South Africa paceman Dale Steyn, fresh from being named player of the series in the recent Bangladesh tour, is proud his name is now being bracketed with some of the world’s best.
South Africa swept the series 2-0 with Steyn taking 14 wickets.
”Just to be put in the same bracket like [Muttiah] Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock or Shane Bond, it’s remarkable,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Steyn has taken 105 wickets in 20 Tests, earning him a rating of 893 points to Sri Lankan Muralitharan’s 907, according to International Cricket Council statistics.
”It means things are going to my plan and I am enjoying my cricket. That’s very good,” he said.
Steyn said conditions in Bangladesh had made it difficult to take wickets
”Playing in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India, it’s difficult to take wickets. These wickets are not exactly the same in South Africa, which are bouncy and pretty quick.
”So it’s quite pleasing to win man-of-the-series here and then also be the top wicket-taker.”
Steyn added that hard work, and some impatience from the Bangladesh batsmen, were key factors in the recent Test series.
”I think they tried to hit every ball for four, especially after they saw nearly 600 runs on that pitch that looks easy to score on. It wasn’t,” he said.
”You can’t hit every ball for four.” — Reuters