Can Dale Steyn become the fastest bowler to 300 Test wickets?

[centurymaker]

Originally Posted by Jacknife

I read comments during the entire england v india series.
While they seemed to know alot about their team (england)...most of them didn't regard steyn as a stand-out bowler. **** i'm not ****-****ing. I can tell you the comments there were of MUCH higher quality than you see on cricinfo.
(100+ comments per day)

Mcgrath was a no trick pony and look at his figures!!! I feel the most important skill is accuracy, which is something steyn has improved on quite a lot in tests.

yeah he's coming back from an injury so will be interesting to see whether he's able to bowl as well as before his injury.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by Himannv

Somehow I doubt that. The few good fast bowlers they've had have always been ranked behind their batsmen.

Steyn's better than any out and out fast bowler we've ever had though.

Unchartered territory. You can't say for sure.

[weldone]

Originally Posted by stephen

If Steyn was an Indian he'd be seen as the second holiest man behind Tendulkar.

Agreed. What if Steyn moved to England with Pietersen and gang?..

[centurymaker]

Originally Posted by Himannv

Somehow I doubt that. The few good fast bowlers they've had have always been ranked behind their batsmen.

good is the key word

steyn would be by far the best indian bowler ever.
he is an ATG in the making. touch wood.

[Himannv]

Originally Posted by Jono

Steyn's better than any out and out fast bowler we've ever had though.

Unchartered territory. You can't say for sure.

I dont know, Kapil and Zaheer are much better than people give them credit for. I'd agree that Steyn is better than them but not exactly by a country mile, yet Zaheer in particular is hardly spoken about in the same breath as Tendulkar, Sehwag, VVS, Dravid and even MS Dhoni up until the last series in England. I suppose I'm generalizing.

[Jono]

Laxman doesn't really get God-like status. Hell until recently he would save our arse, be praised, and then be at risk of being dropped a few series later.

Even Dravid cops **** from Indian fans.

Kapil is held in higher regard by your average Indian fan than Dravid (for those that have seen both), and he was an allrounder.

I agree that Dhoni and Sehwag are sort of God-like in their status, but with Dhoni it goes beyond his batting and into his looks, youth etc.

Steyn would be held in a similar esteem to Kapil.

[centurymaker]

steyn >> Zaheer

what are you saying?

zaheer is much slower, swings less, is never 100% fit.

[G.I.Joe]

Originally Posted by Himannv

I dont know, Kapil and Zaheer are much better than people give them credit for. I'd agree that Steyn is better than them but not exactly by a country mile, yet Zaheer in particular is hardly spoken about in the same breath as Tendulkar, Sehwag, VVS, Dravid and even MS Dhoni up until the last series in England. I suppose I'm generalizing.

Zaheer will never be spoken of in the same breath as the rest. He can't expect to strut around with naught but 4 decent seasons in the bank. He doesn't have the longevity of the batsmen, or the unparalleled success that Dhoni's enjoyed as captain.

[Outswinger@Pace]

Originally Posted by centurymaker

steyn >> Zaheer

what are you saying?

zaheer is much slower, swings less, is never 100% fit.

Nothing wrong with your other points, but the part I have bolded isn't something I can agree with. Zaheer swings the new ball both ways (Steyn doesn't have a natural new ball inswinger) and he reverse swings it more than Steyn.

That and Zaheer's use of the crease angles (being a left-hander adds a dimension) are perhaps the only aspects where he stands above Steyn as a pace bowler. All things considered, Steyn is a few leagues ahead but the difference between the two is not as enormous as some people on these forums (not aimed at you) seem to think.

[Sanz]

Originally Posted by Jono

Laxman doesn't really get God-like status. Hell until recently he would save our arse, be praised, and then be at risk of being dropped a few series later.

Even Dravid cops **** from Indian fans.

Kapil is held in higher regard by your average Indian fan than Dravid (for those that have seen both), and he was an allrounder.

I agree that Dhoni and Sehwag are sort of God-like in their status, but with Dhoni it goes beyond his batting and into his looks, youth etc.

Steyn would be held in a similar esteem to Kapil.

If Kapil were to play in the Dravid/Tendulkar Era, do you think he would he would get any less love from fans ?

[Jono]

I don't think so. In fact, he'd arguably get more as he could very well have been captain, and with the increased media coverage, advertisements and sponsorships, he'd be right up there.

All speculation though. But being an allrounder is a huge benefit. Especially one who could hit sixes!

[Sanz]

He could still teach a thing or two about fitness to our current generation players.

[Xuhaib]

yeah strange to hear Kapil is not revered in India like their great batsman thought he was the poster boy in the 80's along with Sunil.

[weldone]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

yeah strange to hear Kapil is not revered in India like their great batsman thought he was the poster boy in the 80's along with Sunil.

As far as I know, Kapil was more popular in India than Sunil after the 1983 World Cup win.

There were many who didn't like Sunil for his slow batting in ODIs...The name Gadha-vaskar was popular in Kolkata after Sunil's famous 36* ('Gadha' means donkey in Bengali)...

[centurymaker]

Originally Posted by Jacknife

Where do you get this from and how do you know how people rate Steyn in England, seems a bit of a crazy generalization you've made there.
I personally believe that any fan and follower of test cricket in England knows how good Steyn is, the only people who may not are those who are more casual watches of the game but you could say that about any player if they're not your own.

Originally Posted by Cabinet96

The Cricketer magazine in England claimed, in this months issue, that James Anderson is the best test bowler in the world. Don't know what right they have to say that. If he was top of the rankings then fine, if they said it was in their opinion it would be fine but they stated is a fact when it isn't. They went on about how Anderson averages 23 since the beginning of 2010, well I have news for them Steyn averages better than that since the start of the 2010. The English public and media need to realise that just because they haven't seen somebody bowl as much it doesn't mean they are not as good.

Here's more proof Jacknife!!