South Africa pace ace Dale Steyn rubbished the idea of using the same brand of ball for all conditions in Test cricket with support growing for the Dukes ball to be used across the world.
“Using one ball for all conditions sounds a bit silly,” Steyn told The Field. “Batsmen change their bats when they go across the world. The sweet spot is a lot lower in Asia because of the low bounce. In Australia and South Africa, it’s higher. It makes no sense to standardise one ball for all conditions.”
Steyn, who is playing for Cape Town Blitz in the ongoing Mzansi Super League (South Africa’s T20 competition), recently made his comeback to white-ball cricket internationally after an injury break.
When told that he looked more relaxed than ever before in the recently concluded One-day International series against Australia, Steyn mentioned that it was a result of just focussing on making a comeback.
“I am glad people noticed I am a lot more relaxed. When I broke my shoulder, I was not sure whether I’d play again so I was just focused on making use of the next opportunity I got. You might be on the top of the world today but there can be a fall tomorrow.”
The 35-year-old is now closing on completing fourteen years in international cricket. When asked what the change has been since the T20 era, Steyn said: “[Deliveries pitching] on top of the off stump is going to be challenging for any batter. If you are bowling on a flat pitch, then you might try considering change of pace or bowling more cutters.”
“In white-ball cricket, of course, you have to have a strike-rate of more than 100. Ten years ago, you were a bad bowler if you went for 100 runs in more than ten overs. These days, that’s the way it is. Runs per over has definitely gone up.”
Steyn threw his weight around Bengal spinner Shiva Singh, whose 360 degree turn before hurling the ball gave way for a lot of debate. “I don‘t think there was anything wrong with that. I see batters allowed to change their position even before a ball is being bowled. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
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