Hit man ~ not he - but the one marketed by Dale Steyn !!

At an unknown location, near a remote asylum, a group of young bald boys are receiving tattoos of bar codes on the back of their heads as well as men observing, directing and co-ordinating the training of these young boys in firearms and hand-to-hand combat, as well as stamina and strength. In these scenes, it is shown that these young boys are trained from an early age to be professional, international hitmen-for hire…….

Hitman, released in 2007 was an  action film directed by Xavier Gens and based on the video game series of the same name. The story revolves around Agent 47, a professional hitman. He was raised from birth to be an assassin by the group known as "The Organization" and becomes ensnared in a political conspiracy. He finds himself pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military. Hitman is a stealth video game series developed by the Danish company IO Interactive. The series is available on Microsoft Windows as well as several video game consoles.  Then there is the ‘sniper’ ~ a name which would evoke some unsettling imagery -- a lone gunman, undetectable, on the hunt. And while military snipers are indeed elite shooters who hide, line up a target in their sights and pull the trigger, there is a theory that snipers always work in pairs !!

Away from this, the World Cup is hotting up !  At Seddon Park, Hamilton, NZ breathed at last defeating Bangladesh by 3 wickets ~ the scoreline would never reveal the intensity after that century of Mahmudullah [128* in 123 balls].  South Africa is a powerful team – but lost to India and then to Pak in the group matches.

photo credit : iplt20.com

As every team would do,  South Africa are keeping their most precious object as safe as they inch towards the knock-out stage.  Dale Steyn could be just the latest nuclear-tipped arrow that South Africa have drawn from their seemingly bottomless quiver of classy fast bowlers. The trouble, for opposing batsmen, is that he is rather more than that. He still represents that classical era of pure bowlers who bemuse the batsmen with pace and fury.  Like every other bowler, he is not as pacy as he was when he made his debut in 2004 – but no less menace even now. He has struck body blows and bowled the batsmen over – all over the globe.  In 2008, Steyn was named ICC Test Player of the Year after taking 86 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.10. – he has come a long way tormenting opponents with his guile and pace.

Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn is known for his fiery on-field persona  was chilled to the bone when he awoke to news that the Cape Peninsula blaze was threatening to destroy his home. Steyn told the Daily News today that only upon waking early on Monday in Canberra did he realise the scale of the devastation and the danger facing the people he had asked to look after his house in the Stonehurst Estate near Muizenberg. Fortunately for Steyn, the flames were doused just metres from his house, and this morning he expressed his gratitude to those who fought the devastating blazes.

Now this post is not about Dale Steyn getting hit or he hitting the batsmen – but about the ‘Hit man’ costing  costs US$400 [Indian Rs.25000 approx]  that includes a strong canvas bag with a velcro strip to close. What better way to test the durability of the 'Hit Man' than continuous 150kmph plus deliveries by Dale Steyn himself. The 'Hit Man' can withstand a full paced bouncer and also serves as a perfect target for the bowlers  to practice swing and spin.

Dale Steyn and his team have spent months working on the ultimate replica batsman to practice your bowling at. A first line bowler can never really practice "yorkers" or "bouncers" in the nets since the risk of injuring a team mate is too high.  So they can try with ‘hit man’ is what its manufacturers claim.  The 'Hit Man' is made of a special polyethylene/EVA blend foam strengthened with aluminium tube on the inside and a mild steel stand. Its dimensions are : Torso: 90x54x9 cm; Legs: 104x48x9 cm; Metal Stand: 60x50x9 cm - Total when in bag: 55x110x27cm – and weighs 10 kgs overall. 

Hitman is the first life-size batsman figure that can handle full pace.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13^th Mar 2015.