Cricket great Dale Steyn has been caught up in hilarious scenes when T20 World Cup staff tried to teach him how to bowl at a promotional event in New York this week.
The Big Apple is one of the hosts for the tournament, which is also being played in Dallas, Miami and several grounds in the Caribbean.
Steyn – who is regarded as one of the best bowlers ever after taking 439 wickets in his 93-match Test career – is in the USA for the World Cup and visited a ‘Cricket Bowling Experience’ promotional centre, where staff gave him some tips on how to hit the stumps.
Steyn (right) is pictured getting a bowling lesson during his trip to the Big Apple to take in cricket’s T20 World Cup
After Steyn hit the stumps on the full with one delivery, the unaware staffer at the ‘Cricket Bowling Experience’ corrected him by reminding him the ball is supposed to bounce
In a video he posted to Instagram, Steyn is first greeted by a staffer who admits ‘I’m not exactly sure about all the rules’ before showing him a basic bowling motion and saying, ‘You’ve got to do a step and throw the ball out, it’s going to bounce and try to hit the wicket.’
He then smashes the stumps on the full with his first ball in the nets – only for another staffer to correct him by saying, ‘It should’ve bounced before it hit the ground.’
That prompts a bemused Steyn to turn to the camera and repeat the advice.
‘Keep in mind not to bend your elbow – it’s a swinging motion going forward’ the staffer continues as he demonstrates how his arm and feet should move during a delivery.
Steyn bowls again, just missing the stumps but getting the ball to bounce before the wicket, and the American tutor says ‘very good’.
Steyn is pictured sending down a delivery during what would have to be the most unnecessary cricket lesson ever given
Regarded as one of the greatest quicks the game has ever seen, the South African maestro (pictured playing Sri Lanka in 2019) was the International Cricket Council’s No.1-ranked bowler for a record 263 weeks straight
The South African all-time great just misses the target with two more balls, then hits with his third and gives the camera a double thumbs-up.
Cricket is a fringe sport in the USA so it’s no wonder the staff at the nets had no idea who they were dealing with, but that didn’t stop fans of the sport having a field day after viewing the footage.
‘Imagine teaching someone who remained no.1 for straight 6 years,’ one wrote.
‘She is telling John Wick how to use the guns,’ another commenter added.
Other reactions included, ‘Kids teaching father how to make babies’, ‘the lady is explaining gravity to Newton himself’ and ‘bro is adding salt to the sea’.
Some cricket die-hards poked fun with some high-level sarcasm.
‘Imagine how many more international test wickets you would’ve taken if you got this kind of coaching 10 years ago,’ one wrote.
After seeing Steyn’s video, one fan joked that the staff in New York were ‘trying to explain gravity to Newton himself’
‘This Dale Steyn guy seems to be a fast bowler. If he gets into international cricket he surely will perform well,’ another joked.
Steyn was named the International Cricket Council Test player of the year in 2008 and Wisden’s best cricketer in the world in 2013.
The speed with which Steyn collected his 439-scap haul is what set him apart from his fast-bowling rivals.
In the history of Test cricket, no bowler to have taken more than 200 wickets could match his strike rate of a wicket every 42.3 deliveries, and he recorded an incredible average of just 16.24 runs per dismissal.
He was the ICC’s No.1-ranked bowler for a record 263 weeks from 2008 to 2014, and made the ICC Test Team of the Year from 2008-2014, and 2016.
