Dale Steyn interview: Daily star

[Tigers_eye]

Cricket

An over with Steyn




Look all you want but finding a more well-rounded, genial and laidback fast bowler than Dale Steyn will be a tough task. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star Sport's Quazi Zulquarnain Islam and Mohammad Isam, the steely Steyn speaks of his philosophy on life, interest in photography, adulation for Shaun Pollock and Jose Mourinho's professionalism. Dale Steyn is truly the speedster for the next generation. Following is an excerpt from the lively encounter with the South African at the poolside of the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel:

The Daily Star Sport (DSS): Welcome Dale! How has Bangladesh been for you so far?

Dale Steyn (DS): On the field it has been good. It's nice when you are winning. Off the field we really haven't had much time off. Today is really the first day we have had to relax.

DSS: You started your career in 2004 but you have played only 18 Tests since then. Having now played a few on the trot do you feel you are here to stay?

DS: I really hope so! There are always other guys coming through, other bowlers like Morne Morkel who basically does the same thing as me … bowls fast. You can never think that your spot is guaranteed. It's good to have pressure from underneath, knowing that there is someone who can take your place.

DSS: You mentioned before the Pakistan tour that Morne's Twenty20 World Cup performance was a 'shock to your system' because it made you feel like your place in the team was not certain...

DS: Actually it might have come out the wrong way. What happened was that, with the form that he (Morne) had, it didn't look like I would get selected. It showed me that you can never ever be certain of your place.

DSS: In the past six months you have taken 49 wickets in 7 Tests. Would you say you are at your peak or can things get better?

DS: (laughs) I don't want to say things can be better. I don't want to say that I am at my peak. I always think there is room for improvement. I am happy with the way I am playing right now but I always strive to do better. Sometimes when the stats get thrown at me it amazes me (pointing at his profile on the table). You look at it and think, that's pretty decent. Records are there to be broken and I want to carry on doing what I am doing.

DSS: So after the first Test, how much of a gap do you think Bangladesh has with the rest of the world?

DS: I don't think there should be a big gap. I think they have proven to the world that they can play. No team takes a lead against South Africa if they aren't a quality side. But you are supposed to carry on from there. They must stand up now and start showing themselves. I think there shouldn't be any excuses for them anymore but they are doing okay. They should keep plugging away until they get the results.

DSS: Anyone special in the Bangladesh team?

DS: They are all pretty decent players. But I can't single out someone, getting whose wicket would make me proud.

DSS: You have seen a lot of New Zealand and West Indies, but not much of our batsmen. Did you have a plan on getting them out?

DS: I think generally in cricket, you keep it simple. I don't think it's an easy game but the way you explain it, is pretty easy; like bowl outside the off-stump. But the difficult part is when you have to do that six times in six balls. Try and make a batsman play his B game and not just his A game.

At this level your strength can be your big weakness. 80 to 90 per cent of the time you keep doing it, that's the kind of thing people like Shaun Pollock and Glenn McGrath have kept doing day in day out. That's why they were the best in the world.

DSS: So you like to hit a batsman?

DS: I don't like hitting a batsman. It knocks the winds out of their sails a little bit but it's an ugly thing.

DSS: ...on the topic of Pollock. With him gone you have big shoes to fill...

DS: (sighs!) I don't think those are my shoes to fill. I have got my own name to make. But he is someone that South Africa are going to miss. He has been there over the years and kept doing it for years and years. So let's hope the guys coming in are up to that standard, and even if they aren't maybe they are close to it because guys like Shaun Pollock set pretty high standards.

DSS: You came into the side after about a year of first-class cricket. But you didn't establish yourself that time. Why?

DS: At that point (in 2004) there were still pretty good players in the team. I hadn't played a lot of cricket. You can't just take a guy who has played seven first-class matches and ask him to maintain the level that everyone else has done over the years.

I had to play cricket. I had to learn more about that game. I had to go to England and I had to keep up with the game playing locally and in England before I could make a name. I wouldn't change anything. This is about the right time I would have settled down.

DSS: Like you were, most players in Bangladesh are picked after only one good season and once they fail at the top level, they are forgotten…

DS: Well, Bangladesh are an upcoming side and so they grab talent when they see it. It's not a bad thing if you can hold on to a rough diamond like that. Take (Mohammad) Ashraful.

He started out really young (at 16) -- an uncut stone and now he is a well-carved diamond. He is one of the lucky ones to have seen it through and now gone on to become captain at 23.

