Dale Steyn's injury woes haunt him yet again; ruled out for the rest of the series
Dale Steyn, the spearhead of the South African bowling line-up who is just five wickets away from overtaking Shaun Pollock as the most prolific South African bowler of all time, has yet again injured his shoulder in the ongoing Perth Test and has been ruled out of the rest of the series against the Kangaroos.
As quoted by Fox Sports, former Australian skipper Michael Clarke told Channel 9 that Steyn was suffering from the injury for almost a year. “I spoke to Dale Steyn before the start of play about his shoulder nearly 12 months ago while practising the back of the hand slower balls. I think he’s been suffering to a certain extent since then. He had his shoulder taped yesterday and today. I think he might just be feeling that again. I’d hate to see him injure it bad enough that he can’t get out and bowl again.”
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Prior to the injury, Steyn looked in good shape as he bowled with pace and hostility on a bouncy WACA pitch. He came out second-best in his duel with David Warner but on the second day, Steyn won the battle between the two in the 36th over of the innings, when Warner pushed a good length delivery that just moved away off the pitch to fall for 97.
Just a few minutes after Steyn won the duel against Warner, he was forced to leave the pitch following an innocuous looking delivery in the fourth ball of his 12th over. He was taken to the hospital and scans revealed an injury to the speedster. This latest injury only adds to the pace bowler’s woes, as he has been suffering from multiple injuries in the past couple of seasons.
Steyn‘s latest series of injuries started in the 2015 tour of India, where he pulled a groin after bowling just 11 overs in Mohali. The injury dealt a big blow to South Africa as they lost the series 3-0, their first away loss in nine years.
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The fast bowler even missed a major part of the series against England at Cape Town in January owing to a shoulder injury. Steyn missed two Tests and the entire ODI series against the English due to the injury.