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Is Dale Steyn the worst ever best fast bowler in the world?

Uppercut

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Something else to note - as I didn't watch the game in question I can't say it's more than a possibility that's occurred to me - is that maybe Steyn has produced the performance of a lifetime at the best possible time. From what everyone's said about that spell it sounds like the sort of thing that might well prove the best spell he ever bowls, and judging by South Africa's first-innings this match would presumably have been one of those pointless bat-athons but for Steyn's spell - seems like he might've turned a certain bore-draw into an easy victory.
Yeah you could be right, but I'd be more convinced had he not bowled similarly superhuman spells in each of his previous two games (one of which, the spell to Colly, was on a similarly lifeless pitch). I think he really is just insanely good at the moment. It's just a matter of how long he can keep it up.
 

Furball

Evil Scotsman
Welcome it in Tests; less so in ODIs. In ODIs consistent accuracy is far more important than the ability to bowl wicket-taking deliveries.
In an attack as a whole yes, however IMO in an ODI side there's always room for a strike bowler like Waqar who might occasionally leak runs but who is also capable of destroying a batting line up.

In ODIs, you only get one chance at batting. If your opening bowler produces a spell of 7-0-37-4 then IMO that's far more useful than 7-3-10-1.
 

Furball

Evil Scotsman
And personally I consider that there is a certain type of fingerspinner which can be very successful in ODIs (those who bowl fast and very flat with a bit of spin), then there's the odd special case (Saqlain and Harbhajan with their Doosras; Vettori with his incredible guile and quick wits) but mostly fingerspinners are not capable of containing top-quality batsmen in ODIs on wickets without significant grip (be that in the form of slowness and\or turn), however accurate they are.
How much of that is to do with captains setting their spinners utterly crap fields though?

Always baffles me when captains stick mid off and mid on back onto the fence, therefore offering an easy single down the ground.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
In an attack as a whole yes, however IMO in an ODI side there's always room for a strike bowler like Waqar who might occasionally leak runs but who is also capable of destroying a batting line up.

In ODIs, you only get one chance at batting. If your opening bowler produces a spell of 7-0-37-4 then IMO that's far more useful than 7-3-10-1.
Of course it is. But such spells are, by nature, rare in ODIs. It's much easier to produce the sort of spell that will return something like 7-10-1 than the sort that will return something like 7-37-4.

Thus by-and-large bowlers like Waqar don't tend to be all that good at ODIs. Because although I did indeed see Waqar bowl several spells of the nature of the latter mentioned above, I also saw him go the distance without looking like taking more than the odd important wicket plenty of times.

Whereas someone like Alan Mullally would produce far more spells which would make an important contribution. I'd much, much rather have five Mullally-style bowlers than five Waqar-style ones. With the latter I'd have more really low scores but also plenty more really biiiiiiig ones. With the former only on rare occasions when batsmen tried extraordinary tactics and they paid-off would my oppo get any scores of great note.

Given the choice of five Mullally-style-ers and three Mullallys and two Waqars, too, I'd have the former every time. For all the occasions the Mullallys would make the Waqar-inspired lows even lower, there'd be plenty of occasions when the Waqars would undo the good work of the Mullallys.

Not to mention the fact that Waqar-style bowlers are very rare. Even for instance Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee tend(ed?) to either get pasted in their opening spells without threatening or take something like 6-19-4. Mostly in ODIs the tools you can use to take wickets also cause you to bowl economically.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
How much of that is to do with captains setting their spinners utterly crap fields though?

Always baffles me when captains stick mid off and mid on back onto the fence, therefore offering an easy single down the ground.
I'd agree that they do it too often but if the bowler in question is a standard fingerspinner and the pitch is one with decent pace and bounce and no real turn then the batsman can easily use his feet and take the attack to said spinner if the field's up. Standard fingerspinners don't have the repetoire to contain to either deep-set or close-set fields.

It infuriates me more when captains do said to good accurate seam bowlers (not that all that many of them get picked at the current time anyway). Such a criminal waste.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
Yeah you could be right, but I'd be more convinced had he not bowled similarly superhuman spells in each of his previous two games (one of which, the spell to Colly, was on a similarly lifeless pitch). I think he really is just insanely good at the moment. It's just a matter of how long he can keep it up.
That last sentence is really what worries me, the last thing I want is him becoming blown out by an injury that would result in drastic changes in action etc and him losing his effectiveness.

