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Dale Steyn: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
AB De Villiers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn
What he said:
“We’re definitely not predictable. You bowled two overs the other day.”
Dale Steyn contradicts himself without seemingly realizing it. The lanky pace bowler commented on his teammate A B De Villiers bowling for only the second time ever in ODIs. South Africa were playing Zimbabwe in Harare.
AB De Villiers recently came out strongly against Australian sledging terming it “personal.”
De Villiers said:
“There was lots of personal stuff and certain guys take it in a different way. I see that it’s part of the game… but they can’t expect us to be mates with them off the field then, if they get very personal.”
The South African skipper was referring to comments made during the third Test in Cape Town.
David Warner, meanwhile, apologized for accusing De Villiers of ball-tampering during the series.
Warner said:
“Obviously with myself coming out and saying the comment about AB de Villiers probably wasn’t the smartest thing, and I regret saying that.We set a standard where we want to go out there and play aggressive and hard cricket and not cross the line.
There are some times you do nudge that line a fair bit and the odd occasion you might step over that, but you do have to realize that we’re out there to win.
We do like to be aggressive and sledging is a form of the game when we’re out there.”
What Steyn really meant:
“Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? …AB bowling two overs. I certainly didn’t expect that.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Outliers… by Malcolm Gladwell—yeah, that’s my favorite read.”
Michael Clarke: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Michael Clarke Waits Out While Teammates Complete Win
What he said:
“I was dying to go to the bathroom for an hour and a half but I was too scared to move.”
Australia skipper, Michael Clarke, controls his bladder until his team completes a stunning victory over South Africa in the second Test at Johannesburg.
What he really meant:
“And I had no liquids (beer) either for those 90 minutes.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“If we’d lost, it’d have taken the p**s out of me.”
Ian Chappell: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Ian Chappell ‘Clubs’ Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle
What he said:
“The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman.”
Ian Chappell diagnoses the ills plaguing Australia’s pace bowlers.
Chappell wrote:
Both Johnson and Siddle bowl deliveries good enough to dismiss any Test batsman.The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman. Johnson’s problem is one of confidence. Consequently, he’s often running up to bowl half expecting something to go wrong and is fighting a battle with himself as much as the batsman down the other end.
What he really meant:
“Siddle and Johnson are quite capable of bowling balls of this century—to club players.”
What he definitely didn’t:
Dale Steyn: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Dale Steyn Has Wickets, Not Names, On His Mind
What he said:
“Listen, I got your name wrong, but you didn’t have to drop the catch.”
Dale Steyn is disbelieving that Under-19 substitute fielder, Dale Deeb, could put down a sitter denying Steyn a fifer in the second Test of the ongoing home series against Australia.
Deeb dropped Nathan Lyon, Australia’s No.11 batsman, in the covers.
What he really meant:
“Listen, hold catches. You’ll be gratefully remembered.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m superstitious. Catches have names too. “
Morne Morkel: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Morne Morkel Highlights The Blur
What he said:
“The whole second innings thing is a blur. Luckily, there are highlights, so you can see it every ten minutes on television.”
Morne Morkel enjoys catching the highlights of Australia’s dramatic second innings collapse in the first Test at Newlands.
Australia were shot out for 47.
What he really meant:
“It all seemed like an action movie—fast forward.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’d have enjoyed watching the highlights more—had the Aussies won.”
Mark Taylor: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
What he said:
“I thought I’d missed a whole day of my life.”
Mark Taylor wakes up to discover Team Australia in dire straits in the first Test at Cape Town.
Australia scored 284 in their first innings,then bundled out the Proteas for 96 only to collapse for a paltry 47 in their second innings.
When Taylor went to bed, South Africa were 1-49 at lunch. Taylor was woken up by his phone ringing at 1:10 am (AUS time) to discover his home side 7 down for 21.
South Africa went on to clinch the Test scoring the required 236 in 50.2 overs.
What he really meant:
“What’s Test cricket come to when I can’t get a good night’s sleep?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“The Big Bash’s arrived in South Africa—early.”
South Africa Cricket: Dale Steyn Will Holiday Against Australia At Home
What he said:
“I go on holiday for longer than that series is going to last.”
South African pacer, Dale Steyn, is disbelieving that just two Tests against Australia at home will test (pun intended) both sides’ character.
Steyn is that disappearing breed of quickies who believe that the longer form of the game is where men prove their mettle.
Steyn said:
There’s a lot of guys who can bowl 150km/h when you give them the ball when they’re fresh in the morning, but can they do it late in the afternoon when it’s boiling hot and they’re bowling their 20th over for the day? I want to be able to do that and I want to be the only guy who is able to do that.
I want to be in your face all day, not for little periods of time, that is pretty much my inspiration. I want the opposition to walk off and say, ‘Shit, that was tough’.
On the two-match series:
I won’t lie to you, I’m very, very disappointed. Everyone is talking about Test cricket still being the ultimate in everybody’s minds and yet we are only playing two Test matches. Also in England next year, our series has been changed from five Test matches to three.
‘We want people to want to play Test matches. We want kids to aspire to that, and yet two of the biggest Test nations in the world are only playing two Test matches. I go on holiday for longer than that series is going to last. I hope somebody gets up and decides to do something about it. We want it to be competitive and hard and, seriously, two Test matches is not enough.
Steyn claims he is a smarter bowler nowadays:
I think I am a little bit more street-smart. Each day you play you don’t necessarily get better but you get a bit wiser and that can work against you because you don’t use your natural instincts, but I think I’m at the stage now where I use a bit of both.”
I would love to bowl 160 km/h. Any fast bowler would love to do that. But for me that is almost impossible. Someone like ‘Taity’ who is only playing T20 these days, it’s very possible for him to do that all the time. It’s like asking Usain Bolt to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds every day of the week for 30 days, it’s just not going to happen.
The thing I’ve got to concentrate on for South Africa is bowling at good pace and if the ball is in the right area that will cause enough trouble.
What Dale Steyn really meant:
“Two tests, ten days of Test cricket! I take off for two weeks—at least!”
What Dale Steyn definitely didn’t:
“Don’t pay me my match fee. It feels as though I’m vacationing.”
Jonty Rhodes Won’t Sing Nor Dance
What he said:
“Bollywood actors sing and groove. I know my limitations. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, nor do I have the looks of a hero — it’s zero out of three for me.”
Former South African cricketer and Mumbai Indians fielding coach is not Bollywood hero material.
Rhodes was celebrated for his dare-devilry on the field but the idea of appearing in an Indian pot-boiler gives him the heebie-jeebies.
Rhodes disclosed his eagerness to meet model Poonam Pandey:
“A lot of people were waiting to see the show that she was going to put on for the Indian team. I, too, had put my hand up for that. If she needs a little practice or wants someone to advise her, I’d be happy to help… as a father figure.”
What he really meant:
“I can fly, though. I wonder why Shah Rukh Khan didn’t come calling for ‘Ra.One’.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m all jaunty about acting.”
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