The first time Dale Steyn bowled to Ricky Ponting, he was a 22-year-old kid playing his very first game of 50-over cricket for South Africa. He started with a no-ball, and followed it up with a second soon after, then a third, and a fourth, until his captain Graeme Smith finally decided to pull him out of the attack.
Steyn finished with five overs for 58 runs. Years later it wasn’t the pain of how poorly he had played that stayed with him but the way Ponting treated him later on, after Australia had won. He blanked him as they were shaking hands. Ponting, who was already the best batsman in the world, likely didn’t think twice about it but Steyn, who wanted to be the best bowler, never forgot the insult.
Written by Andy Bull
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/aug/13/dale-steyn-south-africa-cricket under the title “Anger is an energy, and Dale Steyn rode the furious wave to greatness | Andy Bull”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
