The Biiggest Man in Cricket with Dale Steyn
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Being The Biggest Man in Cricket affords me certain privileges. I get to sit across from some of the greatest cricketers to have played our beautiful game; a game that runs through our DNA in South Africa. A game that has hurt us. A game that has left scars.
And yet, we keep coming back, because that’s who we are. We won’t be satisfied until every trophy in sight has been lifted, and lifted again. Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie and all that…
I was fortunate enough to be at Lord's when the Proteas won that historic ICC World Test Championship final in the middle of a perfect English June. Standing there, watching it unfold, I couldn’t help but think how different this felt.
It wasn’t relief in isolation. It felt generational.
When I asked Dale Steyn on the podcast how it felt watching that final, his answer carried the weight of every Proteas side that came before this one.
“I certainly felt a moment of peace,” he told me. “Finally it’s gone. It’s something about the Proteas culture, that we carry that. I certainly lived that Test match. When we won I was equally exhausted, mentally. Being part of that Proteas culture and having experienced those losses in the past, it was flippen amazing!”
That word ‘peace’ says everything.
For years, being part of the Proteas culture meant carrying something: the almost, the near-miss, the scars of knockout cricket. This victory at Lord’s didn’t just belong to the XI on the field, but to the generations who had lived those losses and never quite shaken them.
But here’s what makes this group different.
On paper, the Australia national cricket team, led by Pat Cummins, looked overwhelming. A side hardened by global titles. Against them stood Temba Bavuma’s men, coached by Shukri Conrad, written off by many before a ball was even bowled.
What didn’t show up on the team-sheet was this: seven of that starting XI - and nine of the 15-man squad - had already been part of title-winning campaigns in the SA20 since 2023. That’s not a coincidence.
We’re often told that T20 and Test cricket live on opposite ends of the spectrum. Technically, maybe they do. But pressure doesn’t care about format. A final is a final. A dressing-room before a decider feels the same whether it’s over five days or 20 overs.
And this generation has been living inside finals.
When Tristan Stubbs walked out needing seven off one ball in a Super Over against Afghanistan, there was no visible panic. Just clarity. He launched Fazalhaq Farooqi over long-off to force a second Super Over.
It wasn’t bravado. It wasn’t luck. It was familiarity.
Stubbs had just delivered in an SA20 final for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape alongside Matthew Breetzke, rescuing a dire situation to secure another title. He had already faced the music. He had already won. That’s the shift.
When I asked Steyn how important those clutch moments are for this group, he didn’t talk about technique.
“It’s huge,” he said. “The power it gives these players when you win. I’ve watched Marco [Jansen] at Sunrisers - he’s a head higher. The confidence just oozes out of him. If you’re able to get over the line, it’s massive. It shows you that not only can you play at the highest level, you belong there.”
Belonging.
Previous generations hoped they belonged on the biggest stage. This one knows. They carry medals, not just memories. Finals experience, not folklore. They carry reference points.
When South Africa lifted the mace at Lord’s, it didn’t feel like a miracle. It felt like progression.
And, argues the G.O.A.T, “If we win one, they’ll kind of like flow…”
For years, South African cricket lived in the space of almost. This generation has learned how to finish. They don’t just recognise clutch moments now, they crave them.
And for the first time in a long time, this doesn’t feel like hope. It feels like knowing.
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