Dale Steyn will miss South Africa's tour of England, which starts next week

and ends in August, as he continues to recover from a shoulder surgery.

Steyn, who has been out of action since the Perth Test against Australia
last November with a broken bone, was due to play in two four-day games
for the South Africa A side in the UK, to put himself in line for Test
selection. However, considering he is still undergoing rehabilitation, he
has opted to withdraw from those matches.

"My recovery is going well but it is taking a little longer than I expected it
to," Steyn said at the CSA Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday. "I am able
to do a lot of things, like running, hiking and gym work, but bowling is not
one of them, and I won't be ready in time."

When Steyn was initially diagnosed, it was expected he would need at

least six months on the sidelines, which could have put him in contention
for the UK tour. Instead, he is now targeting the home series against
Bangladesh in September-October to make an international comeback, but
understands he will need game time before that if he is to make the
squad.

"Obviously, one of the reasons for me playing with the A side was so that I
could get some match fitness before the Tests. So, before that Bangladesh
series, I will need to play a bit," Steyn said.

South Africa A will play in a limited-overs tournament against India A and

Australia A late in the winter, which could give Steyn his much-needed
game time, but he has also not ruled out the possibility of a short county
stint in order to get some overs in. "In a way it could be quite funny -
South Africa will be playing a Test series in England and maybe at some
ground down the road, Dale Steyn will be playing for another team," he
joked.

Steyn could not put a timeline on when he will return to bowling but
stated that he was not experiencing any pain in the shoulder when "doing
normal things." He is on an extensive rehabilitation program which runs
five days a week and includes activities to strengthen the smaller muscles
around the shoulder joint. His plan is to gradually work his way up to
being able to return to bowling.

the guys on the same thing - If you are focused on the goal, the target you
want to achieve, you don't necessarily need to think too much about the
game - in terms of your personal runs or where you stand at the game," he
said.

"Sri has worked with us on a number of occasions now all across our
pathway system and he is currently in Dubai with our Under-16 team
providing his expertise on sub-continental conditions," Pat Howard,
Cricket Australia's executive general manager of team performance, said.

"He knows our players very well and has a wealth of knowledge on the
conditions that our players will face in India."

Sriram's presence on the India tour has been preferred to that of spin
consultant John Davison, who has

ts Kholi's india.?

FAN1969 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:24 GMT

I am assuming the age factor against Yuvi and Dhoni will not be cited by
Rahane fans after witnessing two amazing centuries by the veterans of
limited overs cricket.

Rahane should not be even in the 15/16 in limited overs cricket with Kedar,
Karun, Manish, Rishabh and hopefully more players coming through in the
IPL.

Rahane is a wonderful Test batsman and would do well to concentrate on

that along with Murali Vijay and Pujara. I wish him good luck at IPL but not
keen to see him selected for India limited overs teams.

PIRATES07 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:17 GMT

@Fan1969 Runs scored by Dhawan in Australia were on flat tracks and a

lean Australian attack. Rahane hasn't performed well either but that
doesn't mean Dhawan's poor performance can be justified. Plus Dhawan
during all this matches has played as an opener while Rahane has been
tried at different numbers.

PIRATES07 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:13 GMT

Ashwin should be tried as an opener. His technique against fast bowling is
pretty good and we will get an option to play another bowler or all rounder
at 7. Team when everyone is available for selection can be Ashwin
Rohit/Rahane Kohli Yuvraj/Pandey MSD Jadhav Hooda/Pandya Jadeja Bhuvi
Shami Bumrah

over of the match, the last over of the series, and dramatically raise West
Indies' chances of saving the Test.

Gabriel had kept out those 21 balls by trusting his defence, but now, in
one of the most inexplicable moments in Test cricket's history, he swung
wildly, madly at a loopy full delivery pitching well outside off stump from
Yasir Shah. The ball took his inside edge and rattled into off stump,
sealing one of the greatest days in Pakistan's cricket history.

This side - Misbah's side - had done what Hanif Mohammad couldn't do,
what Javed Miandad couldn't do, what Imran Khan couldn't do. He had led
his side to its first ever series victory in the Caribbean, a

"We have to understand that fast bowling is not something normal people
do, so it's going to take time. Normal people do things mostly below the
shoulder line; it's unusual to have something above the line except for
things like bowling and tennis. I just have to be patient," Steyn said.

Despite Steyn's absence, South Africa will still have what he considers a
"very strong attack," which will include the fit-again Morne Morkel, Vernon
Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier and, possibly, Chris Morris or
Wayne Parnell - or both, as they had in New Zealand. Philander is the only
other injury concern - he sustained a groin injury while playing for Sussex
earlier this month - but South Africa are hopeful he will be able to play a
full part in the Test series.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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LANDL47 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:32 GMT

I'm sorry we won't see Dale Steyn in England. He'll be 34 next month so
this was likely to be his last test series against England anyway. Although
SA will always be competitive, he was the best seam bowler since McGrath
retired in 2007 and it would have been nice to see him one last time.

