“He never give you an inch on the field” – David Warner names toughest bowler he faced
Australia opener David Warner has named former South African pacer Dale Steyn as the toughest bowler he faced ever during his fifteenth year of international career.
While speaking to Cricket.com.au, Warner said that he faced many bowlers in his career but Steyn challenged him the most. He narrated a story where he and former Australian left-hander Shaun Marsh went through a challenging 45 minutes. In that match, Marsh came up to him while batting and told him that it was difficult to pull against the pacer and it would be a struggle facing him.
“Without doubt it’s Dale Steyn. I go back to the WACA (the first Test of the 2016-17 home series against South Africa) when me and Shaun Marsh had to go out for an ugly 45-minute session. Shaun came down to me and said, ‘I can’t pull him so I don’t know how we’re going to go about facing him’. He put me on my backside and I think he broke his shoulder as well that game,” said Warner.
Read More: David Warner announces ODI retirement, keeps option open for Champions Trophy 2025
David Warner points out similarity between Dale Steyn and Mitchell Starc
The 37-year-old compared Steyn’s swing for the left-hander to Mitchell Starc’s inswinger for the right-hander. He also revealed that the Proteas pacer would never smile on the field or give even an inch of space to exploit.
“He’s a fierce competitor who swung the ball back into the left-hander, which is similar to Mitchell Starc swinging the ball back into the right-hander at pace. He was always a fiery customer who never gave you a smile and never gave you an inch or a sniff on the field,” he added.
Warner recently announced his ODI retirement while keeping the option for a return in the future open. He will play his farewell Test match against Pakistan at Sydney Cricket Ground, starting on January 3.
Read More: SA vs IND 2023: Marco Jansen sledges KL Rahul; batter responds with smile
