Monday, 8th October 2007 at 10:52 am

Steyn signals changing of the guard

If the return of Jacques Kallis - and how - commanded the headlines through South Africa’s march to victory in the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi, then the make-up of the South African attack made for a not insubstantial sidebar. Victory is generally an endorsement of the chosen side, and so while defeat might have fuelled a cry for the return of Shaun Pollock, the situation instead has South African fans seriously considering the fact that the bowling line-up may soon have a very different look to it.

Feverpitcher would still have had Pollock in the side; even we concede that his horizon is growing steadily nearer, and the first Test suggested that the back-up resources aren’t quite as spare as we have thought. For while Makhaya Ntini’s indifference on sub-continental tracks continued, Paul Harris confirmed just why he’s been the country’s top slow bowler for some time, and then Dale Steyn suggested that there’s more than sheer pace to an incredibly promising fast man.

Steyn, who’s a diminutive character, has had a habit in the past of letting his speed get the better of him, sacrificing his focus on length, and paying the price at the hands of better batsmen. His education ahs thus taken a substantial step forward, therefore - taking five wickets in the second innings as a fast bowler on a pitch in Pakistan is quite an achievement.

Will that be a step towards taking over the South African attack? Ntini has a few years left in him, certainly, but with Morne Morkel an irresisitable prospect, and Harris now surely a fixture, Pollock will have a fight on his hands to get back into the side, given that rabid fast bowler Andre Nel - a man who takes wickets by convincing batsmen that if they don’t get out, it’s extremely likely that he’ll bite them - remains a selectors’ favourite. New look South Africa? From a bowling perspective, that would appear to be the case.