International career[edit]

Dale Steyn in the field at the SCG in January 2009

Home Tests against England 2004/05[edit]

Steyn made his debut for South Africa on 17 December 2004 in the first Test ofEngland's tour. His first victim in Test cricket was Marcus Trescothick whom hebowled with a fast in-swinging delivery.^[17] However, his overall performance was underwhelming, he took eight wickets at an average of 52.00^[18] and he was dropped after bowling poorly in England's second innings of the fourth Test in January 2005, bowling eight no balls in nine overs which went for 47 runs.^[19]England won the match by 77 runs. dale is known to be a role model since 2006

One Day Internationals 2005/06[edit]

Later that year, Steyn was picked in the squad for the African XI in the Afro-Asia Cup of 2005/06, and he made his One Day International debut on 17 August 2005. The African XI won the match, with Steyn bowling last batsman Ashish Nehra to seal victory by two runs.^[20] Steyn made his One Day International debut for South Africa on 20 January 2006 in a match against Australia at Melbourne, a match which was part of the 2005-06 VB Series. Steyn did not bowl particularly well^[21] and after another below par performance against Sri Lanka^[22] he dropped out of consideration for the South African ODI team.

Home Tests against New Zealand 2005/2006[edit]

Following a strong season playing domestic cricket for the Titans, Steyn was recalled to the Test side to play New Zealand in April 2006. He responded to his opportunity with his first five-wicket haul in the first Test at Centurion, ripping through the New Zealand batting lineup along with Makhaya Ntini as New Zealand crumbled to 120 all out, chasing 248 to win.^[23] He finished the three Test series with 16 wickets at 26.00^[24] and made a fine impression throughout.

Away Tests against Sri Lanka 2006[edit]

Steyn was included in the Test team to play Sri Lanka away in a two match series in July and August 2006. In his first overseas Test, at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, he took 3 for 129 as Sri Lanka piled up 756–5, with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene putting together the highest Test match partnership ever (624 runs). South Africa slumped to defeat by an innings and 153 runs.^[25] In the second Test, at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo, Steyn took his second five-wicket haul in Tests during Sri Lanka's first innings, but went wicketless in their seconds innings as Sri Lanka sealed a 2–0 series victory by a single wicket.^[26] Steyn finished the series with eight wickets at an average of 36.50.^[24]

Home Tests against India 2006/07[edit]

Steyn his Test place for the three match home series against India. He picked up an injury whilst bowling early in India's first innings in the first Test at Johannesburg which prevented him from taking much further part in the game and also ruled him out of the second Test. He returned to play in the deciding third Test at Cape Town and bowled well, taking six wickets for 88 runs in the match as South Africa clinched the match and the series.^[27] He finished the series with six wickets at an average of 19.00.^[28]

Home Tests against Pakistan 2006/07[edit]

Despite his strong performance on his return to the team in the third Test against India, Steyn missed out on a place in the first two Tests against Pakistan, with the selectors opting to play a four man attack featuring full-time spinner Paul Harris. He returned in the third Test, at Cape Town, when the selectors decided to rest André Nel and Shaun Pollock in preparation for the imminent 2007 Cricket World Cup. He took four wickets in the match for 87 runs as South Africa won the match by 5 wickets and took the series 2–1.^[29] As this was his only match, his average for the series was 21.75.^[28]

One Day Internationals 2007[edit]

Steyn was recalled to the South African ODI squad in June 2007 and played in three matches between June and August, against Ireland, India and Zimbabwe. He had mixed success in these three matches, taking wickets but proving expensive.^[30]

Away Tests against Pakistan 2007/2008[edit]

Steyn was picked for the Test squad to tour Pakistan in October, and played in both Tests. In the first Test at Karachi, during Pakistan's second innings, he picked up his third Test five-wicket haul as Pakistan were bowled out for 263 chasing 424 to win.^[31] He had an unremarkable second Test, with the match petering out to a draw, handing South Africa the series 1–0, and finished the series with nine wickets at 24.66.^[32]

Home Tests, ODIs and T20 against New Zealand 2007/2008[edit]

Steyn was by now an established member of the Test team, and he produced his finest series performance to date in the two Test matches against New Zealand in November. In the first Test at Johannesburg he collected his fourth and fifth five-wicket hauls (5/35 and 5/59) and his first ten-wicket match as New Zealand were thrashed by 358 runs, South Africa's biggest victory margin in terms of runs to date. Steyn was also awarded his first Test Man-of-the-Match award.^[33] This devastating form continued into the second Test at Centurion where he picked up 4/42 in the first innings and his sixth five-wicket haul (6/49) to help South Africa to victory by an innings and 59 runs. His second ten-wicket match earned him his second Man-of-the-Match award in a row^[34] and his series performance of 20 wickets at an average of 9.20^[35] won him his first Man-of-the-Series award. On the back of his performance, he broke into the top five of the ICC rankings for Test bowlers for the first time in his career.^[36]