DSS: ...but how about Smith? He came in young...

DS: That's totally different. Him and AB de Villiers who is an unbelievably talented sportsman. You just know that he is going to be a big star and play the most Tests for South Africa when he retires. He knows he belongs, even at this age.

DSS: Do you think your stint in county prepared you for int'l cricket?

DS: Of course. The conditions along with the people I played with, like Ronnie Irani, the Flower brothers, Graham Gooch and James Foster. They really moulded me, playing with them, having a drink with them afterwards. You learn from them who have been there and done that.

DSS: ...any huge influences?

DS: No one specifically, but lately Mark Boucher. He is always able to teach me a thing or two. Listen, listen. And all that!

Also Shaun Pollock. And Allan Donald as well helped me get through the day with a word or two while he was commentating.

DSS: So what's your best moment in cricket so far?

DS: Winning against Pakistan (last year) I think is up there. I don't know when we last did it and you could see the guys in the change room how happy they were.

DSS: So apart from the cricket, how has everything looked in Dhaka?

DS: Well I haven't had much time. I had a haircut today which was okay bar the guy slicing the back of my head open…(laughs!)

I really like fishing and something has been fixed for Chittagong. Where I come from, there are a lot of chances to fish and it's a big hobby of mine.

DSS: ...any other hobbies?

DS: Photography. I am always sneaking around stadiums borrowing the journalist's cameras. I really enjoy it whether it be shooting a twig on water or a bird. If it looks good to me, I like it.

DSS: Other sports?

DS: Skateboarding, surfing and soccer definitely. I support Chelsea now but I fancied Arsenal in high school. I was sad to see Thierry Henry go to Barcelona but I quite enjoyed watching Dennis Bergkamp while I was growing up. But with Chelsea I really liked what Jose Mourinho did.

The way he built the team it was so professional. I really enjoy that, even with someone like Tiger Woods and Polly (Pollock) when he was in the team. It's great to interact with someone like that. I mean I have his number on my phone. How cool is that!

DSS: Who are your sporting heroes?

DS: Jonty Rhodes definitely. With that little dive in 1992 and Hansie Cronje playing those slog sweeps. Windies fast bowlers and Shoaib and Brett Lee when they come in to bowl.

DSS: And what of these rumours of IPL?

DS: Yeah I am turning out for Bangalore Royal Challengers along with a lot of other stars. (DSS: Will that be good for you?) Don't know about my cricket but will be good for my bank balance!

DSS: So what does the future hold for Dale Steyn?

DS: A lot of cricket. I am looking at Chittagong for now. I don't like focusing too much on the future means you get lost in the present.

++++

I think this chap is going to be good. Very good!! He has his head placed right where it is suppose to be.

Is this our Isam?

[Ajfar]

amarder to ek shonar chele already achee...ekhon ashraful diamond...ar kee kon jewelery howar bakee???

[Tigers_eye]

Precious Black Pearl (Kalo manik) in the making. AKA Siddique.

here is the link to the previous interview.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=25162

[kalpurush]

Many thanks, Mijan Bhai for the nice read. I wish our pacers would learn few things from him.

[Beamer]

Nice read. He is a great fast bowler. I was so impressed. He bowled full, which you have to in that pitch, and ripped our top order. Shahadat bowled full as well and was rewarded for that.

[Murad]

His bowling action is similar to Bret Lee. He also stare at the batsman just like Bret Lee.

I think he tries to copy everything from Bret Lee.

[auntu]

Nice! Thanx. Steyn always looks to me a person who is well aware about him self. I like him. .... Diamond... good gesture by him

[AsifTheManRahman]

Hey I think I went to school with this Zulquarnain dude!

A pretty enjoyable read - sounds like a fun personality. At this time, he is definitely the most threatening fast bowler that South Africa has.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by Beamer
Nice read. He is a great fast bowler. I was so impressed. He bowled full, which you have to in that pitch, and ripped our top order. Shahadat bowled full as well and was rewarded for that.

rajib's figures are better! and his are against a real batting lineup too. and on the fast and bouncy tracks of the DACA.

this rajib guy is gonna be good. mark my words before his career is out, he will surpass every fast bowler in sri lanka and india's past (ishant, rp, sree look to join rajib) and join the pakistani elites as great fast bowlers.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
rajib's figures are better! and his are against a real batting lineup too. and on the fast and bouncy tracks of the DACA.

this rajib guy is gonna be good. mark my words before his career is out, he will surpass every fast bowler in sri lanka and india's past (ishant, rp, sree look to join rajib) and join the pakistani elites as great fast bowlers.

