South African camp optimistic about Steyn's chances for the semi-final

There has been an element of doubt over Steyn’s fitness in the Proteas camp. The South African management will take a late call on his inclusion in the team depending on his fitness on the morning of the match. Having missed a day’s training, Steyn opted for lighter than his usual load during the training sessions because of the stiffness in the groin area. However, AB De Villiers is optimistic about Steyn’s fitness for the crucial encounter against England.

“It looks like we’ve got a good chance [of playing him tomorrow],” de Villiers said. “He’s taking another day off just to make sure we rest him really well. I said before that I don’t believe we’re lost without him. We can definitely beat England without him.”

De Villiers also stated that Steyn’s workload is being managed in order to ensure that no unfortunate things happen.

“He’s got a few niggles around, which is very worrying, but we’re going to do all we can to get him on the park tomorrow,” he said. “He’s close to 100%, he’s running around. We didn’t want to run him too much today because we knew he’s one of the best in the world and he’s got the skill to just rock up and do the business. He’s working on his rehab making sure we give him the best chance to play tomorrow.”

Steyn has been struggling since his last bowling stint against West Indies, the match which ended in a tie. Team manager Moosajee also stated that the current problem is not related to the side strain which kept him out of the first two matches against India and Pakistan.

Steyn had bowled six overs in the match against South Africa in which he conceded 33 runs and took 2 wickets and helped South Africa to secure a semi-final berth against England. Physiotherapist Brandon Jackson has kept an eye on Steyn to ensure that he is fully fit for tomorrow’s encounter.

Source: ESPN Cricinfo