chicko1983
Member
Funny enough if you were to ask me which side in the world regularly get reverse swing out of nowhere on a regular basis it wouldn't really be South Africa, it would be England who somehow manage to get it regardless of pitch and outfield condition.
I would say England also. It is not coincidental that the time since England learnt about reverse swing (coming into the 2005 Ashes) has coincided with the professional ball handlers (cook and collingwood) and long sleeve shining and accusations of using lolly spit.
Sth Africa, and Steyn in particular, have only been keen on reverse swing in the last couple of years that I have seen. If you look at Steyn's bowling in the last couple of years, he starts off slow (for him slow is 130-135km/hr) then once the ball is reversing his second and third spells are faster and all reverse. Its like he has learnt to conserve himself until it reverse swings and then he goes full bore when it is reversing.
Steyn does it for preservation i.e. he doesnt need to push himself as hard if it is reverse swinging because reverse swing is harder to play. This is why he doesnt take as many wickets these days with conventional swing and the new ball as he did when he was younger and bowled faster.