Dale Steyn Profile

Dale Steyn Profile

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. Pure pace is one thing, pinpoint pure pace distinctly another. Pinpoint pure pace poison-tipped with aggression still another. Add the regularity with which Steyn moves the ball away from right-handers, and the way his deliveries skid at batsmen - a lack of height isn't all bad - and the danger he poses is obvious.

Steyn has grown into a bowler who has a firm grip on all of the tenets of the faith of the fast and the furious. But his is no paint-by-numbers tale of ability plus skill plus experience seamlessly stitching itself into a story of success.

He began his career armed with more pace than he knew what to do with, and little else: when he played his first Test against England in 2004, he was far from the bowler just described. Then, as he made peace with his bowling action and figured out how best to hone a body seemingly not suited to the rigours of life as fast bowler for just that fate, came the accuracy. Steyn took 16 wickets in his second series, but there remained a suspicion that he wasn't as dominant and aggressive as a fast bowler of his class should be. He was simply too nice.

All of which changed in South Africa's home series against the New Zealanders in 2007-08. A visibly fired up Steyn took ten wickets in the first Test in Johannesburg. Then, shortly after lunch on the first day of the second Test in Centurion, he earned all that nastiness he needed in the sickening instant in which Craig Cumming flapped at a short delivery. Cumming missed, and the ball crashed into his face and sent him to intensive care. Suddenly, Steyn was no longer a nice kid with a bit of zip.

The flow of wickets became a gush, and in 2008, he became the fastest South African, and the 15th fastest overall, to reach 100 Test wickets. That September, Steyn was named ICC Test Player of the Year after taking 86 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.10. And so on and so forth ... expect many more stupendous statistics in the years to come.

Full name Dale Willem Steyn

Born June 27, 1983, Phalaborwa 

Current age 27 years 152 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Essex, Northerns, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Titans, Warwickshire

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     43     54     13     577     76     14.07     1358     42.48     0     1     57     13     12     0
ODIs     43     14     5     86     35     9.55     95     90.52     0     0     4     4     7     0
T20Is     21     4     2     8     5     4.00     10     80.00     0     0     0     0     8     0
First-class     84     100     25     1081     82     14.41     2203     49.06     0     3             18     0
List A     87     29     12     132     35     7.76     161     81.98     0     0             13     0
Twenty20     71     17     5     51     22     4.25     55     92.72     0     0     3     2     21     0

Bowling averages

 
    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     43     79     8771     5159     217     7/51     10/91     23.77     3.52     40.4     13     14     4
ODIs     43     42     2120     1904     61     4/16     4/16     31.21     5.38     34.7     3     0     0
T20Is     21     21     468     531     29     4/9     4/9     18.31     6.80     16.1     1     0     0
First-class     84         16221     9153     371     8/41         24.67     3.38     43.7     18     22     6
List A     87         4180     3372     130     5/20     5/20     25.93     4.84     32.1     4     2     0
Twenty20     71     69     1572     1788     74     4/9     4/9     24.16     6.82     21.2     1     0     0

Career statistics

Test debut     South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Dec 17-21, 2004 

Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010

ODI debut     Africa XI v Asia XI at Centurion, Aug 17, 2005
Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

T20I debut     South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Nov 23, 2007
Last T20I     West Indies v South Africa at North Sound, May 20, 2010

First-class debut     2003/04
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010
List A debut     2004/05
Last List A     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Warriors v Titans at Port Elizabeth, Apr 1, 2005
Last Twenty20     Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban, Sep 24, 2010

Boeta Dippenaar Profile

Boeta Dippenaar Profile

A year after making his Test debut, Boeta Dippenaar scored his maiden century against New Zealand at the Wanderers before he unluckily lost his place at the top of the order to the recalled Herschelle Gibbs. He grabbed his chance of returning to the Test team, after South Africa's disastrous 2003 World Cup, with an unbeaten 177 against lowly Bangladesh.

Prolific first-class runscorers occasionally have weaknesses found out against top-class opposition, and so it was with Dippenaar who quickly found that his tendency to play across and around his back-foot defensive strokes was costly against quality Test bowlers. He worked hard to rectify the problem. On good days, however, he can please the eye for six hours and more. He is not a tall man yet he bats like one, seemingly able to reach the pitch of every ball bowled on or outside off stump and drive it through the covers. The reach and the sweetness of the timing are the foundations of his game; his ability as a cover fielder is a bonus.

He has had great success while opening the batting in one-dayers and cemented his place in the one-day side after a fantastic series against West Indies in 2005, when he ended with an average of more than 100. Dippenaar revels in the outdoor pursuits which kept him busy as a boy growing up in the Free State, and touring is almost as much an opportunity to fish new waters as it is to play cricket. He scored a crucial unbeaten 85 to take South Africa to victory in the first of three ODIs against Zimbabwe at home in September, and was part of a 14-man squad for October's Champions Trophy in India. But despite a year of sustained one-day success he was overlooked for the World Cup squad. After leading Eagles to the SuperSport Series title in 2007-08 he announced his retirement from international cricket with a modest and rather unfulfilled record. He continued to pile on the runs in the domestic circuit for Eagles and Leicestershire.

