The late reappearance of Steyn magic

It was nearing 11pm on a Sunday night in Perth in November 2016 and Dale Steyn had just returned from an outlying suburb where he was visiting his uncle. His arm was in a sling, his shoulder supported by strapping, but he wore a jersey that hid both from the enthusiastic, autograph-hunting fans, one of whom unknowingly slapped him on the sore spot. Steyn smiled, took a selfie and signed his name. But as soon as the small crowd dissipated, Steyn's expression changed.

He was in obvious pain, physically, from the broken bone in his shoulder and emotionally, with the knowledge that for the third time in a third big series, he had left the squad injured.

The previous year had not been easy for Steyn. After a groin injury in India which forced him out of three of the four Tests, he suffered a first shoulder injury against England but then recovered to play against New Zealand at home and to tour Australia. The series was important to him. Steyn had been part of South Africa's two previous tours to Australia, two victorious tours, and he wanted to be part of a hat-trick of wins.

Though Steyn had always been aggressive and tough-talking, there was a different kind of drive for him on that tour. Before the first Test, he had spoken about his own goals in leading the attack and in cutting off the head of the snake - Steven Smith - to be able to raze through Australia. He spoke with passion, like someone who knew he was in the twilight years of his career and wanted to make the most of every minute.

And then on the second day of the match, a Friday, the minutes got ripped away from Steyn and he had to face the possibility that the clock had stopped.

By Sunday, Steyn knew his injury would keep him out of action for at least six months. He knew he would miss at least eight Tests (the remaining two in Australia, three against Sri Lanka at home and three in New Zealand) and would not play any cricket before the tour to England the following winter. He knew he would not be rushed back into action, especially given his recent injury run. He knew that he was getting older.

He admitted all of those things that night, and with each one, the sadness in his eyes grew deeper. He would return to South Africa the following day and he really didn't know when he would be back.

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It was just after 5pm on a Friday afternoon in Cape Town in January 2018 and Dale Steyn was at fine leg. He had already batted and was three minutes away from making the comeback even he was unsure would happen. The crowd cheered for him just for being there.

When he fielded the first ball, tucked away by M Vijay, they cheered even louder. They didn't notice when he started to swing his arms because Vernon Philander was appealing for a caught behind at the same time, but if they did, their voices would have bounced off Table Mountain. Thirteen months ago, Steyn would not have imagined being able to move his shoulder joint so freely.

That Philander's appeal was unsuccessful and sandwiched between two fours was secondary to what was happening on the boundary, where Steyn had begun some small side stretches. He kept doing them from the top of his mark, where he stood for a little longer than usual before bowling his first international delivery since the one that broke his shoulder. He waved his arms to adjust the field a little more, maybe just to remind himself that he could lift them up and turn them over. And then in he ran.

Steyn's first delivery back did not steam in at 150kph, or swing wildly, or take out middle stump but it wobbled outside off from a good length, it forced Vijay to defend. It silenced all the doubt and it shouted about the blind determination of a man who had decided he was not done, even on that day in Perth when it all seemed over.

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Steyn's recovery has been long and tortuous for everyone, most of all for himself. After surgery, which included the insertion of a pin, he spent several months out of action completely before beginning very light training. For a man who spends a significant amount of time outdoors - surfing, trail-running and fishing - that time must have been incredibly frustrating, especially when his original timeframe went awry.

Having not bowled at all before the mid-year tour to England, Steyn ruled himself out of the trip. He hoped to make a county appearance towards the latter end of the English summer but that also didn't happen. While trying to get back to bowling, he tore both bicep and his pectoral muscle which slowed down his recovery even more.

Steyn was back to bowling by the time the South African summer started but he did not play any first-class cricket. Still, he declared himself ready to go at a pre-season function in Cape Town where he explained how he was pacing himself to be back to full fitness by the time the Global T20 League began in November and so, ruled himself out of the Bangladesh series. That tournament was postponed but Steyn eventually returned in the domestic 20-over competition, in which he played five matches.

He knew four-over spells would not be adequate preparation for Tests and so, played for a CSA Invitation side against the touring Zimbabweans. He bowled 12 overs and was included in the squad to play the Boxing Day match but an illness kept him out. Of all things, for a virus to provide another hurdle was particularly unexpected.

Because Steyn did not play that match, and given that he hardly had any competitive cricket, the talk before this Test was that he may sit out. In a three-man attack, Ottis Gibson was worried that even the possibility Steyn would break down was not worth the risk.

Conditions prompted South Africa to go with four seamers and for Steyn to be included. Finally, his long wait was over.

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Steyn's first two overs were fairly uneventful and showed only what we remembered of him from 13 months ago. The short ball and the outswinger, the skiddy stop at the end of his followthrough, the steely stare - all those things were there. His pace was in the mid-130s, his rhythm smooth and his delivery fluid. He was back, just like he had never left.

But it was the third over, where the magic reappeared. Shikhar Dhawan miscued his pulled off a back-of-a-length ball and top-edged to the sky. Steyn called for it. He steadied himself under the ball and caught it reverse-cup. He did not bring out the chainsaw celebration. He held his arms aloft in celebration and smiled. It was the same smile from that night in Perth, the one that he gave the fans who wanted to be in his aura, who didn't know what he was going through. It was the smile of satisfaction, of a man who had come to finish the job.

He almost had Virat Kohli caught off the next ball off a leading edge, bowled one more over and touched 144kph. None of that really matters. What matters is that Steyn was there. "From a mental point of view, that was a massive four overs that he bowled," Dale Benkenstein, South Africa's batting coach said.

Benkenstein explained that Steyn's lengthy absence would have been enough to cause him to lose "a lot of confidence," and that his late-afternoon appearance here would have boosted it. South Africa will want a lot more from him in the coming days, weeks and months but for now, they will just enjoy having him back.