The seating arrangements for The Cosmopolitan's New Year's Eve dinner revealed some fascinating matchups.

Some had been all about energy pairings, some made good sense, and others deliciously raised eyebrows.

Film star Mark Wahlberg was at a desk with "Gossip Woman" star Blake Lively.

Jeremy Piven of "Entourage" sat with castmate Emannuelle Chriqui and rocker Deryck Whibley.

Star chef Todd English arrived fashionably late and asked for the desk of Colin Cowie, the legendary social gathering planner who put together this large opening-evening soiree.

Dale Steyn Is A South African Cricket Player Currently Ranked No.1 Test Bowler In The World-

South African paceman Dale Steyn is to be investigated by match referee Jeff Crowe for allegedly spitting in the direction of West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn during the third and final test.

The alleged incident took place as Steyn walked off after he had been dismissed in the morning session on Monday.

South Africa completed a seven-wicket victory on day four on Tuesday and clinched the series 2-0.

 

"We've had a discussion with the on-field umpires and the match referee and they will take this matter up to the next level if they have to," West Indies captain Chris Gayle told reporters.

Tempers also flared on Tuesday when umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis had to intervene to keep the peace after West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach struck Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis on the helmet.

Gayle said the series had been played in good spirit before the final test.

"It was brilliant leading up to this test match but things got out of hand. The series has been a wonderful one, it's just unfortunate that at the end we had a bit of a boil up, Gayle said.

South African bowlers rip through India

source-www.smh.com.au

 

Dale Steyn of South Africa celebrates after dismissing Sachin Tendulkar. Photo: Reuters

CENTURION: South Africa's fast bowlers made up for lost time as they ripped through the Indian batting line-up on a rain-shortened first day of the first Test at SuperSport Park overnight.

Morne Morkel took four wickets and Dale Steyn three as India crashed to 9-136 after being sent in on a green, damp pitch.

Morkel, who took four for 20 and bowled with consistent hostility, said it was a disciplined performance by the bowlers.

 

"We were under pressure after winning the toss and sending them in to bat. We needed to execute well. A lot of times when the ball is nipping around you can get carried away but today we kept calm, kept cool and did the basics right," he said.

Steyn, whose three wickets cost 34 runs, backed up his new ball partner's comments.

"All the wickets today were with good bowling and keeping the ball up to the bat," he said. "It was good planning."

Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made an elegant 36 off 34 balls, looked at ease as Steyn and Morkel confirmed their credentials as the world's most lethal new ball pair as they scythed through the side ranked number one in Test cricket.

Steyn started the slide early when he had Virender Sehwag caught at third man for nought. He followed up with two superb, full, late-swinging deliveries to get rid of VVS Laxman and Tendulkar after the pair had mounted a mini-recovery after India had slumped to 3-27.

Laxman and Tendulkar put on 39 before Laxman and Tendulkar fell in successive overs from Steyn, sandwiched by the wicket of Suresh Raini, who lasted only three balls before edging Jacques Kallis to third slip.

The tall Morkel claimed the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid in successive overs. He also dismissed tailenders Ishant Sharma and Sree Sreesanth before bad light ended play. Dravid was his 100th victim in his 29th Test.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hitting out as he batted with the tail, finished the day on 33 not out.

The only other batsman to reach 20 was Harbhajan Singh, who followed his two centuries against New Zealand recently with another hard-hitting innings of unusual strokes, making 27 off 25 balls before he was out in a manner as unorthodox as his batting.

After Dhoni hit the ball to deep cover, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher collected a throw from Alviro Petersen and flicked it between his own legs to run out Harbhajan by a few centimetres.

Harbhajan said the toss was the most crucial factor of the day.

"It's always tough to lose the toss on this sort of wicket," he said.

"Some balls were stopping and some were going through."

Harbhajan said India remained confident.

"As a team we like to be challenged," he said. "Now we will look to bowl well and stop them getting too far away from us."

Morkel, though, backed South Africa to gain a worthwhile lead when they get to bat.

"I can't see us not getting the runs on the board," he said.

Heavy rain overnight and during the morning delayed the start by four and a half hours and South African captain Graeme Smith had no hesitation about sending India in. Dhoni said he too would have chosen to bowl first.

