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

[Manee]

Having a ball that nips in to complement a vicious outswinger is such a huge bonus though, as Anderson/Broad found out to their delight and Tendulkar to his displeasure a few months back.

Oh yeah, absolutely. It is just that I don't think anything will really increase Steyn's success. I think he is doing as well as he could be reasonably expected to perform. With Broad and Anderson though, there is so much room for improvement in terms of accuracy and effectiveness of the stock delivery (not that they are poor, just not fan-bloody-tastic) that an inducker will help them more. It is a pretty pedantic point but one worth making, imo.

 

[subshakerz]

As a couple of people have said, if he develops a genuine inswinger/inducker he's going to be death incarnate.

He's quite capable of reversing it into the batsman, showed that in India. In fact, its a great MO for a bowler, bowl vicious outswingers with the new ball, and reverse inswingers with the old ball.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

He's quite capable of reversing it into the batsman, showed that in India. In fact, its a great MO for a bowler, bowl vicious outswingers with the new ball, and reverse inswingers with the old ball.

I am pretty sure that Spark meant conventional inswing with the new ball. And he's right.

While Steyn has got the odd one to nip back in off the pitch, a genuine inswinger isn't something he's been able to master yet. Problem with the inseamer is that you are kinda pitch dependent. A very good inswing bowler would do it in the air and take the flatness of the pitch out of the equation.

The lack of an inswinger was perhaps felt when he was bowling against Tendulkar in the epic battle at Cape Town. Everyone who saw that spell would remember that Steyn was bowling killer outswingers and ones that seamed away and Sachin ended up playing inside the delivery's line on quite a few occasions.

When the batsman is set to an angle like that (curving away from the off-stump), one which swings back in should comprehensively nail him. If anyone remembers, Steyn did try to swing one or two in (with the seam positioned towards fine leg) and the deliveries ended down the leg side. I always felt that if he had got those right - especially, after those lovely outswingers - he could have trapped the great man or better, knocked over the stumps.

Never seen him bowl the inswinger accurately and with a lot of confidence. And contrary to what a lot of non-cricketing people think, it's a very difficult delivery to get consistently right for a natural outswing bowler whose wrist position is like Steyn's.

 

[Prince EWS]

I am pretty sure that Spark meant conventional inswing with the new ball. And he's right.

While Steyn has got the odd one to nip back in off the pitch, a genuine inswinger isn't something he's been able to master yet. Problem with the inseamer is that you are kinda pitch dependent. A very good inswing bowler would do it in the air and take the flatness of the pitch out of the equation.

The lack of an inswinger was perhaps felt when he was bowling against Tendulkar in the epic battle at Cape Town. Everyone who saw that spell would remember that Steyn was bowling killer outswingers and ones that seamed away and Sachin ended up playing inside the delivery's line on quite a few occasions.

When the batsman is set to an angle like that (curving away from the off-stump), one which swings back in should comprehensively nail him. If anyone remembers, Steyn did try to swing one or two in (with the seam positioned towards fine leg) and the deliveries ended down the leg side. I always felt that if he had got those right - especially, after those lovely outswingers - he could have trapped the great man or better, knocked over the stumps.

Never seen him bowl the inswinger accurately and with a lot of confidence. And contrary to what a lot of non-cricketing people think, it's a very difficult delivery to get consistently right for a natural outswing bowler whose wrist position is like Steyn's.

AWTA, great post. Expanding on that, it also explains why Anderson has had much greater success against Tendulkar than Steyn.

 

[shankar]

Steyn did get Tendulkar with a lovely inswinger in the first inning of the first test when it was beginning to look like he was going to play a classic.

 

[centurymaker]

I am pretty sure that Spark meant conventional inswing with the new ball. And he's right.

While Steyn has got the odd one to nip back in off the pitch, a genuine inswinger isn't something he's been able to master yet. Problem with the inseamer is that you are kinda pitch dependent. A very good inswing bowler would do it in the air and take the flatness of the pitch out of the equation.

The lack of an inswinger was perhaps felt when he was bowling against Tendulkar in the epic battle at Cape Town. Everyone who saw that spell would remember that Steyn was bowling killer outswingers and ones that seamed away and Sachin ended up playing inside the delivery's line on quite a few occasions.

When the batsman is set to an angle like that (curving away from the off-stump), one which swings back in should comprehensively nail him. If anyone remembers, Steyn did try to swing one or two in (with the seam positioned towards fine leg) and the deliveries ended down the leg side. I always felt that if he had got those right - especially, after those lovely outswingers - he could have trapped the great man or better, knocked over the stumps.

