Remarking on the impact of relentless fast bowling on the body, South Africa speedster Dale Steyn said that his long-standing shoulder injury took a “lot of work to come back from”, also revealing a bizarre injury he sustained during the ongoing lockdown.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast alongside fellow fast-bowling great James Anderson, Steyn said that he was lucky to have survived a big part of his career without a major injury, given the physical burden that accumulates with years of bowling quick.
“It’s tough,” Steyn said. “Luckily, being a cricketer you’ve got the long trousers and everything. It’s kinda like football, you’re always hiding the ankle-strapping and the knee-strapping, the thigh guards, the shoulder strapping and all that kind of stuff. I was lucky that I played the bulk of my career with small injuries, maybe the odd hamstring tear or quad or something.”
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Steyn, South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker with 439 scalps, has featured in 265 international games since 2004, retiring from the longer format only last year. His high-flying career slowed down after a right shoulder injury in 2016, which has significantly limited his international appearances since.
“The amount of work we were doing, fast bowling always running in – you’re bound to do a calf or hamstring or something. My big one was my shoulder, I broke a bone in my shoulder and required a big pin in there. Took a lot of work to come back from that.”
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He also made a rather bizarre addition to his injury list, claiming that he suffered a back injury while cleaning his house amid the ongoing global lockdown.
“The second-worst injury I got is now, during the lockdown, I was sweeping in the house and I slipped a disc in my back!”