Dale Steyn

Personal information
Full name	Dale Willem Steyn
Born	27 June 1983 (age 27)(1983-06-27) Phalaborwa, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	South Africa
Test debut (cap 297)	17 December 2004 v England
Last Test	29 June 2010 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 82)	17 August 2005 v Asia XI
Last ODI	28 May 2010 v West Indies
ODI shirt no.	8
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2003-2004	Northerns
2004-present	Titans (squad no. 8)
2005	Essex
2007	Warwickshire
2007-present	Royal Challengers Bangalore (squad no. 2)
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	45	43	86	87
Runs scored	588	86	1,092	132
Batting average	13.67	9.55	14.18	7.76
100s/50s	0/1	0/0	0/3	0/0
Top score	76	35	82	35
Balls bowled	9,221	2,120	16,671	4,180
Wickets	232	61	386	130
Bowling average	23.31	31.21	24.35	25.93
5 wickets in innings	15	0	23	2
10 wickets in match	4	n/a	6	n/a
Best bowling	7/51	4/16	8/41	5/20
Catches/stumpings	13/–	7/–	19/–	13/–
Source: cricinfo, 30 December 2010

Domestic career-

International career-

Dale Steyn in the field at the SCG in January 2009

 Home Tests against England 2004/05-

Achievements and Records-

 Test Five-wicket innings-

 Test Ten-wicket Matches-

Bowling partners-

One Day Internationals 2005/06-

 Home Tests against New Zealand 2005/2006-

 Away Tests against Sri Lanka 2006-

 Home Tests against India 2006/07-

 Home Tests against Pakistan 2006/07-

Away Tests against Australia 2008/2009-

Steyn fields a ball at practice, Adelaide Oval, January 2009.

 Away Tests Against West Indies 2010-

Test Man-of-the-Match Awards:

 Test Man-of-the-Series Awards-

 Career Best Performances-

Dale Steyn-

 

Dale Steyn is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world cricket Player. He is Protea's (fast bowler), South African Cricket Club. Test Debut: v England at Port Elizabeth - 17-21 December 2004. ODI Debut: Africa XI v Asia XI at Centurion - 17 August 2005. Won four awards at the Mutual and Federal SA Cricket Awards in June 2008. He has been nominated for the CSA Test Cricketer of the Year; SA Cricketer of the Year "2010 SA Cricket Awards Gala".

Steyn showed what makes him such a big threat. He had the opportunity of bowling in very helpful conditions at both venues but he never tried to overachieve, never got overexcited. He assessed the conditions coolly and bowled just the right line and length to snare his victims.

The first day of the Durban Test was the perfect example – the wicket was green and the sky was overcast, an ideal setting for a fast man. Morne Morkel, now No. 3 in the bowler rankings, kept bowling short and wide and hardly troubled the batsmen. Steyn, on the other hand, bowled full and on and around the off-stump. He did not waste his energy on bowling bouncers. The result was some unplayable deliveries which accounted for batsmen like Sehwag and Dravid. Steyn finished with 6/50 off 19 incisive overs to grab the initiative for South Africa, yet again.

Indian batsmen will be the first to vouch for Steyn's class as they have often been on the receiving end of his prowess. During the Ahmedabad Test in 2008, Steyn claimed 5/23 as India were bowled out for 76 in just two hours in the first innings. South Africa won the Test easily. In Nagpur, earlier this year, Steyn (7/51) made the old ball talk as India slumped to 233 all out from 192/3. South Africa ran out winners here too. At Centurion too, Steyn got the crucial breaks on the third and fourth evenings to hasten India's slide.

The Durban Test is Steyn's ninth against India and he already has 45 wickets at a measly 18.42 per wicket after the end of the first innings. Overall, his tally is 230 scalps in his 45th Test, the average being a very impressive 23.25. Simply put, Steyn picks up a wicket every 40th ball!

It is instructive to hear Steyn talk about his bowling. He comes across as a serious student of the game who is humble about his skills and achievements. Asked if he was frustrated when it took him some time to take a wicket on Day One at Durban, Steyn said, "Patience is the key. If you bowl in the right areas, something is going to give." His bowling bears him out.

Steyn's stock delivery, the outswinger, is one of the most feared in world cricket. It fetches him a majority of his wickets. How can he get the ball to shoot away so much from the middle or the leg stump? "I suppose I'm lucky that I can get the ball to do that. But I don't try it all the time, you can do it on certain days. Today (Sunday) was such a day. But if it doesn't work than you get hit through mid-wicket for a boundary every single time," was Steyn's self-effacing, honest take. He brought in some perspective too. "You don't want to be a hero every ball. You do what your captain wants you to do." Steyn, though, admits that the temptation to bowl a ripper gets the better of him once in a while. "Every now and then, I get a bit cheeky and I bowl one of those deliveries. If they don't come off and I'm hit for a four then my captain pulls me up."

Steyn places great emphasis on cricket being a team game. "I've played with some great guys like Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya (Ntini). I listened to them and it helped me improve my game. Cricket is a team sport and if you can listen to the guys who have been around for 100 Tests or more, it's going to make a difference in your career."