South Africa speedster Dale Steyn celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, June 27. And in a quirky chat with a cricket website, he revealed the reason behind choosing cricket as his profession. According to the Proteas bowler, cricket gave him the extra edge over other kids while growing up and that encouraged him to pursue the game.
“I suppose the reason why ended up choosing cricket was just that I felt like I had power over other kids around me. I was almost untouchable when it came to cricket, so I ran with it,” Steyn said during a chat with ESPNCricinfo.
Born in the picturesque town of Phalaborwa, the fast bowler was into sports right from his early childhood and played many other games apart from cricket. “In other sports, like when it came to hockey, I was really good at hockey, don’t get me wrong, but I was probably as good as other kids. You know in Swimming, I was a good swimmer, but if I beat somebody, it would just by the touch of the hands,” he said.
“Whereas when it came to cricket, I leapt ahead of the other kids. It was the one thing where I thought I had power over and I could dominate,” Steyn added.
With 439 wickets in Tests, Steyn is the highest wicket-taker in the longest format for his country. He also has 260 wickets in the limited-overs format of the game and is one of the most sought T20 format bowlers as well. Having achieved so much in the game, the pacer does not forget the support he received from his family at the early stage of his career.
“If I was ever going to become a professional and take something further, it was always going to be cricket. A lot of people around me like my parents and family were helping me. They were like, ‘you have got something, we can see it and you are dominating the adults, so this is something you gotta go with’,” said Steyn.