Full name Hendrik Human Dippenaar

Born June 14, 1977, Kimberley, Cape Province 

Current age 33 years 165 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Eagles, Free State, Leicestershire

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

 
    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     38     62     5     1718     177*     30.14     4128     41.61     3     7     237     5     27     0
ODIs     107     95     14     3421     125*     42.23     5047     67.78     4     26     334     16     36     0
T20Is     1     1     0     1     1     1.00     5     20.00     0     0     0     0     0     0
First-class     188     321     32     11882     250*     41.11             33     53             203     0
List A     245     224     31     7597     125*     39.36             8     52             91     0
Twenty20     59     51     8     885     63     20.58     858     103.14     0     2     83     13     24     0

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     38     1     12     1     0     -     -     -     0.50     -     0     0     0
ODIs     107     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
T20Is     1     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     188         120     66     1     1/6     1/6     66.00     3.30     120.0     0     0     0
List A     245         18     7     1     1/5     1/5     7.00     2.33     18.0     0     0     0
Twenty20     59     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Test debut     South Africa v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein, Oct 29-Nov 1, 1999 

Last Test     South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town, Jan 26-28, 2007
ODI debut     India v South Africa at Nairobi (Gym), Sep 26, 1999
Last ODI     Africa XI v Asia XI at Chennai, Jun 10, 2007
Only T20I     Australia v South Africa at Brisbane, Jan 9, 2006
First-class debut     1995/96
Last First-class     Knights v Titans at Kimberley, Oct 21-24, 2010 

List A debut     1995/96
Last List A     Eagles v Warriors at Bloemfontein, Jan 10, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Dolphins v Eagles at Durban, Apr 11, 2004
Last Twenty20     Eagles v Lions at Bloemfontein, Feb 21, 2010

Herschelle Gibbs Profile

Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs, who once owned up, with perverse pride, to never having read a book, has essayed enough incendiary innings to fill a fat volume and, in the field, cut down many a batsman with all the electric grace of an enraged poet. Though he might not bother with many more words than yes, no, wait, and mine, Gibbs inspires superlatives from those who marvel at his appetite for the spectacular. Ordinary he is not.

Gibbs has played some of the most outrageous strokes yet seen. How many other batsmen practice, seriously, cutting fast bowlers for six? Or drive throat balls down the ground? Or make pulling off the front foot look everyday? That goes for whether he is batting in the middle of the order or at the top, and whether the ball is old or new. Gibbs has put all that together so many times that he can't be accused of being some charlatan who deals in fluke and luck.

He did so in the grandest of manner at the Wanderers in 2006 to score 175 off 111 balls and help South Africa clinch a one-day series against Australia. The battleground scenes of this extraordinary match, that delivered totals of 434 for four and 438 for nine, swirled all about. But Gibbs batted with the glee of a teenager armed with his father's credit card in a strip club. Pressure? That's what other people feel.

When South Africans wondered who would replace Jonty Rhodes as a fielder of the most predatory type, Gibbs answered the call. 

However, not all of the superlatives attached to him are positive, for when too much talent trips over itself, demons often also lurk. Alas, so it is with Gibbs. He is perhaps as gifted as any sportsman can be. He is also as poorly equipped for the trials of daily life as any human being can safely be. Dark tales of marijuana smoking, drunk driving and match-fixing have blotted his career. Gibbs is about as close as cricket has come to producing a punk rocker, a figure who veers too close to self-destruction too often for the likes of those who prefer their cricketers unblemished by the real world.

They can rest assured, because Gibbs' time at the top is nearing its end. A first-class career that began when he was just 16 is now into its 20th summer. As his 40s loom, he may even pick up a book or two.

Full name Herschelle Herman Gibbs

Born February 23, 1974, Green Point, Cape Town, Cape Province 

Current age 36 years 275 days

Major teams South Africa, Cape Cobras, Deccan Chargers, Glamorgan, Western Province, Yorkshire

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm bowler

Batting and fielding averages

 
    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     90     154     7     6167     228     41.95     12270     50.26     14     26     887     47     94     0
ODIs     248     240     16     8094     175     36.13     9721     83.26     21     37     930     128     108     0
T20Is     23     23     1     400     90*     18.18     318     125.78     0     3     45     12     8     0
First-class     193     331     13     13425     228     42.21             31     60             176     0
List A     387     369     32     11937     175     35.42             27     62             171     0
Twenty20     100     98     9     2380     101*     26.74     1889     125.99     1     16     235     80     54     0

Bowling averages

 
    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     90     1     6     4     0     -     -     -     4.00     -     0     0     0
ODIs     248     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
T20Is     23     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     193         138     78     3     2/14         26.00     3.39     46.0         0     0
List A     387         66     57     2     1/16     1/16     28.50     5.18     33.0     0     0     0
Twenty20     100     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Career statistics

 
Test debut     India v South Africa at Kolkata, Nov 27-Dec 1, 1996 

Last Test     South Africa v West Indies at Durban, Jan 10-12, 2008

ODI debut     Kenya v South Africa at Nairobi (Gym), Oct 3, 1996 

Last ODI     India v South Africa at Ahmedabad, Feb 27, 2010 

T20I debut     South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Oct 21, 2005 

Last T20I     Pakistan v South Africa at Gros Islet, May 10, 2010 

First-class debut     1990/91
Last First-class     Northamptonshire v Glamorgan at Northampton, Aug 26-29, 2009 

List A debut     1990/91
Last List A    Cape Cobras v Dolphins at Paarl, Nov 14, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Western Province Boland v Dolphins at Cape Town, Apr 7, 2004
Last Twenty20     Derbyshire v Yorkshire at Derby, