Five numbers
90 – The number of wickets Dale Steyn has in Asian conditions, the toughest place for fast bowlers. James Anderson has 42 and averages 32.21, compared to Steyn's 22.33.
23 – The number of times Anderson has taken four wickets in an innings, which is just one less than Steyn. The South African has far more five-wicket hauls though (25 to 18).
4.96 – The number of wickets Steyn takes per Test, a sliver under 5, which is territory for the truly great. Anderson, by contrast, takes 3.87.
6.4 – The difference, of runs per wicket, that Steyn's Test bowling average is superior to Anderson's.
364 – The number of wickets, in 90 Tests, Anderson has taken since he cemented his place in the England side in March 2008. Steyn has taken 297 since that time in 61 Tests.
Best spells
Dale Steyn
7-51 v India, Nagpur 2010 – Arguably one of the best spells of fast bowling – if not the best – ever seen in India. Steyn took two wickets with the new ball but then turned in a spell of 5-3 with the old ball after tea on the third day. The pitch barely mattered – South Africa had piled up nearly 600 in their only innings.
5-67 v Australia, Melbourne 2008 – Steyn had already taken five in the first innings and then scored a memorable and game-changing 76 to secure a vital lead. He then picked off a couple of both openers, the meat of the middle order and a tail-end wicket to set up a historic win.
5-75 v India, Cape Town 2010 – At his best, Steyn is frightening because not only does he generate extreme pace, but he can control his outswing at that pace to metronomic degrees. This five-fer would have been more devastating had he not been involved in one of the great battles of the ages, a third day duel with Sachin Tendulkar lighting up the entire Test.
4-55 v Australia, Port Elizabeth 2014 – With rain forecast for the fifth day, South Africa had to bowl Australia out on the fourth day itself. Enter Steyn, with a magical spell of reverse swing bowling that was the main culprit in an Australian collapse of 90 for 10. This was a Steyn spell at his absolute "crazy-eyes" best.
6-8 v Pakistan, Johannesburg 2013 – This might not be the strongest batting line-up Steyn has skittled but the final haul, statistically, is mind-boggling. They came from just over eight overs as well and at times it felt as if he was bowling to schoolchildren, not because Pakistan were so bad, but because he was in such complete control.
Osman Samiuddin: Graeme Smith is right – Dale Steyn is a far greater fast bowler than James Anderson
James Anderson
4-40 v India, Mumbai 2006 – The first real occasion when Anderson showed that he was more than just an English-conditions swing bowler. His haul included the big two as well, strangling Rahul Dravid down the leg-side and getting Sachin Tendulkar to edge behind. That set the stage for a memorable, series-levelling win.
5-73 v New Zealand, Wellington 2008 – The spell that effectively sealed Anderson's place in a new England set-up. Until then he had been kept out by England's 2005 Ashes-winning fab four pace attack. But by 2008 it had disintegrated and Anderson came in here at the expense of Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison: he has never looked back.
6-17 v Pakistan, Nottingham 2010 – When we talk about the kind of mind-bending swing Anderson can generate, this is the spell we should refer to. Overcast through the Test, with a helpful surface, Anderson literally bent the ball around corners. He took 11 in the match and better sides than this version of Pakistan would not have been able to resist.
4-66 v Australia, Sydney 2011 – Australia, with its Kookaburra ball, has never been an easy tour for Anderson. But he reached a rare peak on this tour and it culminated in a wonderful spell in Sydney. In truth, he was outstanding throughout but this Test was fitting reward for the tour, bowing with great intelligence and awareness for seven wickets in the Test.
3-38 v India, Kolkata 2012 – Bereft for once in his career without his strike partner Stuart Broad, Anderson worked his magic on a benign Eden Gardens surface. As Steyn and others have done, it was with some high-quality reverse that he worked a way out. His six wickets in the game won England the Test and, eventually, the series.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
