Proteas legend Dale Steyn bowls a delivery during his prime. Proteas legend Dale Steyn bowls a delivery during his prime. Picture: Michael Sheehan / AFP
While the United States cricket team celebrated a shock victory over Pakistan in Dallas on Thursday night, many Americans still aren’t familiar with the game’s superstars - even those working as staff at the ICC T20 World Cup.
The Proteas have enjoyed the sights and sounds of New York this week following their opening win against Sri Lanka on Monday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
They probably walked the streets of Time Square unnoticed, a far cry from what they experienced at the recent Indian Premier League, where cricketers can’t even leave the hotel without being mobbed.
One of the game’s all-time great fast bowlers Dale Steyn was certainly in incognito mode when he visited one of the T20 World Cup activations.
There Proteas legend Steyn, who has taken over 400 Test wickets during a stellar career, was given bowling tips “not to bend his arm” and that “the ball has to bounce” before hitting the wicket by an unsuspecting American staffer..
@DaleSteyn62 getting a bowling lesson.😏 pic.twitter.com/diLS0wgSoK
— Riaan Louw (@Ringo26) June 6, 2024
It was quite naughty of Steyn to let this sweet American guy go viral for giving him pointers, as he was one of the world’s most fearsome fast bowlers in his prime.
But it was rather amusing, especially as Steyn is no stranger to Americans’ cricket knowledge, or lack thereof, after making a cameo appearance in the 2014 movie American movie "Blended", which starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
In the movie, Sandler’s character gets Steyn to “bowl a couple of pitches” at one of Barrymore’s character’s kids on a visit to Sun City. After bowling a ball and bouncing it in, Sandler’s character asks Steyn “if he can reach the plate”, meaning for the ball to reach the batter on the full in baseball terms.
Steyn tries to reply with “in cricket we bounce the ball ...” but was quickly shrugged off by Sandler’s character.
So now, Steyn’s encounters with Americans and cricket has come full circle!
@JohnGoliath82