‘I could never bowl those big in-swingers’ – Steyn hails Anderson’s ridiculous bowling skills

Dale Steyn and James Anderson are widely regarded as top two Test fast bowlers of the modern era.

Dale Steyn and James Anderson | GettyThere is usually a debate among fans about who is the better fast bowler between Dale Steyn and James Anderson as both of them have dominated Test cricket in the last decade.

While most of the fans and pundits consider Steyn as the best of the modern era, the South African pace legend himself thinks otherwise.

On Wednesday (May 13), Steyn called England’s highest Test wicket-taker Anderson more skillful bowler than him.

See Also: Dale Steyn picks “best spells” of his glittering cricket career

Steyn and Anderson interacted with each other on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast and discussed their careers.

Before retiring from the longest format last year, Steyn represented South Africa in 93 Tests, claiming 439 wickets at an average of 22.95 and strike-rate of 42.3. Anderson, on the other hand, has taken 584 scalps in 151 Tests so far at an average and strike-rate of 26.83 and 56.1 respectively.

"I watch Jimmy bowl and he is just ridiculous. I could never bowl those big in-swingers and use the crease the way he did," Steyn said.

"I am a fan of Jimmy's, I'm not going to lie, but when you are playing against each other you can't allow that to come out - you don't want to show that weakness, if you want to call it that. I have no skill! Bowl a couple of slower balls, a fast bouncer and yorker and just try and hit the mark as often as I could."

Anderson too showered rich praise on his Proteas counterpart. The English paceman revealed that he used to analyze Steyn's method with the Kookaburra ball as he aimed to become more effective in away series.

"Dale's record speaks for itself - it is absolutely ridiculous. Unbelievable strike-rate, unbelievable average," said Anderson, who remains a key part of England's Test attack.

"He has done himself a disservice as he is definitely skilful, can definitely swing the ball. He swung it at 90mph-plus which was incredibly difficult to face. He was intimidating in more ways than one.

"I am lucky my action is repeatable and doesn't put too much strain on my body. I still work on my action now and making sure it is as economical as it can be," Anderson told when asked about his long Test career.

(Inputs from India Today)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 14 May, 2020

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