CRICKET-FAN101 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:27 GMT

Steyn is one bowler that can afford to loose pace and still be effective.
Beautiful wrist seam position and natural outswinger/offcutter. No need to
retire if he doesnt want to. Could easily play until age 40 if he desires.

ANDRIES BESTER ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:06 GMT

And Struggling Duminy will always be there .....as if we need another

passanger ...lol

LEONB60 ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:51 GMT

@cricfan6259809361 - I agree with @BAZZA_SAF. While not the bowler he

once was he has been until injury has hit him hard an awesome bowler
and the only modern bowler that reminds me of Dennis Lillee with his 'the
game is never lost until it is over' attitude, his determination, ability to
turn a game single-handedly and sheer skill. When your 'superstar'
bumrah has played over 70 Tests (that is 70 more than he has played so
far) and averaged 5 wickets per test as Lillee did and Steyn as good as
does then maybe your comment may be valid.

DAVEOTASMANIA ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:46 GMT

What a shame, first ABD and now Steyn not playing this exciting
showdown series. Luckily SA are well stocked and still a potential #1 team
in tests even without them. Rabada is a tremendous talent.

VISWA_93 ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:44 GMT

Steyn is 34 years. Maximum he can withstand another 7-10test matches.

Steyn will be back for test series vs india. I hope faf du plessis uses him in
a short spell of 4 overs or 3 overs.

PALLA.AVINASH ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:27 GMT

steyn please retire your time is over

CRICFAN96013448 ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:25 GMT

Ha ha too funny theluckycountry. Have you forgotten the results of last
year's Aus home test series against SA? Face it: Australia are now a
second rate team. Only SA and to a lesser extent Pakistan hold the honor
of being decent travelers.

CRICFAN57594910 ON MAY 15, 2017, 1:51 GMT

Forget about Dale Steyn at his best, fans would be lucky even if they see
him bowling in few matches. I think he would play a couple of test series
at the most and call it off. And then maybe concentrate on T20 leagues for
another couple of years before calling it quits from cricket. Take a bow,
man! You entertained us for these many years.

CRICKETCHAT ON MAY 15, 2017, 1:00 GMT

My sincere advice to Steyn as a one of his ardent fans during his prime
years is: please retire from the game. As great as he was, he is in terminal
decline for the last 4 years compounded with unending list of injuries. SA
has nothing to gain by rehabilitating him at huge cost for nothing in
return.

Fawad Alam

Fawad Alam averages 56 in first-class cricket and his non-selection in

Pakistan's Test squad has been a mystery over the years. No selector has
offered a satisfactory explanation.

Alam made his Test debut in 2009, when he was 24, and made 168 in his
first Test at P Sara Oval. His performances were less impressive in the
next Test at the SSC, and then four months later in Dunedin, and he's been
on the outside ever since.

Seven years later, Alam is still a contender to fill one of the gaps left by
Misbah and Younis' retirements. He's fit, has been making runs in
domestic cricket, and his extensive first-class experience could make him
the easy answer for the selectors.

Umer Amin

Azhar Ali and Umar Amin made their Test debuts against Australia at
Lord's in 2010, but their careers have taken divergent paths since then.
Azhar's gone on to play 59 Tests and counting, while Amin's tally has
stalled at four - 99 runs at an average of 12.

The wow moment

His first six. Simply put, it wasn't even supposed to be one. When Corey
Anderson was introduced into the attack in the ninth over, he steamed in
to Kohli from around the wicket and angled in a scrambled-seam length
ball. Kohli's response made for one of the shots of the IPL. Simply striding
forward, he presented the full face of the bat. He then chipped it in the air,
over mid-off, and followed it up with a lovely extension and follow-through
of the bat. So clean were the connection and timing that what was no
more than a chip sailed all the way over the boundary. It was as clean a
strike as you would see, and made you wonder if he even intended to
dispatch it for a six..

Stats that matter

Kohli's fourth fifty of the season also helped him overtake Kedar Jadhav to
top RCB's batting charts for the season. He ended with 308 runs from 10
innings at 30.80 and a strike rate of 122.22.

Kohli has crunched 149 runs off the 93 balls he has faced from Amit Mishra
in the IPL. It is the second-highest for a batsman against a single bowler in
IPL history, behind Suresh Raina-Piyush Chawla. On Sunday, he slapped
Mishra for 19 off 9 balls. He struck at 211.11 against the legspinner while
not managing a strike rate of even 150 against the rest of Daredevils'
attack.

What they said

"That six, honestly, I was looking to push it between the two fielders to try
and pick up two but I think Corey bowled a cross-seam ball. I'm pretty
happy with the way I hit the ball today and more happy that I did it in a
winning cause."

