Steyn went up two places in the rankings, leapfrogging R Ashwin and James Anderson, to become No. 1 for the first time since December 2015, when he suffered a shoulder injury during the Durban Test against England.
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South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn has reclaimed the number one position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test bowlers after his excellent performance in the second Test against New Zealand in Centurion. He was two not out in the abandoned first test.
Steyn’s compatriot fast bowlers – Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada – have also made significant gains in the latest bowlers’ rankings, which were released on Wednesday morning.
Black Caps head coach Hesson thinks the defeat against the Proteas can be key to his side’s development in Test cricket.
“But I want to get the pace up a bit more”.
“I’ve never really bothered about that.it just doesn’t bother me”, an animated, nearly embarrassed Steyn said when asked about the record.
“Overs under the belt and a little more strength work and I’ll eventually get there”.
South Africa declared their second innings after the first hour’s play yesterday on 132 for seven, setting New Zealand a record-breaking target on a pitch with uneven bounce and widening cracks that was proving increasingly treacherous for batsmen.
“It really doesn’t bother me”, Steyn said. Talking about that, he said, “When I am 70 years old that’s not what I am going to remember”. I love it. It’s what I feel I have been put on earth to do. Steyn claimed 10 scalps in the series, and now lies just five Test wickets behind Shaun Pollock on 421 as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format of the game. “I will remember winning in Australia, I will remember winning in England, and hopefully I will remember winning a World Cup too”.
Interestingly, Adam Voges moved up one spot on the batting rankings, drawing level with AB de Villiers in sixth position despite a poor series in Australia’s 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka.
Stand-in captain Faf du Plessis said it had been an nearly ideal Test for South Africa.
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“We had some real good discussions and the guys took it onboard”, he said.
