How long will Dale Steyn remain a top bowler, and continue to play for the South African national team? Will he remain a great bowler after 30?
Strengths:
Clean bowling action.
Strong, wiry, non-bulky, non-Brett Schultz frame
Some abilities as a swing bowler.
Reasonable Stamina.
Weaknesses:
In the short-to-medium term, nothing.
Is a shortish fast bowler, and skids on to the batsman.
Puts a lot of pressure on to himself on the follow through.
Bounce is not a weapon.
Similar to Allan Donald, does not have loop to his bowling. The ’skim the surface’ guys last longer than the ‘hit the deck’ guys.
Opportunities:
Swing. Can definitely convert himself into a crafty, Damien Fleming-esque swing bowler when the extreme pace has deserted him.
Sports Medicine. And South Africa is well nigh the best in the cricket world in that.
A handy bat.
Threats:
The assembly-line of fast bowlers for the Saffers.
Morne Morkel. In the long term, Morkel with his height and bounce will be a greater threat than Steyn at 30 (and will be better at playing the Ntini role). And he is a better bat.
Skiddy bowlers, unless they are Malcolm Marshall, never were the same after they were 30.
Final Analysis –
Steyn will retire / will be sacked with 300 wickets or so, at around the age of 31. He might well end up being remembered as an all-time great, in line for being the third best skiddy fast bowler of all time after Malcolm Marshall (who of course is the greatest fast bowler of all time IMHO), and Waqar Younis.
