Steyn took 14 years to reach the milestone, having debuted against England at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth in 2004.
Pollock’s tally was achieved in a year less, but he bowled substantially more deliveries – some 7,000 – than Steyn.
Several schools of thought will still claim Pollock was better than Steyn ever will be. He captained the team for a while and had to play an important role in the batting order. Steyn has only had to concentrate on his bowling for the entirety of his career.
Others, though, will insist Steyn is superior to Pollock because he bowled at greater pace and therefore his body took more strain. Steyn, of course, has endured several injuries – some of which have sidelined him from competitive cricket for several months on end.
But those who enjoy a punt via a sportingbet promotional code or other will know full well that that South Africa’s cricket history sports plenty of space for the duo to co-exist. Arguments and debates don’t have to be about one or the other – they can be about both.
Every hero of yesteryear requires a modern-day counterpart – one which effectively picks up on the legacy left by the other. Pollock and Steyn have been entirely complimentary of each other for many years, with one referencing the other in many conversations with fans and critics alike.
Having passed Pollock’s total, Steyn can now fix focus on the next stage of his career, which admittedly will mark the twilight of it. He has Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath, England’s Stuart Broad, New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee and India’s Kapil Dev to overtake, too, and a 2019 World Cup to think about.
Indeed, the 35-year-old still has limited-overs ambition – as a sterling performance in the ODI series against Australia earlier this year will attest. He also did really well for the Cape Town Blitz in the inaugural Twenty20 Mzansi Super League in South Africa. Those performances showed that he doesn’t have to be limited to one or two formats like, say, England have done to Broad, but can continue to shine in all three. Match fit and hungry for more, it is evident that the Steyn train is nowhere close to stationing for good anytime soon.
