The emergence of fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was the only real positive out of South Africa’s tour to Bangladesh.
The tour as a whole was a disappointing one and it was silly to go there in the middle of their monsoon season. But credit must go to Bangladesh, who have improved over the last few years, especially at home.
The players put in some lacklustre performances and the middle order of the ODI team was not convincing. The batters struggled to assert themselves and the selectors will have to start getting the combinations right going forward.
I think the selectors missed a trick by not giving Kagiso Rabada his Test debut on tour, even though most of the second Test was washed out. It was a golden opportunity to give Rabada a chance in the place of Vernon Philander.
Dale Steyn had a wonderful performance in the second Test. He has been a formidable force over the years and to get 400 Test wickets is a huge achievement. If they look after him and he stays injury free there is a chance he can get to 500.
Shaun Pollock holds the record for the most Test wickets by a South African, but it is a question if when rather than if Steyn will surpass his tally of 421.
Steyn ranks among the three best bowlers in South Africa’s history and he’s probably among the top six in the world over the last 40 years. He has everything: pace, aggression, away swing and a good bouncer. Those are the ingredients of a good fast bowler.
There has been comparisons between Steyn and England’s James Anderson over the last few years. Anderson is good, but Steyn is better.
The Ashes series has been an amazing one thus far. I wonder what has caused these big turnarounds between Tests. No Anderson in the fourth Test gives Australia a big chance of levelling the series.
Anderson will be badly missed by England. He is their most dangerous bowler and his absence is a big blow to them. Australia’s batting is very suspect at the moment and their top six is weak. They will need to rectify this if they want to keep their chances in the series alive.
