A Steyn of brilliance

They are a dying breed, fast bowlers are. There was a time when batsmen worried as much about their mortality as run scoring when going out to bat in test matches. Run feasts were exceptional and each team worth its salt had at least two pacers who could strike the fear of gallows in the hearts of batters. You had the the whispering death with his cohorts in Marshal and Roberts and the Aussies wielded Thommo and Lillee with disdain. Waqar and Wasim combined to cut short many a budding batting careers. All that was time reminiscent of the fact that there is no better sight in cricket than a fast bowler hurling a leather sphere to a batsman looking like a new recruit accosted with the job of clearing a minefield. How times have changed. The pitches these days around the world (except probably a couple in the southern hemisphere) have become death beds for aspiring fast bowlers. The dust bowls have turned wannabe marauders into dibbly dobbly medium pacers who ply their craft in line and length looking to contain the batsmen rather than knocking them over. Such a travesty.

That is the sole reason why someone like Dale Steyn offers a wisp of fresh air in the midst of the overwhelming smog of the dead pitches and deader rules. He runs in against all odds and makes sure every batsman earns his stripes. He is not looking to wait and choke his adversary and induce a mistake from him. He is looking to get him out with sheer pace and movement. His prodigious out swingers are a treat for all except the one facing him at the other end of the pitch. A streamlined action puts him in a rare league of fit bowlers in times where breakdowns are getting as common as cold. His rewards for bending his back day in and day out are in the league of greats. At 5 wickets a test, an average under 25 and a strike rate of 40, he makes a top ten great list on any criterion you wish to choose. That he has achieved this when the batsmen have everything going for them is testimony to his art and heart. His is a story of a small town boy practicing the toughest of skills and becoming a great hence. There are not many who savor the idea of facing up to him on dead ball subcontinent pitches, let alone a juicy Wanderers. And that to me is stuff of legend. May his tribe increase.