Dale Steyn is back!

Dale Steyn made such a spectacular return to Test cricket in the home Test series against New Zealand, that he made the other bowlers look mediocre. While Quinton de Kock won man of the match for his runs on a difficult pitch in the second Test, Steyn took a five wicket-haul and returned figures of eight wickets for 99 run in the match, and 10 wickets for 102 runs across the series. The 'Steyn Remover' has passed famous Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram in Test wickets, and with 416 Test scalps, Steyn's only compatriot with more Test wickets is Shaun Pollock (421).

Guess who is back to taking wickets and winning matches for South Africa. Photo from From www.commons.wikimedia.org.

I previously blogged that Kagiso Rabida would be the deciding factor in the series. Little did I know that Steyn would be back to his amazing self, and Vernon Philander would, in his return Test, heap huge pressure on the other end to force batsmen to play against Steyn. From a bowling perspective, it was beautiful. Our first batting innings in the second Test was excellent, especially when you consider that New Zealand won the toss and sent us into bat. The first five batsmen all scored at least half centuries, including a fantastic hundred by Faf du Plessis. The pitch deteriorated quickly near the end of the first day, which goes to show how impressive and important the innings was.

There are so many positives South Africa can take from this series, being their first series this cricket season, and playing against New Zealand who walked over Zimbabwe just before it. Next up is an One Day International against Ireland in Benoni on 25 September, and then a five-match ODI series against Australia, starting in Centurion on 30 September.

Proteas must rely on Rabada

Only the best will stand out when South Africa hosts New Zealand for two Test matches, starting on 19 and 27 August. The Proteas have lost captain AB de Villiers and bowler Morne Morkel due to injury, which will not help them against an in-form Black Caps squad which is ranked one place higher on the ICC Test rankings (fifth).

Bowlers Steyn and Philander have recovered from long-term injuries and will look to mark their return in a big way when they first take on the Black Caps in the familiar Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban. But I believe the pressure lies more heavily on the shoulders of world number seven ODI bowler Kagiso Rabada. New Zealand already have the accomplished bowling pair Tim Southee and Trent Boult, to counter our Steyn and Philander. Both batting line-ups are also strong, with New Zealand's probably better because of AB's injury. This is why it is up on Rabada to tip the balance in our favour.

The 21-year-old has shown such great potential. He already has better bowling statistics than Boult and Southee, although the number of matches played is a factor. In six Tests, he has already taken three five-wicket hauls in an innings and one 10-wicket haul in a match. His Test bowling average is an impressive 24.70, and in ODIs he has taken 37 wickets at an average of 21.45. 

I cannot stop blogging about this guy. He is the next great South African bowler, and the outcome of this series, and indeed of many more to come, are at his mercy.

Kagiso Rabada holds the fate of the Proteas in his hands. CC Search image.

This is the South African team for the series: Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Stiaan van Zyl.

Proteas on a knife edge

After winning the T20 and ODI series in India late last year, the Proteas suffered one-sided Test series losses against India and then against England at home. This led to South Africa dropping to number two in the world Test cricket rankings behind India, after holding the number one spot for about a decade. Pundits and former players are saying that our time as the dominant team in Test cricket is over. Our best fast bowlers, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, who have spear-headed our success in the past, now suffer frequent injuries, and are growing old.

Kagiso Rabada is breaking records at the tender age of 20. CC Search image.

Furthermore, when AB de Villiers or Hashim Amla do not bat well, the rest of the team usually do not perform well, with senior batsmen Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy in very poor form of late. What is more, I have never seen South Africa drop as many catches as they did in the last two months – probably another side-affect of our lack of confidence. The resignation of Hashim Amla as Test captain stands as a stark indication that times are tough in the dressing room.

I believe that the Proteas are standing on a knife edge, close to falling into a dark place. We are number three in the world in One Day Internationals and sixth in T20 Internationals. Confidence is low. But all is not lost.

Our victory in the final Test match against England shows that our team still has fight left. Coming-of-age bowler Kagiso Rabada (20) finished with figures of 13–144, the second best by any South African in a Test match. This is more than just a glimmer of hope for our future. In addition, it appears that Hashim Amla is back in form. He struggled to score runs throughout 2015, but after relinquishing Test captaincy, the super-batsman is playing with more confidence and focus, which bodes immensely well for us. While AB took over the Test captaincy reins at a difficult time, I believe that he can turn the team around. As I said in my previous blog post, not many players can inspire his teammates like AB can, or put fear into the opposition.

