A cast, austenitic steel composed essentially of, expressed in weight percent of the total composition, about 0.4 to about 0.7 C, about 20 to about 30 Cr, about 20 to about 30 Ni, about 0.5 to about 1 Mn, about 0.6 to about 2 Si, about 0.05 to about 1 Nb, about 0.05 to about 1 W, about 0.05 to about 1.0 Mo, balance Fe, the steel being essentially free of Ti and Co, the steel characterized by at least one microstructural component selected from the group consisting of MC, M.sub.23C.sub.6, and M(C, N).