James Anderson vs Dale Steyn (part 2)

(Please refer to part 1 of the article for a take on James Anderson‘s bowling and introduction)

Brief overview of Steyn’s career

Dale Steyn took the cricketing world by storm with a rip-snorter of a delivery that swung late, and away, to detonate the stumps of England’s Michael Vaughan at Port Elizabeth in 04/05 in his debut Test. But just like most other cricketers, he too had his fair share of ups and downs. In that series against England in 04/05, Trescothick went hammer and tongs after Steyn in the fourth Test at the Wanderers. In a one-day game played against Australia in 05/06, Phil Jacques took a liking to his bowling, and smashed him to smithereens.

Worse was to come, as in ’06, the Sri Lankans sent Steyn and company on a leather hunt by amassing 736 for 5 in a Test match in Colombo. They took a special liking to Steyn’s bowling too. At the end of that Test match, Steyn had taken 27 wickets at a cost of 35.59. But South Africa’s think-tank had the vision of him being a future strike bowler, and showed immense faith in him.

That faith finally bore fruit, as Steyn ripped open Pakistan’s batting line-up in their own patch in ’07. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, and is now rightly regarded as a world class bowler. Steyn has come a long way from the days when he had to borrow money from his senior teammate, Pollock, as he didn’t have enough money to buy a pair of shoes. In short, just like a true champion, Steyn has been able to wade through all those swamps and marshes that came his way, and has achieved success as a fast bowler.

Dale Steyn with the new ball

Steyn belongs to the old school of swing bowling, as he keeps it simple. His modus operandi is to mainly concentrate on out-swingers. He may slip in the odd in-swinger, or depends on natural variation off the pitch to outwit the batsman. In the last few years, he has cut down on pace while bowling with the new ball, in an attempt to control swing.

To a left-hander, he naturally curves it back into the batsman, with the out-swinger being his surprise weapon. Last year in England, there was an inkling that Steyn may struggle a bit against England’s left-handed opening pair of Strauss and Cook. But unfortunately for England, South Africa’s think-tank saw through it, and decided to open the bowling with the towering giant, Morne Morkel, from around the wicket.

Dale Steyn with the old ball

When Steyn feels the deck is flat, or he can generate prodigious reverse swing, he ups his pace considerably. As he can consistently bowl at 90mph, Steyn has caused mass destruction by hooping the ball around the corners. With the old ball, Steyn, mainly tails it into a right-handed batsman, his variation being the one that straightens a touch. To make it more deadly for the batsman, Steyn also can slip in a nasty bouncer. He certainly made short work of Pakistan’s batting line-up in ’07 as well as at Nagpur against India in 09/10.

Steyn and his deadly bouncer

Steyn, perhaps, has the nastiest bouncer among present day fast bowlers. Many experts and cricket pundits have compared Steyn’s nasty bouncer to England’s former pacer, John Snow. Steyn’s bouncer is deceptively quick, and it follows the batsman all the time. As a keen cricket observer, I have noticed that Steyn flicks his wrists at the nth moment to get that little bit more zip off the surface. Dale Steyn smashing New Zealand’s opener Craig Cumming’s helmet in a Test match in South Africa is a classic example of Steyn’s most potent weapon.

Steyn and speed-gun

When Steyn is bowling with the old ball, there is every chance that he can touch even 95mph. The way Steyn zips through the crease so quickly is a sight to behold. If other pacers have an extra gear in terms of speed, Steyn seems to have two extra gears up his sleeve.

Comparison between Anderson and Steyn

Steyn and James Anderson have different ways of outwitting the batsman, and delivering the coup de grace. But if one still has to compare both of them, it is perhaps better to look at what they have done since January 2010, as Anderson matured late as a bowler.

Since January 2010, Steyn has taken 160 wickets in just 31 Tests at an outstanding average of 21.25, and at a phenomenal strike rate of 42.4. Even his record away from home in that period, which reads as 62 wickets in 14 Tests at 24.87, is stunning. In particular, the last season was an annus mirabilis for Steyn, as in 2012/13, he hunted down 33 batsmen in just 5 Tests at an earth-shattering average of 12.36.

On the other end of the spectrum, James Anderson has taken 159 wickets in 38 Tests at an impressive average of 25.76 since January 2010. His strike rate during that period, which reads as 56.5, doesn’t match up to Steyn’s phenomenal numbers, but is still very good. His record away from home during that period makes for a good reading too. He has taken 63 wickets at 28.98 in just 16 Tests. He did struggle this year in New Zealand. But Anderson, in recent times, has shown his wares in Asia and Australia.

One of the major reasons why Steyn’s record is better even since January 2010 is because of his wicked bouncer. Steyn’s bouncer is so good that he invariably rips-open the lower order with utmost ease. But Anderson’s bouncer is still not up-to the mark. As a result, England’s captain, Cook, depends more on Finn and Broad to run through the tail. It also has to be said that as Steyn is a yard quicker than Anderson, he causes more trouble to the batsmen when the old ball is reversing.

There is a school of thought that Dale Steyn is the better bowler of the two in one-day cricket. But the fact is, both have similar averages and strike rates in the shorter form of the game. In fact, the South African cricket board has managed Steyn well, as Steyn has played just 72 one-day matches since his debut.

Make no mistake, James Anderson is a terrific bowler these days, and is a connoisseur’s delight. But if I have to choose one among Steyn and Anderson in my World X1 to take on a team from planet Mars, it would be Steyn. His numbers are just mind-boggling. There is no doubt that Steyn will end up as an all time great fast bowler. Having said that, James Anderson deserves more respect than what he gets. It has become a mundane cliche to say that Anderson does well only when conditions favour him. In the last few years, he has proved his mettle with some fine performances away from home.