In between bouts with Australia, South Africa’s pace spearhead has been wrestling wild animals and learning to talk a good game
Interview by Alex Brown16-Feb-2009
Dale Steyn has Australia in his sights again and is raring to go © Getty Images
Dale Steyn has taken much from Australia of late. A home Test series, a No. 1one-day international ranking and no small amount of pride were among thenon-declarable, though immensely valuable, items the South Africa fast bowler cartedthrough Customs last month on his return flight across the Indian Ocean.And he has not stopped there. Not content with raiding the nation’s trophycabinets, Steyn has taken to an extreme a pursuit popularised by the lateSteve Irwin and identified by the world (well, Americans) as iconicallyAustralian. Allow him to explain.”I caught a croc,” Steyn said. “He was a little, naïve one and he went forthe [fishing] lure. We rolled him in the boat and made a video of it. It wasfantastic.”As if Steyn had not established a fearsome enough reputation with his150-plus kph thunderbolts, he can now count himself among the few, the mad,to have earned the tag of “crocodile hunter”. The encounter with the hostilereptile occurred last week on a fishing expedition near the Zimbabweanborder, not far from the Limpopo town of Giyani, during a break between Testseries against Australia.The fishing-cum-wrestling exercise, Steyn said, had revitalised body andmind ahead of the return clash with Ricky Ponting’s men.”There were no phones, no hassles,” he said. “It was the perfect thing toclear your mind. I haven’t bowled a ball since Adelaide, so I’ve now had abit of time to reflect on our achievement. But the series starts all overagain now. We have achieved great things, but to perform well against one ofthe best teams in the world on our own soil would be one of my careerhighlights.”That highlight reel has expanded immensely in recent months. Steyn’s 18wickets at 26.16, including a 10-wicket haul in the series-clinchingMelbourne Test, helped South Africa break a near-century-old hoodoo todefeat Australia on their own soil. Those efforts rounded out a 2008campaign in which Steyn claimed a world-best 74 wickets at 20.01 in 13Tests across five countries. Performances do not come more virtuoso.Steyn’s efforts in Australia have clearly imbued him with confidence. Thelingering questions concerning his temperament after a difficult trip toEngland were largely dispelled, and the responsibility he shouldered throughoutthe tour of Australia – particularly deep into the limited overs series,when fatigue and injuries were taking effect on the side – has convinced aonce dubious South African public that he is the man to lead the attack whenthe indefatigable Makhaya Ntini finally hangs up the spikes.To speak to Steyn before the series in Australia was to encounter anunderstated man with a quiet, firm self-belief. Though still short ofchest-beating, Steyn nonetheless discusses personal and collectiveachievements with noticeably more bravado. If not yet fluent in championese,he is certainly conversational.”In the last few years, people have compared our attack with others in thepast, but hopefully one day people will use our attack as a benchmark,” hesaid. “We have developed a really good partnership. You will see that one ofus is always standing at mid-off or mid-on when another quick is operating.We know each other’s strengths, plans and what spurs them on. It is a verygood partnership. Though still short ofchest-beating, Steyn nonetheless discusses personal and collectiveachievements with noticeably more bravado. If not yet fluent in championese,he is certainly conversational “The one thing that is really noticeable about our group is the belief thathas crept in. We now have the belief that we can dominate games rather thanjust sitting back and waiting for things to happen. We know that we can graba game by the scruff of the neck and make it ours. If you look at that lastseries, we won nearly all of the key moments. If we can do that again, I’mconfident we will go on to win the series at home.”On paper, Australia will field a far weaker side at the Wanderers than the one thatturned out at the WACA Ground in December. The retirement of MatthewHayden, injury to Brett Lee and ongoing issues of Andrew Symonds will ensuretremendous pressure is heaped upon the young shoulders of Phillip Hughes,Doug Bollinger and Andrew McDonald. Indeed, four uncapped players will boardthe Australian team flight to South Africa on Monday, along with four otherplayers who have a combined 10 Tests’ experience. Hardly an encouraging statfor a team desperate to defend its No. 1 Test ranking.Steyn, unsurprisingly, fancies South Africa’s chances in familiar climes, andagainst a revamped Australian side yet to forge its identity. His duel withHughes, the free-scoring and highly rated rookie opener from NSW, will proveparticularly intriguing, and Steyn has wasted little time in testing the youngster’s mettle.”We don’t need to put pressure on him,” Steyn said, opening the psychological skirmishes ahead of the series. “I think trying to replace Matthew Hayden and fill those massive shoes will place enough weight on his shoulders. I wish him the best for his career, and obviously if Australia believe he is good enough to play international cricket, then he has our respect. But I guess we’ll find out what he is made of in the next month or so. I will not be going out there trying to break him down verbally. We’ll just stick to our gameplans and try and apply pressure that way.”