In conclusion, the Proteas are not what they once were, especially in Test cricket. But signs are evident that we can improve, if the players and staff commit to working hard. We have a five-match ODI series against England starting on 3 February, followed two T20 matches. Perhaps we can turn our attention more towards limited overs cricket now – an area we have neglected in the past.

SA are unstoppable

I previously blogged how India would beat the Proteas in the T20 series, and the One Day International (ODI) series could go either way between the sides. I never expected SA to win both series convincingly (2–0, and 3–2 respectively). Who would have thought? India, the giants of limited overs cricket, and South Africa – while incredibly strong, are too often inconsistent. It was an awesome surprise. The ODI series win was our first in India.

Faf du Plessis is on fire. Photo from NT44NZblog photo from www.sports.ndtv.com.

With the phenomenal form South Africa is in, it must be hard being an Indian player with the prospect of a four-match Test series on the horizon, especially after losing two series at home, and as South Africa is ranked first in the world in Tests. Yes, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel and Rilee Rossouw were recently injured, but South Africa pulled together as a team and performed remarkably in all aspects of the game. Fielding was good, bowling was excellent, and batting was... Batting was out of this world.

Quinton de Kock clearly likes batting in India. He scored two centuries in the series, and out of his eight ODI centuries, five were against India. Faf du Plessis showed incredible consistency in his batting, and AB is on another level in limited overs cricket. Perhaps Chris Gayle is as destructive, but even he does not obliterate bowling attacks as often as AB does.

Dale Steyn is still striking, and now Kagiso Rabada is chipping in big time. In fact, Rabada has shown confidence and big-match temperament beyond his years. Steyn and Rabada each took 10 wickets in the ODI series. So much for spin dominating in India.

On the whole, South Africa are looking as good as I have ever seen them in limited overs. Who can stop us now? Let me know what you think.

Bangladesh – If it had not rained

Who would have won? If both Test matches between South Africa and Bangladesh were not washed out in their recent series, what would the result be?

The first match was subject to heavy, persistent rain and its final two days were rained out. If that was bad, only 88.1 overs were played in the second Test. Before this, the Proteas won the T20 series 2–0, while the Tigers won the ODI series 2–1. Yet I think South Africa would have won the Test series. Here is why:

Faf du Plessis probably would have liked to know how the Test series could have turned out.
Image from httpwww.mid-day.com

While the momentum was with Bangladesh, South Africa's Test team has learned how to make remarkeable comebacks. Yes, AB de Villiers was missing, while his wife was giving birth to his son (also named AB), but captain Hashim Amla has potential to inspire his team to success. A fiercely determined batsman, whilst very respectful and experienced, he would have led the team – particularly the batsmen – to perform well. Likewise, Dale Steyn would have led the bowling attack with ferocity, after taking his 400th Test wicket.

Yes Bangladesh have great quality in batting and bowling at the moment, but they would not have beaten South Africa over 10 days. South Africa are far more experienced in Test cricket. The tables would have turned on the home side eventually.

Do our bowlers have what it takes?

In my last blog I said that the Proteas' bowling attack is its problem in One Day Internationals (ODIs). If South Africa are to do well in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, I believe that our bowling will need to be much better than it has been in recent months. In Tests we are great, but in ODIs our bowling is mediocre. Our death bowling is especially poor, with bowlers carelessly giving runs away in the final overs of an innings. We bowl too wide, too many half volleys, and not enough yorkers.

Morne Morkel is not the bowler he used to be. Photo from www.cricketcountry.com

Imran Tahir is not the world's best spinner. But I like him. He is always trying to take a wicket, and his passion is contagious. Our backup spinner, Aaron Phangiso, has his moments but is usually average. With the hard pitches in Australia and New Zealand, it would have been better to leave him out the squad and let JP Duminy play the role of backup spinner.

Our biggest problem is the fast bowling department. Dale Steyn is always difficult to score off, with pace, away swing and reverse swing. Vernon Philander is accurate and moves the ball well. These two do not bowl many yorkers but they take wickets and keep the runs down. The rest, not so much. Morne Morkel began his career as a positive, tall fast bowler with lots of potential. He was good at first. Now he gives lots of runs away and takes few wickets.

I thought that Kyle Abbott would be better in the international ring, but he has been very expensive. Wayne Parnell is not a good all-rounder. He does not bowl well and he does not bat well. Between him and Morne Morkel, I do not know who bowls more wides and gives more runs away.

To answer the question this blog post is headlined, I think that our bowling will have to improve for us to have a chance at taking this year's World Cup. In fact, they will have to be about 40 per cent better than they currently are.

