South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from cricket on Tuesday. In a heartwarming post on Twitter, the cricketer quoted lyrics from a song by his favourite band, Counting Crows, to announce his decision to retire. The lines he quoted were from the song ‘A Long December’.
Dale Steyn said, “It’s been 20 years of training, matches, travel, wins, losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood. There are too many memories to tell. Too many faces to thank. So I left it to the experts to sum up, my favorite band, the Counting Crows.”
He added, “Today I officially retire from the game I love the most. Bitter sweet but grateful. Thank you to everyone, from family to teammates, journalists to fans, it’s been a incredible journey together.”
The lines he quoted from ‘A Long December’ by Counting Crows say, “And it’s been a long December and there’s reason to believe, Maybe this year will be better than the last, I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell my myself, To hold on to these moments as they pass.”
Dale Steyn has had a remarkable bowling career, widely considered as one of the greatest fast bowlers to have played the game and the best test bowler of his generation. He debuted in 2004 in a test match versus England and has played 93 in total. He has also played 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is.
The pacer picked up 439 wickets in his test career, 196 in ODIs and 64 in T20Is. His last appearance for South Africa was in an ODI versus Sri Lanka in March, 2019.