You don’t need to look like Tarzan if you bowl like Jane, Steyn tells budding pacers

MELBOURNE - The world’s leading fast bowler Dale Steyn ahs said that budding pacers must train their bodies for endurance, not bursts of power to avoid being plagued by injuries.

South African Steyn’s status as the world’s No. 1 Test bowler comes despite a lithe frame that does not look obviously suited to express-pace bowling.

“Look at me, I don’t have big muscles - I’m terrible,” The Age quoted Steyn, as saying.

“When I was in high school, I just ran in and bowled. I never had coaching and the great facilities. But once I got pulled under the wing of certain guys, that’s when things got better,” he said.

Steyn said that it was futile for fast bowlers to spend much of their training time striving to build upper body muscles.

“Your gym work has got to be worthy. You don’t need to look like Tarzan if you bowl like Jane. What bowlers should be doing is making sure they can train their muscles for taking part in battle for a long period of time. You want your quick bowlers bowling at 140km/h at the start of the day and just as quick in the late afternoon,” he said.

Steyn further said that he believed medical and fitness personnel should shield pacers from injury.

“There’s good enough coaches and medicines out there … they should be able to look after guys. Guys are running faster, kids are looking to be bigger and fitter than what they were when I was at school,” he said. (ANI)