Oh good lord, I don't mind you taking away our No.1 rankings as long as I can live to see this guy taking 500 wickets @ 24.
 

Furball

Evil Scotsman
Of course it is. But such spells are, by nature, rare in ODIs. It's much easier to produce the sort of spell that will return something like 7-10-1 than the sort that will return something like 7-37-4.

Thus by-and-large bowlers like Waqar don't tend to be all that good at ODIs. Because although I did indeed see Waqar bowl several spells of the nature of the latter mentioned above, I also saw him go the distance without looking like taking more than the odd important wicket plenty of times.

Whereas someone like Alan Mullally would produce far more spells which would make an important contribution. I'd much, much rather have five Mullally-style bowlers than five Waqar-style ones. With the latter I'd have more really low scores but also plenty more really biiiiiiig ones. With the former only on rare occasions when batsmen tried extraordinary tactics and they paid-off would my oppo get any scores of great note.

Given the choice of five Mullally-style-ers and three Mullallys and two Waqars, too, I'd have the former every time. For all the occasions the Mullallys would make the Waqar-inspired lows even lower, there'd be plenty of occasions when the Waqars would undo the good work of the Mullallys.

Not to mention the fact that Waqar-style bowlers are very rare. Even for instance Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee tend(ed?) to either get pasted in their opening spells without threatening or take something like 6-19-4. Mostly in ODIs the tools you can use to take wickets also cause you to bowl economically.
I'm not questioning your logic, just stating that IMO, if you've got a good economical attack, you can afford one loose cannon.
 

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
Something else to note - as I didn't watch the game in question I can't say it's more than a possibility that's occurred to me - is that maybe Steyn has produced the performance of a lifetime at the best possible time. From what everyone's said about that spell it sounds like the sort of thing that might well prove the best spell he ever bowls, and judging by South Africa's first-innings this match would presumably have been one of those pointless bat-athons but for Steyn's spell - seems like he might've turned a certain bore-draw into an easy victory.
I watched the game and i personally feel that, given the conditions of the pitch and the good form of Indian batsmen he probably did bowl the spell of his life ....to get the ball move of the pitch the way he did simply sets the bar very high for all the bowlers who cry about dead pitches in subcontinent...Steyn pretty much showed that their is always something in the pitch for the fast bowlers....Its almost like, the subcontinental bowlers give up before even the game starts after hearing its a "flat track".....Even the balls that Sehwag smacked to cover region were only flawed in their length, they were still moving and had a good line....

Moreover, the most impressive scene was where he used the good old crease....coming wide of the crease and bring that ball right in (Tendulkar inside edged it too)....

To sum it up, i think it was good old test bowling with keeping the basics right...and just shows to me that no matter how flat the deck...if you have the steam and the "fuel in the tank" then you can take apart the side.....

You should watch the highlights.....
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
I'm not questioning your logic, just stating that IMO, if you've got a good economical attack, you can afford one loose cannon.
In terms of you're probably going to manage to keep your oppo to a manageable total, yeah - because the chances are your attack is better than theirs.

As I've said before, South Africa against Bangladesh could afford to pick someone to bat eleven, not bowl and just field for an entire match, because they'd almost certainly still win by miles. What you can afford and what absolutely maximises your calibre, however, are different things.
 

GuyFromLancs

State Vice-Captain
huh: Accurate bowling is contrived? :huh:
No, ODIs are contrived as you well know. I enjoy them greatly sometimes, but in small doses.


And obviously boredom is in the eye of the beholder, but personally there's nothing I find more fascinating in a limited-overs game of reasonable length (ie, ideally 60 - but in this day-and-age we have to settle for 50 - overs) than some really good accurate medium-fast\fast-medium bowling with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps and the field voluntarily mostly up (with the option to drop certain men back at strategic points) and batsmen trying to find ways to score. Far, far better than seeing wayward stuff smashed all over the place during the field-restrictions or average part-timers being milked for easy singles with the field back
.

