South African secret dossier meant for Dale Steyn leaked by hotel guest

South Africa’s team plans were supposed to be delivered to Dale Steyn, but they found their way into wrong hands

A secret South African dossier on how to tackle New Zealand’s batsmen has been revealed to the world on eve of the 3-match ODI series between the two teams. The document, originally meant for fast bowler Dale Steyn, was accidentally slipped under a wrong door in the Pretoria hotel where the Proteas team were putting up.

The bewildered guest who received the note, reacted to the event by sharing it on the social media. It is not yet known whether this person was a Kiwi fan or a Proteas fan – but this act has provided all teams around the world with a detailed analysis on strengths and weakness of each batsman of the 2015 World Cup finalist team.

The Facebook update by the guest – South Africa’s leaked team dossier

The dossier details areas to bowl, how different batsmen cope with bouncers, and the best options for bowling in the final overs. For instance, Martin Guptill, the in-form opener, is seen as someone who is weak against incoming bouncers, and Kane Williamson is a weak puller of the ball.

Dale Steyn was not part of the recently concluded T20 series between the two teams, and so it is assumed that he was being informed of the team’s findings from that series.

The first of three ODIs starts on Wednesday.

This is not the first time a ‘secret’ team dossier has been leaked – The Australian team's plans for South Africa's batsmen was revealed to the media on the eve of their Test series in November 2012. Some said then that the former Australian coach John Buchanan had deliberately done the act, but it had also been speculated that wrong hotel doors had been the issue on that occasion as well.

@iAmKameel I'm so confused by this story, does Dale Steyn not have a personal email addy they send these things to.

— Vaneshree Naidoo (@Vaneshree02) August 19, 2015