He made his Twenty20 International debut on 23 November 2007 in the one-off game against New Zealand, taking the wicket of Scott Styris and only giving up 17 runs from his four overs.^[37] He also featured in the third One Day International at Cape Town, where he had partial success, taking the wickets of the New Zealand openers, Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent, but going for 50 runs from nine overs.^[38]

Home Tests, ODIs and T20 against West Indies 2007/2008[edit]

Steyn's next international appearance was in the first Twenty20 International against the West Indies. He took the exceptional figures of 4/9 in three overs, with all four wickets being picture perfect yorkers, but was unable to stop the West Indies chasing down the target of 59 runs in a match reduced to 13 overs by rain.^[39]

Steyn's form continued into the Test series. He had a fairly indifferent match in the first Test at Port Elizabeth, taking 5/188 in the match as the West Indies scored their first away victory in Test matches for two and a half years, although he did hit his highest Test match score to date, 33 not out, in South Africa's second innings.^[40] He picked up figures of 4/60 and 4/44 in the second Test at Cape Town as South Africa leveled the series^[41] and once again proved his worth in the deciding third Test at Durban by taking 1/18 and 6/72, his seventh five-wicket haul, as the West Indies were thrashed by an innings and 100 runs.^[42] His 20 wickets at 19.10.^[35] earned him his second consecutive Man-of-the-Series award.

He played in the first three matches of the One Day International series, but could not match his Test success and was briefly dropped after failing to take a wicket and going for 62 runs in his ten overs during the third match at Port Elizabeth^[43]He was recalled for the fifth match at Johannesburg but struggled again, taking one wicket but going for 78 runs from ten overs.^[44]

Away Tests and ODIs against Bangladesh 2007/08[edit]

In the first Test of the two match series against Bangladesh, at Dhaka, Steyn helped South Africa avoid an embarrassing defeat. Bangladesh were bowled out for 192 in their first innings, with Steyn claiming 3/27, but then South Africa collapsed to 170 all out, handing the hosts a shock 22 run lead. However Steyn (4/48) then combined with Jacques Kallis (5/30) to restrict Bangladesh to 182 all out and South Africa were able to complete a five wicket victory on the fourth day of the match.^[45] South Africa won the second Test at Chittagong comprehensively (by an innings and 205 runs) and Steyn returned figures of 4/66 and 3/35^[46] giving him 14 wickets in the series at an average of 12.57^[35] which won him his third consecutive Man-of-the-Series award. When Steyn dismissed Junaid Siddique in Bangladesh's first innings (his 20th match), he claimed the record for the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Tests, beating Hugh Tayfield's record of 21 matches. He holds the record amongst all players who are currently playing Test cricket.^[4]

Steyn featured in the final One Day International of the three match series, going wicketless but only giving away 19 runs in 8 overs.^[47]

Away Tests against India 2007/08[edit]

Coming into the three Test series against India predictions about how Steyn would fare were mixed, with some commentators identifying him a crucial part of a South African team which could pose a serious challenge to India,^[48] whilst others predicted he might struggle playing against a strong batting lineup on lifeless subcontinent pitches.^[49]

The first Test at Chennai turned out to be a very high scoring affair, with South Africa batting first and making 540, then India responding strongly, led by Virender Sehwag who scored 319 from 304 balls, to reach 468/1 by the end of the third day. On the fourth day Steyn helped to restrict India's lead to 87 runs by dismissing MS Dhoni with a bouncer then blasting through the lower order, taking three wickets in two overs for the cost of two runs, all bowled with reverse swingingdeliveries. He finished the innings, and the match which petered out into a tame draw, with four wickets for 103 runs.^[50] On the morning of the second Test at Ahmedabad, South Africa demolished the much vaunted Indian batting line within twenty overs, for the meagre total of 76 runs. Steyn was the pick of the bowlers taking five wickets for 23 runs, dismissing Sehwag and Rahul Dravid then mopping up the last three batsmen for the cost of 11 runs. In the second innings he added a further three wickets to his match tally, finishing the game with eight wickets for 114 runs, as South Africa completed a crushing victory by an innings and 90 runs.^[51] The final Test at Kanpur saw Steyn pick up three first innings wickets which took him to 15 wickets in the series at an average of 20.20. As a result of this, the cumulation of an outstanding 2007/08 season in which he took 75 wickets in 11 matches, Steyn moved up to joint first place (alongside Muttiah Muralitharan) in the ICC Test match bowling rankings.^[52]