All I am saying is the nature of ODI cricket allows for fairly untalented bowlers to look good. Collingwood, Yurav, Gayle etc. If you find limited overs cricket more fascinating than a world class bowler going to head to head with a world class batsman in a test match, actually trying to get him out, then.............well I don't know


And personally I consider that there is a certain type of fingerspinner which can be very successful in ODIs (those who bowl fast and very flat with a bit of spin), then there's the odd special case (Saqlain and Harbhajan with their Doosras; Vettori with his incredible guile and quick wits) but mostly fingerspinners are not capable of containing top-quality batsmen in ODIs on wickets without significant grip (be that in the form of slowness and\or turn), however accurate they are.
Saqlain is widely believed to have suffered ODI burnout, killing his flight and guile.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
No, ODIs are contrived as you well know. I enjoy them greatly sometimes, but in small doses.
I don't think ODIs are neccessarily contrived, any more than any cricket is, TBH. I also enjoy them in smaller doses than Tests, but a ODI is always preferable to, for instance, watching the grass grow or being subjected to racing from Ascot.
All I am saying is the nature of ODI cricket allows for fairly untalented bowlers to look good. Collingwood, Yurav, Gayle etc.
Gayle is a more talented bowler than I think some give him credit for. Collingwood and Yuvraj Singh have hardly had sustained success in ODIs really have they?
If you find limited overs cricket more fascinating than a world class bowler going to head to head with a world class batsman in a test match, actually trying to get him out, then.............well I don't know
Oh I certainly don't and never have found good ODI cricket to be more interesting than good Test cricket. No siree. Just pointing-out that both are eminently watchable.
Saqlain is widely believed to have suffered ODI burnout, killing his flight and guile.
And yet... that flight and guile was much of what made him so good at ODI bowling for a fair while.

Reality of course is that what destroyed Saqlain was that knee injury. Nothing to do with ODIs - unless of course you suggest that he'd have suffered less had he played fewer ODIs.
 

GuyFromLancs

State Vice-Captain
]I don't think ODIs are neccessarily contrived, any more than any cricket is, TBH. I also enjoy them in smaller doses than Tests, but a ODI is always preferable to, for instance, watching the grass grow or being subjected to racing from Ascot.
Yeah but anything beats horse racing to be fair.

Gayle is a more talented bowler than I think some give him credit for. Collingwood and Yuvraj Singh have hardly had sustained success in ODIs really have they?
Collingwood has over 100 wickets, Tendulka has over 150, Jaysuirya who despite his accuracy was never an all-rounder in tests has over 300. It kind of devalues it all a bit.


And yet... that flight and guile was much of what made him so good at ODI bowling for a fair while.

Reality of course is that what destroyed Saqlain was that knee injury. Nothing to do with ODIs - unless of course you suggest that he'd have suffered less had he played fewer ODIs.
I always though ODIs and the style he adopted fo them distracted him from being a world class test bowler. IMO
 

0RI0N

State 12th Man
The reason others are 'missing the point' is because your OP is poor. You claim him to be ordinary in comparison to other #1 fast bowlers. That can only be a subjective statement based on how he bowls because statistically he compares well with the great bowlers of the past since the time he's been brought back into Test cricket and looked the part. Then you wonder if he may only be the best because there's a lack of great fast bowlers. If his figures compare well with the great fast bowlers then this just becomes a rather silly argument. Ifs, ands or buts shouldn't matter. He can't be blamed for Bond and Asif having their problems. he's gone out there and done well. Thus, it clearly seems like an attack on Steyn for being simply not bowling in a time with other great fast bowlers and not as Evermind said "Oh back in the good ole days, when fast bowlers were 8 feet tall, and slept 3 hours a night, and bowled at 180kph".
OP owned.
The reason for this thread was probably so that OP could have a dig at Steyn.Kind of like a compliment followed by an insult.
Steyn, at the time of the OP was number 1(and still is 1 year later),and OP couldn't stomach that fact hence the thread worst best fast bowler.
OP you irate Steyn wrecked India in India and is STILL the best bowler around?
You mad he has 195 wickets in 37 tests?
 

