that series) and Laxman on pitches which absolutely suited them.



So you didn't see Lee bowl then? Was far from straight up-and-down. Johnson was a bit samey at times but Lee, far from it.



You say Those batting attacks arnt that great right now...

Well..I hate to inform you, but ive just listed Pretty much every current major side bar Sri lanka.... THese are hte teams, other bowlers are being measured against as well...

Your arguing hes taking apart bad teams, thats why he isnt better than lee or whoever... yet, these are the only sides he has been able to play against, and those sides are the same every other bowler gets to bowl to as well... really..where your logic to that?

This isnt the nhl..or nba where theres like, 30 teams to play against... this is international cricket, If i list 4 or 5 teams... thats pretty much, the top 5 teams to play against..

And you say "apart from the first innings blabla" right.. apart from this or that or this..you can say that about any player.

And dont tell me your trying to compare hte way lee bends the ball to the way Steyn does??

Lee has lately found a bit of movemnt, but it nowhere near compares to steyn.
Lee's advantage, is hes faster, bowling on aussie quick decks.And none of htem were remotely as flat as the first test.

Also, south africas pitches arnt what they used to be, they are still faster than the subcontinent, and maby england.. but htey are alot slower now days. Its not like steyn is getting green tops in south africa. The 2nd test had more movement than all the tests in SA combined last year.
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Not arguing against your post here, but tbf the wickets Lee bowled on v India this summer were very, very flat. The WACA was a massive disappointment, Melbourne's drop in pitches have removed all character from the decks there, Sydney was Sydney and Adelaide was a snooze fest from day 1.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Steyn wasnt good when he started his career?? Damn... He was a 20 year old, pulled out of first class cricket after something like 7 games... He hadnt even grown into his body...
Was 21 TBH, but quite - few 21-year-olds are or would be up to international cricket. It was bad selection to pick him, and if he goes on to be a phenominal bowler for the next 10 years anyone with any sense will completely disregard those games when assessing him. But this doesn't mean he wasn't below-par.
And he was the most threatening bowler in that SA england series.... Sure he bowled some wayward deliveries... but HIs Deliveries to vaughn, The first time he got his patented off stump cartwheeling delivery, was identical to dravid...
There's no way he was the most threatening bowler that series. He bowled the best ball of it, beyond question, the Vaughan outswinger. And the ball that dismissed Trescothick in the First Test was a good one too. But there's no disputing that had Andre Nel - or, given he wasn't fit, someone like David Terbrugge or Charl Willoughby - played in that series, SA's chances would've been better.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Strauss = walking advert for the old maxim "Never muck around with good form". Coming into the Ashes summer hee last year, he was in spanking form - looked a million bucks. Gets to Brisbane, 2 poor pull shots, then the demons came in from there on in. Was remarkable watching it happen at the time.
The thing is, the problems didn't start in The Ashes 2006/07. His form was very poor in India at the start of 2006, with the same problems over and again, and they continued in the next series at home to Sri Lanka in summer 2006. He got off the hook against Pakistan's third-string bowling-attack (frankly if you can't score runs off the likes of Mohammad Sami and Abdur Razzaq you need a big reality-check) but then after The Ashes couldn't even cash-in against a possibly even worse West Indies one. It's always the same, too - driving in the air on the off, something he hardly did any of in 2004 or 2005.
Add to the fact that he wasn't, but should of been captain.
Don't believe that made any difference whatsoever TBH. In fact I wish he'd never got the captaincy for the Pakistan series ITFP, because then we'd never have this whole sorry supposition that not getting the captaincy was some form of mortal blow.
 

Top