Away Tests against Australia 2008/2009[edit]

Steyn fields a ball at practice, Adelaide Oval, January 2009

In the 2nd Test match in a 3 match series, Steyn was involved in a record 9th wicket partnership of 180 with J.P. Duminy. Steyn recorded a score of 76 (191 deliveries) in an innings that helped South Africa recover from 6–141 to post a score of 459. Steyn also starred in the first innings with figures of 5–87 (29.0 overs).^[53] In the second innings Steyn returned figures of 5–67 (20.2 overs) and helped South Africa to restrict the Australians to 247 giving the hosts a lead of 183. Steyn now has match figures of 10–154.^[54] This is the third time that he has taken 10 wickets in a match in his test career. South Africa duly completed the chase with nine wickets in hand, giving them a 2–0 series lead and their first ever Test series win in Australia. It was also Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years. Steyn was named man of the match for this performance. Steyn made a rearguard effort in attempting to prevent an Australian victory in the 3rd Test in Sydney frustrating the hosts with 28 runs in 65 balls in a 50 run partnership from 105 balls with Makhaya Ntini in order to try to secure the draw. However, when he was out with 50 balls to go, injured captainGraeme Smith came in with a broken hand in an attempt to hold out. Smith was eventually bowled out by Mitchell Johnson with ten balls to go.

Away Tests Against West Indies 2010[edit]

In the first test against the Windies in the 2010 series, South Africa convincingly beat them, with Steyn take his 200th wicket, Sulimenn Benn, clean bowled (off stump). This was also the wicket that brought Steyn his 14th five – for, a superb achievement considering Steyn's modest record of only 38 tests.

ICC World Cup 2011[edit]

Dale Steyn got career best ODI figures of 5 wickets for 50 runs against India in Nagpur during the Cricket World Cup 2011. India had a good start to their batting innings but could not maintain their momentum, in the process losing their final 9 wickets for just 29 runs. Steyn played a vital role in the derailment of a strong Indian batting line-up.^[55]

IPL Auction 2011[edit]

Dale Steyn was one of the players to go for over a million dollars in the auction for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. He was bought by the Deccan Chargers for $1.2 million.

He was awarded the man of the match against Mumbai Indians though Deccan Chargers lost the match.

Playing style[edit]

Steyn is an aggressive out-and-out fast bowler capable of bowling at speeds in excess of 150 km/h. He is capable of generating considerable swing and is usually chosen to bowl with the new ball to maximize these attributes. He was a generally aggressive bowler and had capability to even get the ball to do a lot more than it should do. He bowls at at mid 140 -150 but likes to bowl at mid 130 at general conditions^[56] He has also demonstrated the ability to reverse swing the older ball in a Test match against India in Nagpur in 2010,^[57] which South Africa won by an innings and six runs. Steyn is an extremely competitive cricketer and often celebrates vigorously after taking a wicket. He has stated that he "love(s) the buzz from bowling fast" and that he "want(s) to be the quickest in the world".^[58]

Steyn is usually considered a tail-ender when batting and usually bats at number nine. However, he is a capable hitter of the ball and can also occupy the crease if required.world cricket31348.blogspot.com

Mohammad Irfanworld cricket31348.blogspot.com

Mohammad Irfan

Personal information

Full name

Mohammad Irfan

Born

6 June 1982 (age 32)
Burewala, Punjab, Pakistan

Height

7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)

Batting style

Right-handed

Bowling style

Left-arm fast

Role

Bowler

International information

National side

Pakistan

Test debut (cap 212)

14 February 2013 v South Africa

Last Test

23-26 October 2013 v South Africa

ODI debut (cap 178)

10 September 2010 v England

Last ODI

24 November 2013 v South Africa

ODI shirt no.

T20I debut

25 December 2012 v India

Last T20I

15 November 2013 v South Africa

Domestic team information

Years

Team

2009–present

Khan Research Laboratories

Career statistics

Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	4	27	40	55
Runs scored	28	21	215	70
Batting average	5.60	4.20	6.71	7.00
100s/50s	0/0	0/0	0/0	0/0
Top score	14	4*	31	10*
Balls bowled	712	1361	6,606	2,754
Wickets	10	39	141	83
Bowling average	38.90	27.12	27.13	25.57
5 wickets in innings	0	0	8	1
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	1	n/a
Best bowling	7/113	4/33	7/113	5/67
Catches/stumpings	0/–	5/–	9/–	8/–

Source: Cricinfo, 8 May 2014

Mohammad Irfan (Urdu:محمد عرفان) (born 6 June 1982) is a Pakistani left arm fast bowler, hailing from a Jat family from Gaggu Mandi Punjab. In an interview with Pakpassion, Irfan has confirmed his height is indeed 7'1" (216 cm), after speculations.^[1] This makes him the tallest player to play first class and International cricket.^[2]^[3] Irfan took the title as the tallest Cricketer ever from former West Indian fast bowler Joel Garner andAustralian pace bowler Bruce Reid, both of whom are 6'8" (203 cm) tall.

