Dale Steyn has been off the field more often than on it in recent times, and has signed up with English county Hampshire for the upcoming County Championship games as one of their overseas players in a bid to get match fit following a series of injuries.
Steyn, 34, has been able to take part in just two Tests since November 2016 – in those he managed to send down just 12.4 and 17.3 overs respectively.
On the first occasion, he left the field after fracturing a bone in his right shoulder during the Perth Test against Australia. He took a long break after that to recover, and after five domestic Twenty20 appearances for the Titans, took the field against India in the Cape Town Test in January 2018, but had to hobble off after a left heel injury.
According to the county, Steyn will first spend time with them in June and train with the club while also playing one 50-over match and one four-day fixture before, if selected, go to Sri Lanka with the South Africa team in July. He is then expected to come back and continue playing for Hampshire.
Sri Lanka host South Africa for two Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 International between 12 July and 14 August.
For a while at Hampshire, Steyn will also fill in for Hashim Amla, who will be with the club for the first three months of the season.
“Dale is one of the best bowlers in the world and is extremely motivated to get going after a frustrating period on the side-lines,” said Giles White, Hampshire’s Director of Cricket. “It seems a great for both parties – we hope that we can help him get back to his best and we look forward to welcoming him to Hampshire.”
Steyn, one of the premier pacemen in the modern game, has 419 wickets from 86 Tests, including five-wicket hauls in an innings 26 times, with a best of 7/51, and match hauls of 10 or more wickets five times.
He is also second only to Shaun Pollock’s 421 in South Africa’s list of highest wicket-takers in Tests.
Steyn also has 180 wickets from 116 ODIs and 58 wickets from 42 T20Is.