Dale Steyn facts for kids
Steyn in 2009
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| Full name |
Dale Willem Steyn
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| Born | 27 June 1983 Phalaborwa, Transvaal Province, South Africa |
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 297) | 17 December 2004 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 21 February 2019 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 82) | 17 August 2005 v Asia XI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 13 March 2019 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 31) | 23 November 2007 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 21 February 2020 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003/04–2005/06 | Northerns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004/05–2009/10; 2017/18–2018/19 | Titans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Essex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Warwickshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010; 2019–2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010/11–2016/17 | Cape Cobras | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Deccan Chargers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Gujarat Lions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Glamorgan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Jamaica Tallawahs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Hampshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Cape Town Blitz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019/20 | Melbourne Stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Islamabad United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Kandy Tuskers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Quetta Gladiators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 21 February 2020
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Dale Willem Steyn (born 27 June 1983) is a former professional cricket player from South Africa. He played for the South African cricket team. Many people think he was one of the greatest bowlers of his time. Steyn was special because he could make the ball swing late at very high speeds. This made him a tough bowler to face.
During the 2007–08 season, Steyn took 78 wickets, which is a lot! He won the ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award for his amazing performance. He was also named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2013. In 2014, he was called the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for 2013.
After 2015, Steyn faced many injuries, especially to his shoulder. These injuries made it hard for him to play as much. Even with injuries, he was featured in Wisden Cricketers of the Decade at the end of 2019. He was also part of the ICC Test Team of the Decade at the end of 2020.
Steyn was ranked the number one Test bowler in the world for a record 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014. This is longer than any other bowler! In December 2018, Steyn became the top wicket-taker for South Africa in Test cricket. He took more wickets than any other South African bowler in Test matches, passing Shaun Pollock.
On 5 August 2019, Steyn stopped playing Test cricket to focus on shorter games. He then announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 31 August 2021.
Contents
Early Cricket Days
Steyn was born in 1983 in a small town called Phalaborwa in South Africa. It's near the Kruger National Park. His family is from Zimbabwe.
Starting in South Africa
Steyn began his first-class cricket career for Northerns on 17 October 2003. He didn't play much in his first season. But after playing very well in 2004/05, he was chosen for the Test team to play England. He went back to playing for the Titans team after his first few Test matches.
Playing in England
In 2005, Steyn went to England to play for Essex. He played seven matches there. He didn't take many wickets at first. After working with a bowling coach, he returned to South Africa. He bowled very well for the Titans in the 2005/2006 season. This helped him get called back to the Test team to play New Zealand.
Because he became a regular player for the national team, Steyn didn't play much domestic cricket in South Africa after 2006. He had another chance to play in England in 2007 for Warwickshire. This time, he did much better, taking 23 wickets in seven matches. He also became a regular player for South Africa's One Day International team.
Playing for Teams Around the World
Steyn joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He played for them for three seasons. Later, he played for other IPL teams like Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In 2016, he was bought by Gujarat Lions. He didn't play in the 2017 IPL season. In 2019, he rejoined Royal Challengers Bangalore for a short time. He also played for them in 2020.
Steyn also played in other leagues. In 2019, he was part of the Cape Town Blitz team in South Africa. He also played for the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash League. In 2020, he was drafted by Islamabad United for the Pakistan Super League. He also played for Kandy Tuskers in the Lanka Premier League in 2020 and Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League in 2021.
International Cricket Journey
Early Years (2004–2007)
Steyn played his first match for South Africa on 17 December 2004 against England. His first wicket was Marcus Trescothick. However, his early performances were not very strong, and he was dropped from the team for a while.
Later in 2005, Steyn played his first One Day International (ODI) match. He also made his ODI debut for South Africa in 2006 against Australia. After some struggles, he was recalled to the Test team in April 2006 to play New Zealand. He took his first "five-wicket haul" (meaning he took five wickets in one innings) in that series. He ended the series with 16 wickets.
In 2006, Steyn played against Sri Lanka away from home. He took another five-wicket haul in the second Test.
Successful Years (2007–2011)
Steyn kept his place in the Test team for a series against India. He got injured early in the first match but returned for the third Test. He bowled well, taking six wickets.
He was recalled to the South African ODI team in June 2007. He played in a few matches but was sometimes expensive with his bowling.
