Researching South African cricket legends? Learn more about cricket legends from South Africa…
The list of cricket legends from South Africa is unbelievably long and varied. Cricketers like Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Dudley Nourse, Peter Kirsten and his brother Gary Kirsten along with Michael Procter are just some of the legendary cricketers to have come out of South Africa. Other legends who have left a mark on international and local cricket are Kepler Wessels, Clive Rice, Alan Donald and Hansie.
These legendary cricketers from South Africa have actually made a huge impact by becoming success stories. South Africa was actually brought onto the cricketing map thanks to the performance of these players. Not only did they attain success for themselves but brought pride to the country by wearing the famed Protea cap for their country. Continually renowned for creating excellent spells in game after game, these men of spirit excelled on the playing field time and time again.
The Don
If one were tasked with selecting cricket legends for the Cricket Hall of Fame, Don Bradman undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest cricketers in the world and a prime candidate for that honor. He has a batting average of 99.94 runs and that is one impressive average for any cricketer to attain in the short time as his career endured. Fondly known as The Don, he would’ve had an average of a 100, on his last test but was dismissed for a duck. Perhaps this non-rounded figure is what has made him more legendary in terms of thinking what could have been the highest ever standard of excellence.
Hansie Cronje
Another famous cricketer from South Africa is Hansie Cronje who was the youngest ever test captain named for South Africa. The legendary sportsman was originally named Wessel Johannes Cronje and fondly called Hansie. He suffered an untimely demise on June 1, 2002.
Robert Graeme
South Africa’s Cricketer of the Century is considered to be Robert Graeme. His genius is recognized by every international cricket fan. He was even voted Cricketer of the Century at the end of the millennium in 1999. Fans are never surprised by this, but it was quite a shock to the cricketer himself upon receipt of the honor. His career spanned only 23 test matches but he actually had seven centuries under his belt. His career was cut short due to the sports boycott of South Africa under the apartheid regime. However, in his short career he went on to get the highest number of runs in terms of the test score, which was 274. Upon his retirement he had an average of over 60, which followed the near perfect score by Bradman. The first-class average exceeded those garnered by any other post-war players. On many occasions the young cricketer was chosen as South Africa’s Cricketer of the Year as well as Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1966.