I hope you are right. We will be better for it. You always found something in him from the very beginning. I remember that. I am becoming more and more encouraged by the progression of Shahadat. He is willing to bend his back for the team- always! Good quality.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Al's always been behind Shahadat. The man's got good eyes, good eyes I must say.

S seems to have worked hard on putting more thought into his game, which is a clear contrast to the way he used to play initially.

[BD-Shardul]

Nice read.

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
...S seems to have worked hard on putting more thought into his game, which is a clear contrast to the way he used to play initially.

and surpassed leaps and bound over Narail Express. It is like The express train takes more time than the Vovlo buses to reach a destination. We need some electric tubes.

[Sohel]

Steyn is 24 and has 98 wickets from just 19 test matches and without the benefit of a depleted Zimbabwe! He has pace, accuracy and can swing the ball both ways and then some under any conditions. I think we're looking at one of the all-time greats at this early stage in his career, and any comparison between him and MaMu is only akin to comparing a Ferrari with a CNG auto-rikshaw. Both have wheels and need fuel.

[Tigers_eye]

naa sohel bhai.
S manay Shahadat. not steyn. lol.

Karo'r buker pata nai steyn'er shatey Narail express'er tulona koray.

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
naa sohel bhai.
S manay Shahadat. not steyn. lol.

Karo'r buker pata nai steyn'er shatey Narail express'er tulona koray.

Oops my bad ! ...

[ahaque]

seems like a nice person...he's been a great bowler so far

[ammark]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Al's always been behind Shahadat. The man's got good eyes, good eyes I must say.

S seems to have worked hard on putting more thought into his game, which is a clear contrast to the way he used to play initially.

Remarkable actually. Rajib started out written off and condemned as Sharapova in the 2005 tour of England. But the Test Match vs SL was where he really showed his potential... bowling in a pair with Rasel (due to Mash's injury). It almost seems like yesterday that he knocked some of those helmets. Congratulations and Best Wishes to Rajib for really living up to how he started out. Maybe this is a very overzealous statement from me, but Rajibs our class act above any of the players in Bangladesh's Test cricket history.

Enam Jr is really still special like Rajib in my eyes. His magic ball to remove Michael Clarke at Fatullah still shines bright. Here's wishing BD the best again

[AsifTheManRahman]

It'll be a pity if Enamul fades away or doesn't flourish as we would have liked him to. We need the best that we have in the country to train players like him, one on one. Rafique mamu, "tui desher jonno kisu ekta kor!!!" (Bashar's famous quote, delivered to Enam himself before the test series victory against Zimbabwe)

[Tigers_eye]

Another excellent report on Steyn at Shomokal.
http://www.shamokal.com/details.php?nid=91433

Few things to point out:
1) He thinks every batsmen are really good. He needs to prove himself by getting them out.

2) Sanggakara and Jayawardene are two real greats.

3) Shahadat is a big weapon. From his reverse-swing even Steyn himself can learn something.

This is the best part:
4) Bd batsmen thought they can score four in every ball. Didn't give little credit to bowlers. Didn't learn from SA batsmen (Smith and Neil) on how to be patient.

5) Apart from cricketing icons his idols include Tiger Woods, Federer etc.

Look whom he is competing against. Not Bond, Lee, Murali. His goal is to compete against Tiger, wow!!

[bdchamp20]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
Another excellent report on Steyn at Shomokal.
http://www.shamokal.com/details.php?nid=91433

Few things to point out:
1) He thinks every batsmen are really good. He needs to prove himself by getting them out.

2) Sanggakara and Jayawardene are two real greats.

3) Shahadat is a big weapon. From his reverse-swing even Steyn himself can learn something.

This is the best part:
4) Bd batsmen thought they can score four in every ball. Didn't give little credit to bowlers. Didn't learn from SA batsmen (Smith and Neil) on how to be patient.

5) Apart from cricketing icons his idols include Tiger Woods, Federer etc.

Look whom he is competing against. Not Bond, Lee, Murali. His goal is to compete against Tiger, wow!!

hmmm...optimistic fellow

[Murad]

This guy is really smart.

[djnaved]

steyn will be the killer, watch out batsmans

[pichchi]

Steyn looks set to take Taits role as the next big speedstar. He is such an intelligent bowler too- knows how to trap batsmen. Will be a real great if he can remain consistent. Lets see what he does in the India tour against Shourov-Sachin-Dravid