Dale Steyn started as a young wannabee professional skateboarder from a small bush town, who didn’t even know the game of cricket existed, and went on to become the world’s best bowler, a position that he held for just nine days short of seven years. Inaugurating this very first episode of Lessons From The World’s Best, Dale shares generously about his first professional contract playing overseas, and how he first needed to “do his apprenticeship” and learn the simple lessons in life. Things like washing his clothes and learning to cook before he could focus on his bowling. He discusses, without filter, how he managed himself around the pressures of hate on social media, and how players are not adequately mentally prepared to ‘not win’ at a world cup; which is statistically the most likely outcome. He shares, for the first time, about bowling the final over of the 2015 world cup semi-final where he had six balls to secure South Africa’s first ever final appearance, only to fail. Dale describes what the true impact of that moment was on him and how it moved him to tears in the middle of 2021, six years later. You will get to meet the persona that he adopted and hear how he transformed from his natural friendly nature, to the warrior that intimidated opponents – even when the real Dale was exhausted and felt far from intimidating. Among other things, he shares the truth about his confidence, about how off-field relationships can impact performance and the difficulty of speaking up about difficulties. 10 years into our friendship, Dale surprised me by some of what he shared. The fascinating thing about him is that, on the field he was famous for his fierce and uncompromising assault on the world’s best batsmen, yet off the field, he is genuinely one of the most down-to-earth, relaxed and humble people you could wish to meet. Please enjoy this heartfelt conversation with my friend, Dale Steyn.

Credentials  00.- 4.22

Context  4.23

Podcast history  5.45

Life before cricket  8.10

Career begins 11.20

Life lessons 12.24

Social media 17.23

2015 WC Loss 20.05

Defeat/disappointment 26.35

Career difficulties 28.40

Athlete vulnerability 34.12

Freedom in retirement 42.40

Mental health 44.07

Self confidence 49.40

Being in the Zone 52.20

Vulnerability 54.00

Off field distractions 56.10

Low form advice 1.03.10

Disappointment/failure 1.05.42

The Good Question 1.09.20

Coaching characteristics 1.18.10

Red flags of coaching 1.20.20