Steyn, the Proteas’ pacer, retired from the longer format in 2019 but kept playing in the 50-over and 20-over forms
NEW DELHI — Dale Steyn, one of the best pacers in cricket history, announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Tuesday.
Steyn, a pacer for the Proteas, retired from the longest format in 2019 but continued to play in the 50-over and 20-over formats.
The fast bowler announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday.
Summarizes his career in official statement
In an official statement, Dale Steyn stated that after a lengthy December, there is cause to think that this year will be better than the previous. He said he can’t tell how many times he told himself to cherish these moments as they slip by.
Training, matches, travel, victories, defeats, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood have spanned 20 years, Steyn said. He, however, added that there are far too many to recount while there were far too many people to thank.
He expressed that he left it to the experts, to sum up, his favourite band, the Counting Crows.
Steyn went on to say in his statement that he was melancholic but glad as he was formally retiring from the game he adores. He thanked everyone, from family to teammates and media to fans.
Surpassed Shaun Pollock as Proteas’ top wicket-taker
Dale Steyn ended his Test career with 439 wickets at a 22.95 average. Steyn surpassed Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s top wicket-taker in Test cricket in 2019.
The right-arm seamer went on to play 125 One-Day Internationals and 47 Twenty-One-Day Internationals for South Africa, taking 260 wickets in two formats.
Over the course of his career in the Indian Premier League, Steyn has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), SunRisers Hyderabad, Deccan Chargers, and Gujarat Lions.
Dale Steyn’s early life and career
Steyn was born in the tiny village of Phalaborwa, on the outskirts of South Africa’s Kruger National Park, in 1983. His parents are from Zimbabwe.
On October 17, 2003, Steyn made his first-class debut for Northerns (which later amalgamated with Easterns to create the Titans). In his debut season, he only played two first-class games and had little effect, but a string of good performances in the early half of the 2004/2005 season earned him a spot in the Test team to face England. After failing to impress in his first three Tests, he returned to the Titans.
In 2005, Dale Steyn moved to England to play for Essex, where he appeared in seven games between May and June. In his first County Championship appearance, he took 14 wickets at 59.85, although he failed to make an impression. After working with world-renowned bowling coach Ian Pont Steyn in Essex, Steyn returned to domestic cricket in South Africa, where he bowled well for the Titans during the 2005/2006 season, earning him a recall to the Test side to face New Zealand.
Dale Steyn took advantage of the opportunity to cement his place in the South African Test team, and as a result of his regular selection for the national team, he has played very little domestic cricket in South Africa over the last three seasons, appearing in only three SuperSport Series matches for the Titans.
In the first half of the 2007 English season, he returned to England to play for Warwickshire. This time, he was more successful, taking 23 County Championship wickets at an average of 25.86 in seven matches. He also performed admirably in the Friends Provident Trophy, a 50-over competition, finishing as Warwickshire’s top wicket-taker. Since then, he has been a regular member of the South African One-Day International team.
