IND vs SA: "2-Day Matches Aren't Test Matches.."- Dale Steyn

By CA Junior Staff

Published - 05 Jan 2024, 12:57 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 10:20 AM

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Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn (Credits: Instagram)

Former South African speedster Dale Steyn took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a hilarious tweet on the light of the shortest test match ever that concluded within 1 and a half days between India and South Africa at the Newlands Cricket Ground yesterday, claiming that a test match which lasts less than 4-5 days, isn’t a test match.

Dale Steyn is not the only one who has come out to express his opinion on the matter and he joins the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Aakash Chopra, Ravi Shastri, and Vernon Philander on this debacle. Most of them opinionated on the fact that the 2nd test should not have ended so early but all of them gave a varied opinion on the pitch.

Gavaskar and Chopra opined that test matches should not be played in tracks like this (Newlands) and also bashed SENA country media for complaining about Indian pitches being highly favorable for spin. Ravi Shastri’s comments revolved around how quickly India’s 2nd innings finished by using a very uncanny metaphor.

Vernon Philander opined that batters must look to improve their respective techniques on tricky surfaces but his former teammate Dale Steyn provided a different opinion altogether. Steyn was not at all impressed with the match’s duration and was expecting a full 5 days of action after the 1st test had also ended by Day 3.

“Let Cracks Appear And Let The Pitch Deteriorate”, Dale Steyn Opines On Fan’s Tweet

Dale Steyn, who scalped 439 test wickets for South Africa, while replying to a tweet about the pitch curator of Newlands deliberately leaving a cover of grass on the pitch to prevent cracks from opening up, asked why are people so afraid of cracks.

He used the examples of pitches in Sydney and Perth and funnily claimed that cracks over there are so wide that one can even park their vehicles inside them. He claimed that players or curators should not be wary of cracks and affirmed that test matches should not be this short-lived.

“Why we so scared of cracks? Think Sydney, Perth. Cracks so wide you can park a car inside them, and yet they always get to days 4 and 5! Pointless a test being over so fast you don’t even see a hint of a crack. Pitches deteriorate over the days, let it happen. Two-day tests are not Test matches.” – Dale Steyn wrote.
Meanwhile, the 2nd test between India and South Africa will now be known as the shortest test match to be ever played in the history of the format and topped the previous shortest test between South Africa and Australia in 1932. The 23 wickets that fell on Day 1 is also the 2nd highest number of wickets fell on a single day after a 1904 test between England and Australia which saw 25 wickets fall across 3 sessions.

Tagged:

Dale Steyn IND vs SA 2023-24 India National Cricket Team India tour of South Africa 2023-24 India vs South Africa 2023-24 South Africa National Cricket Team
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