The Proteas and the World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is so close now (it starts on 14 February) it is impossible not to get excited. Every time the World Cup comes around, we as South Africans ask ourselves the same old questions: How will we do this time? Will the Proteas choke again? The Proteas have an average record in World Cups, reaching three semi-finals in seven tournaments. Our best finishing place was third, and our worst was eighth. For a team that has usually been ranked in the top four in the world, we perhaps have not done well enough in the World Cup.

Every four years we wonder if this will be the occasion when our players will show the world how good they are, and go all the way. But to win the World Cup is not easy. A team has to have performed consistently (for about a month and a half) with the bat, the ball and in the field. Proteas Coach Russell Domingo recently said in an interview that he hopes South Africa will do better at the end of the tournament. This is where we have failed in the past, with so many bad semi and quarter-final performances.

Proteas One Day International Captain AB de Villiers will want his team to go far in the World Cup.

But we are ranked third in the world in One Day Internationals at the moment. We also have AB de Villiers in first place as ODI batsman in the world, Hashim Amla in third and (a surprise to me when I saw) Quinton de Kock in seventh place. Recent centuries by Rilee Rossouw and David Miller, and the class we know that JP Duminy has, we can be happy with our batting. 

Of course our fielding is very good at the moment. Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy are very quick on the ball, and make batsman pause before trying to sneak a single.

Our bowling department is the problem. I would like to go into this at more depth another time, but although Dale Steyn is third in the world, and Morne Morkel in ninth (somehow!), our bowling has been bad lately. In my opinion Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are our only good seam bowlers. Imran Tahir is an on-and-off spinner, but usually reliable. The rest are mediocre. 

Having said that, I can barely wait for the World Cup to start, and for the Proteas to throw that monkey off their shoulders.

Tide turns against the Caribbean

I blogged in December that South Africa would beat the West Indies in their Test series, but the Caribbean side would win the T20 International series. I was correct. I also said that the One Day International series could go either way. I've changed my mind.

The return of AB de Villiers and other key players will likely help the Proteas win the current ODI series against the West Indies.

When the Proteas won the Test series 2–0 it was no surprise, although the West Indies pushed us hard in the second Test. Losing the T20I International series 2–1 was expected. But the Proteas showed determination to make our highest T20I score (231) in the second match, and put in a good all-round performance in the third match to win back some pride. After our victory in the third T20I, I think that momentum has shifted towards us, and with the return of some of our best cricketers, I am 70% certain we will win the ODI series.

AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, JP Duminy and Vernon Philander come back to the playing 11. This will bolster the Proteas, while I think the West Indies squad will be pretty tired after a long tour. The five ODIs will be played in a short space of time (16, 18, 21, 25 and 28 January). This will demand a lot from the players.

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to start in less than one month, both sides will see this series as preparation, and want to make sure they know what their strengths and weaknesses are. A win would also boost their confidence. But I think SA will take it. We are better rested and have our best players back.

SA to win Tests, West Indies to take T20Is

The upcoming South Africa vs West Indies tour will not be as one-sided as it might have been a year or so ago. Although the Proteas are probably the better team on paper, they have not been in great form lately, and the men from the Caribbean are extremely good in the shorter formats of the game. To make matters worse, JP Duminy is injured and may miss all the Test matches.

Proteas Batsman JP Duminy is injured.

With three Tests, starting 17 December, three T20 Internationals and then five One Day Internationals, we can look forward to a lot of great cricket over December and January. The Test series is probably where SA will be the strongest, and the T20Is is where we will be the weakest.

The Proteas have also included some new players in the Test squad which will make it interesting. Stiaan van Zyl, Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada are exciting prospects. I am especially looking forward to seeing how far Rabada goes in his career. We need a young, good fast bowler in our international squads, as our more experienced fast bowlers are showing their age. Even Dale Steyn will not be good forever...

All in all, I think the Proteas will win the Test series at least by two matches. I think the West Indies will take the T20I series. Their prolific T20 players such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Andre Russel, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy will likely be too much for us. I can even see us losing it 3–0. The ODI series could go either way.

Kieron pollard could hurt South Africa in the shorter cricket formats. Image from zeenews.india.com 

SA vs Australia – the ultimate contest

Every South African cricket lover knows that the matches between South Africa and Australia are either the best or worst ones to watch. There is no middle ground, no run-in-the-mill "let me see what else is on TV because this is so boring" kind of match. Games between these proud, sports-obsessed nations are always exciting and memorable. 

You may remember watching for hours with eyes transfixed on the screen, ignoring your tummy moaning for food, as JP Duminy (166) and Dale Steyn (76) put on a ninth-wicket partnership of 180 to turn the fortunes of a Test match in Melbourne in 2008. Or you may remember the time Allan Donald dropped his bat and was run out in the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final. 

