Sir Geoffrey on Dale Steyn ... harrumph!

AR: It's now time for the question that you've picked as the best one that's come in for you, and it's from Amir Mir from the UK. He says that Dale Steyn produced yet another master-class performance against India. Looking at Steyn's career would you, at this moment in time, call him a great? If so, where would you rank him among the greats such as Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath?

GB: You are kidding me! He is not in the same category yet. He is a very good bowler, and in my opinion, he has been the best seamer in the world for a couple of years now. He is brisk enough to be awkward, he has enough pace with his outswing and out-seamers to the right-handers, which nearly always are the best wicket-taking deliveries to the right-handers because you have no pad for a second line of defence. He bowls the nip-backer when he needs to, to keep the batsman honest. He bowls a wonderful line around the off stump like McGrath or Richard Hadlee, and is devastating to the right-handers. But he has not done enough yet to be in the class of the guys you have mentioned. They did it for years and years and got huge amounts of wickets and many match-winning performances. He has time on his side. He is young and good enough and all he has to do is stay fit. That is the key to the greats: the longevity of their careers and their match-winning performances.