James Anderson (L) and Dale Steyn. [Credit: Getty]

As the legendary James Anderson nicked off West Indian gloveman Joshua Da Silva with a trademark setup and the cunning late movement for his final international wicket, scary thoughts of how Test cricket without the champion England pacer swirled around from all directions.

After all, who isn’t an ardent fan of pacers with rhythmic actions flowing into making the cherry a puppet to their mastery to deceive batters – something Anderson has been doing from the days of YouTube being barely a thing and Facebook being over a year away from existence?

Yet, cricketing debates have almost unanimously revolved around batters of each generation, be it Sachin Tendulkar vs Brian Lara, MS Dhoni vs AB de Villiers, or the Fab 4 – Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson going at each other for bragging rights.

With Anderson finally walking into the sunset, is it worth moving to a James Anderson vs Dale Steyn showdown? The former, whose runup and deliveries would stir the soul more than a violin bit, and the latter, at batters louder than a heavy dumb beat.

The former South African pacer was almost too kind to a fault when asked about comparisons between him and Anderon three years back.

“The only comparison required is that Jimmy is still going and I’m watching from my 20/20 sofa. He’s a legend and seems to be getting better with age,” tweeted Steyn.

To which we say – Not so fast!! This rivalry is closer than the customary Punjab Kings-Rajasthan Royals IPL finishes should numbers beyond only overall wickets be looked at.

As we pay tribute to the last of yesteryear’s pacers, James Anderson, let us also indulge in a fun exercise of how he fared against fellow pacer Dale Steyn in international cricket and find out who won the ‘Making the Ball dance to their tunes on the 22-yards‘ battle between the duo.

While both enjoyed success in white-ball cricket, it is the red cherry with which they toyed mercilessly with batters. Hence, a detailed deep-dive into all their nuanced numbers in Tests followed by an overall outlook in the white-ball formats would be the wisest method to decipher their respective careers.

#1 The longevity battle in Tests

Considering both Anderson and Steyn began their Test careers after 2000 (2003 and 2004 to be precise), comparisons between them with other contemporaries – those who started their run after the turn of the century would serve a better purpose.

Let us first delve into the obvious – who had better longevity numbers – Matches, Total wickets, and five-wicket hauls.
Steyn vs Anderson in longevity
There isn’t much explaining required to agree on the victor of the longevity battle between Anderson and Steyn. The England legend has played over twice the Test matches as his South African rival, while also picking up 265 more wickets and six more five-wicket hauls.

Winner: James Anderson

#2 The impact battle in Tests

Things get more intriguing as we move into impact numbers in the red-ball format between Anderson and Steyn.

What defines Impact for a bowler, especially a pacer? The obvious numbers would be the overall and away bowling averages and strike rate. With Asian batters, the first question – how have they fared in SENA ( South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries?

So, it is only fair that non-Asian bowlers get judged on their average in Asian conditions – arguably the toughest for pacers. Finally, bowlers win matches is a popular sporting phrase, so why not put that to use and see who had a higher winning percentage?
Impact numbers in Tests
Much like longevity, the impact numbers paint an in-your-face straightforward picture. Only, it is Dale Steyn throughout in a rout from the Anderson-favoring quantitative figures.

For further context, Steyn’s 42.30 strike rate is the best in Test history for any bowler with over 300 wickets.

The victory margin for Steyn over Anderson in every one of the impact categories lends itself to only one unanimous verdict.

Winner: Dale Steyn

#3 Numbers against the best batters in the world?

When ranking the best of the best bowlers in world cricket, as Anderson and Steyn were, it is only fair we look at their exploits against their batting counterparts.

The duo enjoyed several Test battles even against Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the best batter in cricket history. The Fab Four of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Joe Root have been the dominant batting forces of the generation post-Tendulkar. Sandwiched between the two were Michael Clarke, Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, and Hashim Amla.

Because Root, Amla, and De Villiers played with either Anderson or Steyn, the trio will not be considered for the sake of this discussion.

On that note, let us look at how the duo of Steyn and Anderson fared against Tendulkar, Kohli, Williamson, Smith, Clarke, and Sangakkara in Tests.

Steyn and Anderson vs the best batters in Tests
The above table sums up Steyn and Anderson’s legendary Test careers, given how often they have troubled even the best of batters. Yet, it is hard to walk away from this and not concede that Anderson has dismissed the best batters in the world far more than his Proteas rival while four of the six also have a lower average against him.

Winner: James Anderson

#4 Moments and peaks

Forget the numbers for a while. Let us only think back to their respective teams’ performances against the stronger opposition, especially away from home.

Steyn was South Africa’s spearhead during the incredible run from 2006 to 2015 when they did not lose a single away Test series. This included two drawn series in India, a place opponents dread to tour, in 2008 and 2010, and two series wins in Australia and England in 2008 and 2012.

For Anderson, such memorable results were much lesser, with an Ashes win in Australia in 2011 and a series win in India in 2012 being the highlights of his Test career. Yet, like Steyn, the England champion also spearheaded series wins in South Africa in 2016 and 2020.

Nevertheless, major team series wins and eye tests in those point to the South African pacer having the upper hand.

Coming to the better peak between the duo, we could look at who topped the year-end ICC rankings more, more ICC awards, and incredible single-season performances.

Comparison of Peaks between Steyn and Anderson
Dale Steyn runs away in every way, shape, or form when it comes down to peaks against Anderson in Tests. What’s more impressive is how the South African pacer has more year-end No.1 rankings and better single-season accolades in a Test career that was half as long as Anderson’s.

Winner: Dale Steyn

#5 The better white-ball bowler?

While the Steyn vs Anderson debates are usually around their Test exploits, the duo enjoyed reasonable success even in white-ball formats.

Both Men could never lay their hands on an ICC trophy during their glittering careers so only an overall look at the key white-ball numbers should suffice in passing a judgment between the two.
Overall white-ball numbers of Anderson and Steyn
While the ODI numbers are close, Steyn edges Anderson out, thanks to a much better average. However, there is no debate in T20Is, with the South African ace walking all over the England great in every way imaginable.

All this adds to Steyn walking away the dominant winner in white-ball cricket.

Winner: Dale Steyn

In conclusion, the Steyn vs Anderson battle is undeniably among the closest we have seen over the past two decades. The two legendary pacers redefined the glorious art of swing bowling and set benchmarks unlikely to be broken in our lifetime.

Now to the hardest question – who emerges as the winner between them? The answer from the above numbers is clear – whatever parameter weighs more in a reader’s pecking order will determine whether they choose Steyn or Anderson.

If longevity and numbers against the top batters are your deciding factor, it is the English pacer all day every day. However, if impact, peak, and accolades are the cup of tea for another section, look no further than the South African legend.