Virat Kohli on the six against Corey Anderson

Akshay Gopalakrishnan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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PG65 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:12 GMT

I am going to stick my neck out & say this that Kohli is probably one of the
worst captains to develop & mentor talent. Last year Sarfraz was in red
hot form & was not used by RCB except for a match or two & then
dropped. This year we had to wait for a dead rubber to see the talent of
Avesh Khan otherwise going waste. I personally feel some captains don't
like the spotlight taken away from them & hence they feel threatened by
youngsters. Thank God that Rishab Pant, Rana, Tripathi etc. are not
playing under him. They would have been left out in the cold & the world
wouldn't know about their skills. I remember Sanjay Manjrekar literally
pleading as a commentator that Pant should be played in an ODI against
England but King Kohli still preferred to back a useless bowler like Ishant
than give raw talent a chance to flourish. In hindsight Saurav was
probably our best ever captain.

Amin never returned to the Test side but was in the limited-over squads
periodically - 15 ODIs and 10 T20Is - and featured in the Pakistan A team.
He was often praised for his agility, work ethic and utility as a bowler, but
his prospects were hindered by injuries.

He now has 6589 runs at an average of 39 in 104 first-class games with a

highest score of 281. Amin, 27, probably isn't an immediate contender for
a Test spot but could push his case by performing consistently in domestic
cricket.

Fakhar Zaman

Like Younis, Fakhar Zaman was also born in Mardan, a city in the
Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. He's made a strong impression in the
last year: second highest run-scorer in the 2016 Pakistan Cup, prolific on
the A tour of Zimbabwe, made 170 in the Quaid-e-Azam final, and was one
of the successes of the 2017 PSL.

Zaman, 27, played the three T20Is on the ongoing tour of the West Indies -
arguably he was picked for the wrong format - and has also been included
in Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad. Having had success in first-class
cricket, Zaman has a strong case for Test selection too.

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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MILAN31 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:15 GMT

Pakistan now face a big gap to fill in after the retirements of 02 giants of
the game. But, this also gives new super heroes to arise in the game.
Azhar Ali is a very good number 3 for Pakistan but because of proper
opener, he has taken one slot in the opening department very well.
Pakistan are still far away from a solid opening foundation. It's time to
bring back Umar Akmal in the test side as well. The new combination may
be like this - 1. Sami Aslam 2. Azhar Ali 3. Asad Shafiq 4. Babar Azam 5.
Umar Akmal 6. Sarfaraz Ahmed 7. Fawad Alam 8. Yasir Shah 9. Mohd. Amir
10. Hasan Ali/Wahab Riaz 11. Mohd. Abbas

Umar Amin, Shan Masood doesn't belong to Test cricket. Few more names
from Pakistan A or U-19 side are most welcome.

MFNADEEM ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:13 GMT

Dear Umar Farooq, how could you ignore Haris Sohail who is 28 years old,
and is averaging 52 in FC cricket?

NKHAN_USA ON MAY 15, 2017, 4:57 GMT

My Vote goes for Fakhar Zaman and Usman SalahudinSanju Samson,
Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer, Daredevils' three main batsmen before Pant's
power kicks in, have shown flashes of brilliance, but their final match this
season was a reminder that disappointment has been the more dominant
feeling with them. Avesh Khan, former Under-19 star and making his T20
debut, surprised Samson with bounce first ball of the chase, but Samson
responded with a limp front-foot pull to get out second ball. Nair and Iyer
played longer innings, but they hit innocuous-looking deliveries straight to
fielders to make it 87 for 3 in the 12th over.

Harshal's highs

Harshal Patel is not a regular for Royal Challengers, but he struck

regularly on the night to keep dragging Daredevils back. He had sussed
the pitch, and kept banging the ball into the surface with fingers rolled on
it. Iyer fell to that followed by a big offbreak to Marlon Samuels first up.
Corey Anderson survived the hat-trick ball, but his innings of three off
nine made it really difficult for Pant.

Pant didn't give up, though, swatting Harshal for a six first up when he
came back for the 17th over, with 49 required off the last four. Harshal,
though corrected, himself immediately and bowled three straight slower
ones to get rid of Pant.

Shami then swung hard and benefited on a small ground, but Negi gave
him no pace to work with and secured the win at his first-class home
ground.

"Having Monty come up is a nice way to kickstart the squad's thinking

about playing in India," Howard told the newspaper. "We want the
batsmen to be thinking about what the bowlers will be trying to do to
them over there and Monty can engage them that way as well as with the
bowlers.

"Phil Jaques will run the sessions with Matt, Monty and SOK, Phil has some
nice ideas about how to challenge the batsmen," Howard added. "In
Australia we love big turners, but the successful bowlers like [Rangana]
Herath and [Ravi] Ashwin are more likely to get you lbw or bowled than
any other way, their accuracy and their length is absolutely outstanding."

Panesar was one of nine wickets for O'Keefe during their ongoing Grade
match between Manly and Campbelltown Camden at the weekend.

"He was brilliant on the weekend and must think cricket is an easy game
after taking 9 for 54," Panesar said.