In October 2007, Steyn toured Pakistan and played in both Test matches. He took his third Test five-wicket haul in the first match.
Steyn had an amazing series against New Zealand in November 2007. In the first Test, he took two five-wicket hauls and his first "ten-wicket match" (meaning he took ten wickets in the whole match). South Africa won by a huge margin. He continued this great form in the second Test, taking another five-wicket haul and his second ten-wicket match. He won "Man-of-the-Match" awards for both games and "Man-of-the-Series" for his 20 wickets. This performance helped him reach the top five in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers.
He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut in November 2007 against New Zealand. He also played in some ODI matches.
Steyn's excellent form continued into the Test series against the West Indies. He took 4 wickets for only 9 runs in a T20I match. In the Test series, he took his seventh five-wicket haul in the third Test. He won his second "Man-of-the-Series" award.
He played in the Test series against Bangladesh. Steyn helped South Africa win both matches. He took 14 wickets in the series and won his third "Man-of-the-Series" award. In his 20th Test match, he became the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Tests.
In a Test series against India in 2008, Steyn showed his skill. In the second Test, he took five wickets for 23 runs as India were bowled out for a very low score. South Africa won easily.
In a Test match against Australia, Steyn had a record 180-run partnership for the 9th wicket with J.P. Duminy. Steyn scored 76 runs himself. He also took five wickets in both innings, giving him 10 wickets in the match. South Africa won the series, their first Test series win in Australia. Steyn was named "Man of the Match."
Steyn achieved his best ODI bowling figures of 5 wickets for 50 runs against India in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2011 World Cup.
Becoming a Star (2012–2014)
On 2 January 2013, Steyn took his 300th Test wicket in his 61st match. He was the second fastest South African bowler to reach this milestone.
On 3 February 2013, Steyn had his best Test figures at home, taking 6 wickets for only 8 runs against Pakistan. This helped South Africa win the match easily.
Steyn even appeared as himself in the 2014 movie Blended, which starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
Later Years and Retirement (2015–2021)
Steyn reached 400 Test wickets on 30 July 2015, becoming the fastest bowler to do so in terms of balls bowled. He took his 400th wicket when he dismissed Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh.
In 2016, Steyn broke his right shoulder bone during a Test series against Australia. This injury kept him out of cricket for a long time. He missed the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
He returned to international cricket in November 2017, but then injured his left heel in a Test match against India. This ruled him out of the rest of that series.
On 26 December 2018, Steyn equaled Shaun Pollock's record for the most Test wickets for South Africa. A few days later, on 26 December 2018, he broke the record, taking his 422nd wicket and becoming South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker in Tests.
In April 2019, he was chosen for South Africa's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. However, he was ruled out of the tournament due to his ongoing shoulder injury. In August 2019, Steyn announced his retirement from Test cricket.
Finally, on 31 August 2021, Steyn announced that he was retiring from all forms of cricket.
Coaching Career
After retiring from playing, Steyn started a coaching career. In December 2021, he became the fast bowling coach for the Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2022 IPL season.
In May 2023, Steyn was appointed as the bowling coach for the Major League Cricket team Washington Freedom.
In July 2025, Dale Steyn announced he was leaving the SA20 team Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He had been their bowling coach for three seasons. Under his coaching, the team reached the finals every year, winning the title twice and finishing second in the 2025 season. Steyn shared on social media that he enjoyed his time with the team and praised the management and staff. He wished them well for the future.
In the Media
- Steyn appeared on the Sporting Edge mastermind podcast.
- Steyn was in the film Blended (2014), playing himself.
Playing Style
Steyn was a very aggressive fast bowler. He could bowl at speeds over 150 kilometers per hour (about 93 miles per hour). His fastest recorded ball was 156.7 km/h. He was great at making the ball swing, especially with a new ball. He could also make the older ball reverse swing. Steyn was known for being very competitive and would celebrate loudly after taking a wicket. He once said he "love(s) the buzz from bowling fast" and wanted to be the quickest in the world. Former South African bowler Allan Donald even called Steyn the best bowler of all time.
Honours
- ICC Test Player of the Year: 2008
- ICC Test Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
- ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2011, 2014
- ICC Test Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
- South African Cricketer of the Year: 2008
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 2014
- Wisden Leading Cricketer: 2013
See also
In Spanish: Dale Steyn para niños