Neil Pickup

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OP owned.
The reason for this thread was probably so that OP could have a dig at Steyn.Kind of like a compliment followed by an insult.
Steyn, at the time of the OP was number 1(and still is 1 year later),and OP couldn't stomach that fact hence the thread worst best fast bowler.
OP you irate Steyn wrecked India in India and is STILL the best bowler around?
You mad he has 195 wickets in 37 tests?
Why can't I read any threads in CC any longer without losing huge numbers of brain cells?
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
OP owned.
The reason for this thread was probably so that OP could have a dig at Steyn.Kind of like a compliment followed by an insult.
Steyn, at the time of the OP was number 1(and still is 1 year later),and OP couldn't stomach that fact hence the thread worst best fast bowler.
OP you irate Steyn wrecked India in India and is STILL the best bowler around?
You mad he has 195 wickets in 37 tests?
Jeez you get some amateur psychologists around here.

FTR, Gelman has a far better idea of what he meant than anyone else, because, you know, he posted the post?
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Yeah but anything beats horse racing to be fair.
It does - that's the only point I was making.

BTW I could've also said painting the woodwork and sorting through your Clubcard statements.
Collingwood has over 100 wickets, Tendulka has over 150, Jaysuirya who despite his accuracy was never an all-rounder in tests has over 300. It kind of devalues it all a bit.
Numbers of wickets are fairly irrelevant; those are a consequence of having played lots of games rather than having actually bowled well. The career figures of the likes of Collingwood and Tendulkar are very poor indeed; Jayasuriya is essentially an all-rounder in ODIs in that he's always been perfectly capable of bowling 10 overs when needed. He played the first 5-6 years of his ODI career as a bowling-all-rounder, indeed.
I always though ODIs and the style he adopted fo them distracted him from being a world class test bowler. IMO
Saqlain? Nah, was never going to be a World-class Test bowler IMO, he's a fingerspinner, and fingerspinners just cannot be that any more because fingerspinners need favourable conditions to be effective and such conditions are not widespread enough any more for fingerspinners to achieve sustained success.

Harbhajan likewise.
 

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
^ Thats interesting. He did have a decent test record though...I think he was averaging in the last 20s..and did manage to come up with 5-6 wicket haults against Australia, England overseas, did manage to bowl brilliantly against India, the one team both Warne and Murali failed against.

I think what led to Saqlain's downfall was burnout caused from playing too much county cricket in England. There was a time around 2000-01, when he picked county cricket over national duties. I think that upset PCB, team management and he was not given a fair chance to come back as they quickly looked to Kaneria to fill the spot.
 

thierry henry

International Coach
^ Thats interesting. He did have a decent test record though...I think he was averaging in the last 20s..and did manage to come up with 5-6 wicket haults against Australia, England overseas, did manage to bowl brilliantly against India, the one team both Warne and Murali failed against.

I think what led to Saqlain's downfall was burnout caused from playing too much county cricket in England. There was a time around 2000-01, when he picked county cricket over national duties. I think that upset PCB, team management and he was not given a fair chance to come back as they quickly looked to Kaneria to fill the spot.
Said it before and I'll say it again and again (was actually perusing his record just the other day, searching for some clue of his apparent downfall) but Saqlain never really had a "downfall". I mean, his downfall was basically from most effective ODI spinner ever to good ODI spinner (for about 20-odd games), while his test downfall was, ermmmm, one game.
 

Son Of Coco

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Just saw Steyn's spell in the first innings against India on YouTube, it was a good 'un!

Jagging the ball back in makes him a hell of a lot more dangerous (says Captain Obvious).
 

GuyFromLancs

State Vice-Captain
Saqlain? Nah, was never going to be a World-class Test bowler IMO, he's a fingerspinner, and fingerspinners just cannot be that any more because fingerspinners need favourable conditions to be effective and such conditions are not widespread enough any more for fingerspinners to achieve sustained success.
I don't have a massive belief in finger-spinners myself, I am actually waiting with dread for Swann to be found out and his honeymoon to be over, but I don't like to write off an entire bowling style in one swoop either.

Singh is a very good bowler, he may take 450 wickets. I hope he does.
 

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