Dale Steyn waits to see if he will get chance to break test record

Cape Town: Dale Steyn has been close to the milestone for more than a year now but, at the age of 34, time is running out for the speed merchant to become South Africa’s most prolific wicket taker.

Steyn’s 417 test-wicket haul is just four shy of the South African record held by Shaun Pollock but the target remains both tantalisingly close and frustratingly elusive at the same time. Standing between him and the tag of the country’s best ever bowler have been a serious shoulder injury and a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

After his latest piece of rotten luck, some doubt that Steyn will get his long-awaited opportunity when South Africa take on India in a three-test series starting at Newlands on Friday. It has been 14 months since Steyn’s last Test and the rustiness of the lay-off, plus the absence of a decent examination of his shoulder in match conditions, could see him left out, local media suggested. Steyn’s shoulder travails began against England in Durban in 2015 but it was just under a year later in Perth that extensive damage was done as he broke the right shoulder and tore three major muscles. Steyn, whose test average is a staggering 22.3, can, however, point to a prolific record at Newlands with 65 wickets in 13 tests at an average of 21.93 — 12 against India.