For almost the entire duration of his career, Dale Steyn was perpetually the best bowler on the planet.
He was virtually unchallenged until only the latter stages. A broken shoulder can have that effect, even on the greatest of them all.
It was possibly only for a three-month period between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 when his Proteas teammate Vernon Philander usurped him.
Imagine facing these two, armed with a shiny new red Kookaburra, running in from either end.
And then still knowing that the imposing figure of Morné Morkel was champing at the bit to take the ball from them.
It is no wonder the Proteas rose to the summit of the ICC World Test rankings with that trio leading the attack back in 2012, challenging opposing batters’ technique and temperament in equal measure with their skill and hostility.
After years of trying to rebuild this legacy, the Proteas Test side are now firmly in the reckoning to fight for the golden mace again.
A triumphant five-match hot streak – including the recent 2-0 win over Sri Lanka – has propelled the Proteas to the top of the ICC World Test Championship table, and they are just one more victory away from booking their place in the grand final at Lord’s next year.
Steyn certainly sees how Temba Bavuma’s Class of 2024 are starting to resemble Graeme Smith’s legends of 12 years ago.
“It was always told to me when I first started playing cricket, if you want to win Test matches, you have to be able to take 20 wickets,” Steyn told Independent Media in an exclusive interview.
“Obviously your batters need to score runs and take care of the runs. But you’re relying on only a couple of guys to take 20 wickets.
“And I think we’re starting to really have guys mature now at the perfect time.
“KG (Kagiso Rabada)... he’s always been red-hot, but he’s unbelievably good at the moment. And Marco’s (Jansen) come in and been very reliable. And Keshav (Maharaj) is probably the best he’s been in his career in the last few years.
“So, we’ve finally got almost like a settled bowling unit that’s taking 20 wickets on a regular basis, away from home, as well as at home.”
Steyn feels the emergence of Jansen provides Test coach Shukri Conrad’s Proteas with a venomous left-arm option that not even the attack he led with such aplomb had.
Jansen is, of course, a unique specimen at 2.06m in his socks – which makes him taller than even the giraffe-like figure of Morkel.
It is this extreme height and, in particular, point of delivery that allows Jansen to extract bounce from virtually any surface.
This has troubled batters since his debut against India three years ago, yielding 63 wickets at an average of 21.53, with a strike-rate of 37.4.
To place Jansen’s potency into perspective, Steyn’s record 439 wickets came at an average of 22.95 and strike-rate of 42.3.
At the same juncture, having played 15 Tests, Steyn had a greater number of wickets (71), but his average was much higher (24.38).
But the stark figures hardly do either any justice.
Steyn, having worked closely with Jansen over the past two years at the Sunrisers Eastern Cape during the Betway SA20, believes that the 24-year-old has not even begun to realise his full potential as yet.
“I think he had that little bit of a break now, and he’s come back. He looks like he’s a different bowler,” Steyn said.
“And being as tall as he is, I think hitting the South African length is extremely difficult.
“You look at Morné Morkel, who was part of the trio with Vernon and myself.
“Morné was the kind of guy that bowled a very defensive length, almost like bouncing over the stumps, whereas myself and Vernon, slightly shorter, always seem to hit our length in exactly the same place, but the ball finishes hitting the top of the stumps.
“Morné will land in exactly the same place and finish a foot or two above the stumps.
“So, Marco is even taller than Morné, so the ability to get that ball slightly fuller is incredibly difficult from a skill point of view.
“He’s taken some time away from the game. He has had a bit of a break, and he’s come back. He’s been able to do that. Hence, he got all those wickets the other day in Durban.
“So, that’s a good skill.
“I think it’s also an attacking decision because you have to make that decision... ‘I’m going to go fuller, but I’m running the risk here because if I get it wrong, I’m playing to the best players in the world, international players’.
“And you only have to get it half-wrong and they’re going to hit you down the ground, for there’s not much cover there.
“So, it’s great that he’s been able to take that break, and come back and hit exactly where he wants the ball to land.”
For all the success the Proteas bowling attack has achieved in recent times, Steyn would still like to see Anrich Nortjé’s express pace back in the Test fold.
Nortjé is currently on the sidelines with an injured toe, but has indicated he only wants to focus on white-ball cricket for the moment.
Steyn feels the potential of playing in a World Test Championship final at Lord’s next June could just be the motivating factor to change Nortjé’s mind.
“Yeah, I wonder what he wants to do. He’s also had one or two little things, so I think he’d be free now of all the other things – and it would be a great decision,” Steyn said of Nortjé’s possible return to the Test arena.
“Anrich Nortjé bowling 150-plus kilometres an hour with the skills that he possesses, and he fits into that set-up with a Rabada, a Marco Jansen and maybe a Kesh, then you’ve got a formidable bowling line-up to take your 20 wickets.
“And then you’ve just got to say your top six batters, guys (who) are responsible for 300-plus runs. That’s it. That’s a winning formula.”