On Tuesday, South Africa’s finest speedster Dale Steyn said goodbye to the game via a statement made on Twitter.
The 38-year-old had an immensely successful playing career for the Proteas, spanning 17 years. Steyn played 93 Tests, 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is and enjoyed stellar numbers in each of those.
The most eye-catching, of course, were his Test match feats as he took 439 wickets at an average of just 22.95 with a strike-rate of only 42.30.
In ODIs, Steyn bagged 196 scalps while maintaining an economy rate of 4.87. His T20I career economy rate was also exceptional, only 6.94, and he took 64 wickets in the shortest version at the highest level of the game.
Nearly unplayable at his peak in Test cricket, Steyn could generate late swing and seam movement – irrespective of the nature of the surface – at alarmingly high speeds. He was one of the rare few bowlers who could take the track out of the equation, a remarkable ability that helped him make an impact even in Asian conditions.
Steyn was, thus, largely instrumental to the success of the South African side led by the then skipper Graeme Smith and their nine-year unbeaten overseas series streak.
In all of 15 Test match wins away from home against South Africa’s fellow top 8 rivals that he was part of, Steyn took a whopping 98 wickets at just 17.57 per piece, including eight five-wicket hauls.