[hide]

First Class contract[edit]

After impressing coaches at the NCA Irfan got several offers from First Class teams including Habib Bank and ZTBL. However it was KRL opener, Azhar Ali, who convinced KRL coach Rashid Iqbal to give Irfan a trial with Khan Research Laboratories (KRL). Azhar had seen Irfan take 4 wickets against Pakistan A and had immediately called KRL telling them that Irfan would be a good fit for their team. Irfan went for the trial and got selected, the first part of his dream was complete.

He made his first class debut in the QEA Trophy in October 2009 playing for Khan Research Laboratories. He bowled economically but was unable to take any wickets in a high scoring game.^[4] In his second first class game, Irfan took 7–113 in the second innings and 9 wickets overall in the match. His first wicket in professional cricket was of young Pakistani international batsmen Ahmed Shehzad. He also took the wicket of Imran Farhat and injured Hasan Raza with a bouncer before taking his wicket.^[5]

Irfan continued to impress early on in his first class career. In his third match he grabbed 1 wickets to help his side to the first win of the championship. He recorded 5/27 in the first innings and 6/96 in the second innings.^[6]

Before he was offered a lucrative break in cricket, Irfan contemplated giving up the game and was working for a plastic pipe company. He confirmed his height as 7'1" which makes him the tallest first-class cricketer of all time above county players Anthony Allom, Paul Dunkelsand Will Jefferson, each individually measured at 6'10".^[1]

IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders (2011–)[edit]

Irfan announced that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to represent them in the 2011 IPL Season. This deal is only valid as long as the PCB and the BCCI give their approval. The main reason for Irfan being given a trial with KKR was because former Pakistani pace-bowler Wasim Akram recommended Irfan to the KKR management. Irfan's contract will earn him $75,000 plus another $2,000 dollars for every game he plays in. However the contract needs to be approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] Irfan's contract also requires approval from the Pakistan Cricket Board^[11]

International debut (2010)[edit]

At 28 years of age Mohammad Irfan made his debut for the Pakistan national cricket team.^[12] Irfan was brought in to replace Pakistan's two prominent and core bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who were accused of spot fixing. This was a perfect opportunity for Irfan to shine for Pakistan as they looked to move forward without their two great bowlers. However, Irfan's ODI debut against England in 2010 saw a reduction by 9 overs in the match due to bad weather conditions. He finished the match with bowling figures of 0–37 off 5.3 overs, before going off the pitch with cramps. During this early stretch in his career, many were displeased by Irfan's performance. This was mainly due to his speed in the debut series against England; it underwhelmed many as it only showed 130-135kph on the velocity radar. To make matters worse, England had won the match by 24 runs. Irfan was dropped after the series and was not brought back until the India series in 25 December 2012.^[13]

Irfan made his Twenty20 International debut against India in the first Twenty20 International match on 25 December 2012 when the Pakistani team was touring India. Irfan was seen as a prominent figure in the series win against India as he emerged as the wild card that propelled Pakistan to victory. In this series he displayed marked improvement as his bowling speeds reached 145kph, rising from the 135 kph he had over two years ago. At 7`1 and bowling at brisk pace, Irfan brings a new dimension to the Pakistan bowling attack.^[13]

South Africa (2013): The Emergence[edit]

Irfan's improvement did not go unnoticed, as the Pakistan selectors touted him "the surprise package" in South Africa in March 2013. Irfan did not disappoint as he consistently troubled the South African batsmen with his pace and height. Irfan finished the first innings with 3 wickets in 21 overs, while only allowing 86 runs with an economy rate of 4.09 including a maiden in his superb spell. Irfan in the second innings showed that not only is he a threat to gather up wickets, but he can also throw batsmen off their rhythm. Once again Irfan had a low economy rate of 3.50 in 10 overs, while collecting another maiden.^[14] Impressing both Pakistan and South African spectators, Irfan has a bright future ahead of him as one of the leaders in a talented Pakistan bowling unit.

Personal Life[edit]

Irfan comes from a traditional farming Jatt family in Gaggu Mandi, Punjab, Pakistan . At one occasion he gave up cricket to start work in a PVC pipe factory.