The contest between SA and Australia has always been heated. Here Proteas batsman Hashim Amla plays a ball from Australian bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile. Photo taken from www1.skysports.com

Yes I am bringing to attention the nightmare of how we tied with Australia but did not progress in the world cup because the Aussies finished higher in the Super Sixes stage, all because Donald dropped his bat and did not start running early enough to score us the winning run. Indeed, the ferocity of the contest between the nations goes back to the famous 1969-70 tour in SA, which SA won 4–0, through the likes of Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock.

With the current One Day International (ODI) series between the teams at 2–1 to Australia with two matches to go, we can expect the rest of the series to be exhilarating. The last two games will be played on 21 and 23 November. The current series includes mini-contests: Dale Steyn (SA) and Mitchell Johnson (AUS) will be gunning for the unofficial title of best bowler in the series, by taking the most wickets. 

AB de Villiers will look to score many runs against Australia in the current ODI series.

This while Glenn Maxwell (AUS) and David Miller (SA), who play together for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will want to see who finishes with more runs and the highest strike rate. India are currently rated the best ODI team in the world by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with 117 points. SA are second with 115 points, and Australia are third with 114 points. A series win for either the Proteas or the Aussies could put the team at the top of the table.

James Anderson best bowler of this era? Nonsense. Ajmal and Steyn are better.

Wasim Akram has called James Anderson, a bowler for England, “ the best bowler of this era”. Firstly, Akram is a legend of cricket, being one of the best pace bowlers of all time (having taken 414 test wickets at an average of 23.62 and 502 ODI wickets at 23.52) so this is a huge statement. It is also huge when we realise that Dale Steyn (SA) and Saeed Ajmal (PAK) are both bowling in the same era. I am going to show you that Akram’s claim is nonsense.

James Anderson (31) of England is undeniably a good bowler, and I enjoy watching him bowl, but he is not the best. Image taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk.

As on 01 October 2013 the ICC bowling rankings tells us that:

In tests Steyn is rated the best bowler in the world. Ajmal is fourth and Anderson ninth.

In ODIs Ajmal is third, Anderson sixth and Steyn is 15^th

In T20s Ajmal is second, Steyn is 21^st and Anderson is not even on the top 100 list.

ICC BOWLING RANKINGS (01 October 2013)

	Anderson	Steyn	Ajmal
Test ranking	9	1	4
ODI ranking	6	15	3
T20I ranking	-	21	2

The full ICC rankings lists are available at http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211270.html

These rankings tell us that Saeed Ajmal is actually the best bowler in the world. Dale Steyn is undeniably the best in tests, and has been for a while, but in terms of consistency over all three formats Ajmal is the best.

I find it incongruent to compare pace bowlers with spinners. So let us compare Anderson to Steyn.

James Anderson is 31 years old

He has played 87 tests, 174 ODIs and 19 T20Is

In tests he has 329 wickets at 30.11

In ODIs he has 245 wickets at 29.11 (economy 4.97)

In T20Is he has 18 wickets at 30.66 (economy 7.84)

Dale Steyn is 30 years old

He has played 65 tests, 73 ODIs and 29 T20Is.

In tests he has 332 wickets at 22.65

In ODIs he has 102 wickets at 29.07 (economy 4.92)

In T20Is he has 39 wickets at 16.64 (economy 6.30)

Statistics show that Steyn has better averages in all formats and better economy rates than Anderson. Anderson only has a better ODI ranking than Steyn because he has been in superb form recently, England plays far more cricket than South Africa so their players can accumulate more points and Steyn has been injured lately so he has missed even more ODIs.

As prominent as Wasim Akram is in the cricketing world, statistics refute his claim. Saeed Ajmal is the best bowler of our era and Dale Steyn is the best pace bowler of our era.

By the way I am South African and might be biased in my evaluation if I did not use statistics as my primary tool of comparison. 

My favourite IPL team - CSK

As on the night of Wednesday 10 April 2013, here is how the 2013 IPL log stands:

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Pts	NRR
1	Mumbai Indians	3	2	1	4	0.850
2	Rajasthan Royals	2	2	0	4	0.600
3	Royal Challengers Bangalore	3	2	1	4	0.352
4	Sunrisers Hyderabad	3	2	1	4	0.083
5	Kings XI Punjab	2	1	1	2	0.986
6	Chennai Super Kings	2	1	1	2	0.296
7	Kolkata Knight Riders	2	1	1	2	-0.231
8	Delhi Daredevils	3	0	3	0	-1.024
9	Pune Warriors	2	0	2	0	-1.915

The log can be seen at http://www.supersport.com or http://www.iplt20.com

Super Kings

I am a keen Chennai Super Kings fan because they are a well balanced team and have Albie Morkel, MS Dhoni, Dirk Nannes, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ben Laughlin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Francois du Plessis, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chris Morris. 

