Dale Steyn’s retirement from cricket leaves a huge void in the game we love and it’s sad to think that we won’t see him rhythmically running up to bowl an effortless reverse-swinging lightning bolt, writes Alasdair Fraser.

What a sad day but we all knew it was inevitable that the fist-pumping Dale Steyn would finally hang up his boots. It’s the end of an era – one that gave world cricket plenty to celebrate.

Steyn is South Africa’s greatest ever Test bowler. Of that, we can all agree. Cast your mind back to Port Elizabeth (now Gqberha) and England coasting along comfortably at 152-0. The left-handed Marcus Trescothick takes his guard, eye in and seeing the red cherry like a beachball. Steyn saunters in, his beautiful bowling action still raw, and unleashes a peach of a delivery, obliterating Trescothick’s stumps. Beaten by pace – something the Proteas were sorely lacking at the time.

There’s that fist pump – not one, but three of them. Veins popping out of his neck. You can all picture it in your mind. I don’t know what was more exciting; his 439 Test wickets or those 439 fist-pumping moments.

There is a reason why he was nicknamed the Steyn Remover, and a crucial part of the Proteas’ Test successes must be attributed to the heroics of the Phalaborwa Express. Of that, no one can argue.

Steyn didn’t need a new ball to break partnerships – it was one of the reasons why he didn’t make as much of an impact in the white-ball formats. He loved a well-scuffed red cherry. Ask India during South Africa’s tour there in 2010. He had them bamboozled with reverse swing that eclipsed the sheer genius of the great Waqar Younis.

After that first wicket, it took Steyn two years to hone his craft in the unforgiving rigours of Test match cricket. But it all came together when New Zealand toured South Africa in 2007. Dale Steyn came of age, and he began to master the lethal combination of raw pace and swing like a young Jedi mastering the force.

Back-to-back 10-wicket match hauls earned him 20 scalps in two Tests and the Man of the Series award. It was only the beginning. Steyn set a scorching pace that year. In six Tests he took 39 wickets, which cost him less than 15 each, and a sorry victim every 26 deliveries. Staggering.

It lifted the Proteas and the following series against the Windies saw Shaun Pollock dropped from the Test side, as South Africa began to shed their old skin and move into an era that saw firsts that would have only been dreamed of.

Think Australia.

Since readmission, we could not beat them in a Test series. We came close, but mentally, we could not match them – be it home or away. Yes, that 2008/09 groundbreaking series win was down to a collective, but it always helps to have a bowler who can destroy any batting lineup in a single session. That was Dale Steyn. But it was with the bat that Steyn gave one of his greatest contributions to the history of Proteas cricket. In the cathedral that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, five days of Super Bowl-like Boxing Day action, Steyn played the innings of his life.

After Paul Harris had ducked, dived, and taken a few nasty blows to keep JP Duminy on course for a miraculous century, Steyn replaced the battered and bruised left-arm spinner. In previous Proteas vintages, it would have been game over and Duminy would have been the last man standing.

But not that day. Steyn’s 76 off 191 balls guided Duminy to a superstar ton at one of the most brutal arenas for any visiting side. The pair put on 180 runs for the ninth wicket – effectively taking the series away from the Aussies and breaking ground that had never been broken before.

The way it played out, though, was remarkable given the pressure he was under. Tailenders cannot be blamed for losing their wickets, but balls were played on their merits; the bad ones were dispatched with a Sir Viv Richards vigour.

If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Steyn, you’ll notice how chilled and laidback he is. You wouldn’t believe that this person in front of you tamed the Aussies in their own backyard. In fact, you wouldn’t believe he was a professional cricketer. Maybe a pro surfer or even a skateboarder.

But he was professional in every aspect of his cricketing career and that level of chilled-ness was the panacea to a fiery character who gave his all for his country, left nothing on the pitch and enjoyed every single one of his 439 Test fist pumps.

We salute you, Dale Steyn. Thank you for choosing cricket and sharing your unbelievable talents with the world.