Born June 27, 1983: Dale Steyn, South African fast bowler

Legendary South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, who has played a total of 265 international matches, was born on this day in 1983.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to its official Twitter handle to extend warm birthday greetings to Steyn, who turned 37 on Saturday.

Along with a picture of Steyn, the world’s cricket governing body also listed down the cricket stats of the South African pacer.

“265 international appearances, 699 wicketsAn unprecedented 263 weeks spent atop @MRFWorldwide, ICC Test Bowling Rankings, An all-time great. Happy birthday, Dale Steyn!,”the ICC tweeted.

265 international appearances
 699 wickets
An unprecedented 263 weeks spent atop @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Bowling Rankings 

An all-time great 

Happy birthday, Dale Steyn! pic.twitter.com/9D7dsmM8Y9

— ICC (@ICC) June 27, 2020

Steyn made his international debut for South Africa during a Test match against England at Port Elizabeth in December 2004.

A year later in August 2005, the pacer received his first One-Day International (ODI) cap during Africa XI’s match against Asia XI in Centurion.

Meanwhile, Steyn’s first Twenty20I match for South Africa came against New Zealand in November 2007.

One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he has bagged 439 wickets in 93 Tests, 196 wickets in 125 ODIs and 64 wickets in 47 T20Is.

Steyn dominated top place in the ICC Test rankings during the peak of his career, standing atop for a record 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014. 

He is the eighth-highest wicket taker in the history of the Test cricket and the fifth-highest amongst pacers after James Anderson (575), Glenn McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519) and Stuart Broad (450).

In August 2019, Stteyn bid adieu to the longest format of the game to shift his focus on limited-overs cricket.