All of these players have played international cricket for their countries. Subramaniam Badrinath and Shadab Jakati are also excellent players who back up the rest. Having Chris Morris there captures my favour. He is a great all-rounder for the Lions, the Johannesburg franchise.

Chris Morris (25) after a drop catch. The Super Kings beat the Kings XI Punjab today by 10 wickets after 17.2 overs. Image taken from http://www.iplt20.com

The CSK is an immense power house in cricket which is probably as strong as most countries in cricket. Out of five completed IPL seasons they won two (2010 and 2011). They were runners up in 2008 and 2012. 

Having Morkel, Morris and Bravo means they have three international all-rounders in the full squad. An IPL team is only allowed to play four non-Indian international players in any one game. Thus the extensiveness of the depth of the CSK is, well like the abyss at the bottom of the ocean. They have more international players than a full team. Not just that, but these players are some of the best in the world and the roles they fill compliment each other. The kind of cricket they play warrants my support, or even necessitates my support.

Sunrisers

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are a new team to look out for. They include Kumar Sangakarra, Amit Mishra, Cameron White, Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera, Ishant Sharma, Darren Sammy, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock and Shikhar Dhawan. 

Quinton de Kock (20) is a young South African wicket-keeper opening batsman who just made the record most runs in a South African T20 tournament (This year's Ram Slam). I hope he gets to play in the IPL. But with Kumar Sangakarra and Cameron White in the team I think the selectors will go for the experience rather than risk one of their 4 international places in the squad for an inexperienced young player.

I like that this team is perceived as the underdogs because they are new, and they don't have as many big names as the other teams. The players in this team means I make them my second favourite team.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad after getting Mayank Agrawal out againstthe Royal Challengers Bangalore. Image taken from http://www.iplt20.com

Glenn McGrath in hall of fame

Glenn McGrath was recently inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Here's the story: http://www.icc-cricket.com/newsdetails.php?newsId=22500_1357282143

Growing up I watched Glenn McGrath bowl. He was incredible. He helped Australia win many tests and ODIs. At the time I believed Shaun Pollock was the only pace bowler of the same calibre in the world. McGrath was always a bit better though. I loved watching him bowl. At the time he was the best pace bowler in the world, and has been the best since.

A legendary bowler. Glenn McGrath, now 42 years old. Picture taken from http://www.skysports.com

Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn and Mohammad Asif are and were all brilliant. But Glenn McGrath was the best. McGrath was accurate, deceived the batsmen, and moved the bowl a lot. The best thing about McGrath though was his confidence. He always backed himself to get the batsman out. He was extremely economical and at the same time took tons of wickets.

He was the leading wicket taker of the 2007 world cup, which Australia won. Picture taken from http://ewr3e.blogspot.com

With his late wife Jane, Glenn co-founded the McGrath Foundation to support Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer and their families through the provision of McGrath Breast Care Nurses. He is now Chairman of the foundation. The foundation's website: http://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/ Picture taken from http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

According to ESPN cricinfo:

His Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	124	243	29248	12186	563	8/24	10/27	21.64	2.49	51.9	28	29	3
ODIs	250	248	12970	8391	381	7/15	7/15	22.02	3.88	34.0	9	7	0
T20Is	2	2	48	79	5	3/31	3/31	15.80	9.87	9.6	0	0	0
First-class	189		41759	17414	835	8/24		20.85	2.50	50.0		42	7
List A	305		15808	10004	463	7/15	7/15	21.60	3.79	34.1	15	7	0
Twenty20	19	19	432	492	20	4/29	4/29	24.60	6.83	21.6	1	0	0

His Batting and fielding averages (less important)

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	124	138	51	641	61	7.36	1570	40.82	0	1	51	1	38	0
ODIs	250	68	38	115	11	3.83	236	48.72	0	0	7	0	37	0
T20Is	2	1	0	5	5	5.00	12	41.66	0	0	0	0	1	0
First-class	189	193	67	977	61	7.75			0	2			54	0
List A	305	80	43	124	11	3.35	270	45.92	0	0			48	0
Twenty20	19	5	2	9	5	3.00	18	50.00	0	0	1	0	5	0