Dale Steyn

[darksideofthemoon]

Originally Posted by Rachael

All of which explains my preference for Asif over Steyn: the two might compliment each other nicely... but I'd generally expect Asif (not as quick, but more likely to bowl 5-6 quality balls in an over) to get a higher proportion of top order wickets and Steyn (quicker, but wilder) to cash in rather better in terms of wickets further down the order.

Steyn's wickets (he didn't open the bowling on 7 occasions out of 35, otherwise he might have had more top order wickets. Asif has always opened the bowling apart from once.)
Top order - 33.3%
(1-3)
Middle - 35.2%
(4-7)
Tail - 31.4%
(8-11)

Asif
Top order - 47.1%
Middle - 39.2%
Tail - 13.7%

[Nostromo]

Those statistics are impressive, but they don't tell the whole story. If I had to choose between Steyn and Asif in my team, I'd go for Steyn any day. I believe that his aggression as a genuine fast bowler can be an important factor in crucial games.