Never seen him bowl the inswinger accurately and with a lot of confidence. And contrary to what a lot of non-cricketing people think, it's a very difficult delivery to get consistently right for a natural outswing bowler whose wrist position is like Steyn's.

Spot on. I do recall a couple of those deliveries.
I feel the best way to get him out is with a quicker in-swinger/in-seamer on his pads but you have to use it sparingly. You have to set him up and then try it, otherwise it probably won't work.

I agree that it's incredibly hard for someone like steyn to bowl inswingers. If he strives too hard for them he may lose his outswingers.. so it is probably best for him to stick to what he knows best.

 

[centurymaker]

Steyn did get Tendulkar with a lovely inswinger in the first inning of the first test when it was beginning to look like he was going to play a classic.

True and laxman too in that same innings.

 

[centurymaker]

AWTA, great post. Expanding on that, it also explains why Anderson has had much greater success against Tendulkar than Steyn.

tendulkar's mid 30s slump has contributed to that a lot tbf.

This series tendulkar vs anderson was 50-50 for me. Towards the end of the series tendukkar probably had the edge.
However in 2006/07, Anderson was all over him. (even though he didn't have a good inswinger at that time).

 

[Prince EWS]

Anderson's inswinger was awesome in 2006/07.

 

[centurymaker]

Anderson's inswinger was awesome in 2006/07.

I can't seem to remember it.

 

[Prince EWS]

I can't seem to remember it.

35.4 gone! Anderson! Full delivery, swinging in from outside off stump, Tendulkar is caught trying to drive to leg, right on the crease, ball hits him in front of leg stump and they all go up in appeal, after a thought Bucknor raises his finger 106/3

..


6.5 bowled him! The stumps have been demolished, Tendulkar plays forward and drives away from his body, the ball swings into him and takes the inside edge and cannons into middle and leg stump, the sound was deafening as the stumps went for a walk, England are loving it 11/3



Both from that 2007 series.

 

[centurymaker]

James Anderson 5 Wickets vs India - YouTube

at 0.46
seemed like a pretty straight delivery to me.



cricket James Anderson Comprehensively Bowls Sachin Tendulkar - YouTube

the ball kinda shaped in at the beginning and then held its line.


Anderson's inswinger is what 2-3 times better now...

 

[centurymaker]

actually that bowl probably kinda shaped out and then just went straight, which confused tendulkar as he played for the swing.

 

[Prince EWS]

Haha nah completely DWTA; both balls were genuine inswingers. That summer was basically the birth of the Jimmy inswinger; he didn't really have it consistently before then.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Steyn did get Tendulkar with a lovely inswinger in the first inning of the first test when it was beginning to look like he was going to play a classic.

That was a very good delivery, but I don't think it was an inswinger, friend.

This is the delivery in question. There is no perceptible shape in the air into the batsman. Decked into him ever so slightly with the angle. If anything, it did him for pace and unlike Steyn's other deliveries, didn't go away from him. Sachin played across the line and was done for zip and angle, IMHO.

From cricinfo:

Steyn it is who gets the big one, raps SRT on the pads with a length delivery that straightens a bit, and catches him on the pads even as he plays across the line

 

[centurymaker]

first one definitely wasn't imo watch the replay that follows the dismissal.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

CenturyMaker and PEWS, the second video is not very clear.

As for the first one (where Jimmeh gets Sachin LBW), interestingly the answer is quite clear in the footage itself. Pause the vid @ 1:08 to see what kind of swing it is!

 

[centurymaker]

That was a very good delivery, but I don't think it was an inswinger, friend.

This is the delivery in question. There is no perceptible shape in the air into the batsman. Decked into him ever so slightly with the angle. If anything, it did him for pace and unlike Steyn's other deliveries, didn't go away from him. Sachin played across the line and was done for zip and angle, IMHO.

From cricinfo:

it's similar to that 2nd anderson delivery to tendulkar (the one which bowled him).

i dont know if you can really call those inswingers. (slightly shaped in or maybe shaped out and then just went on straight with the angle)

 

[centurymaker]

CenturyMaker and PEWS, the second video is not very clear.

As for the first one (where Jimmeh gets Sachin LBW), interestingly the answer is quite clear in the footage itself. Pause the vid @ 1:08 to see what kind of swing it is!

straight swing IMO

 

[Howe_zat]

It's a mite deceptive because Anderson's inswinger swings a lot earlier than his outswinger, but other than that I've no idea where centurymaker is coming from here.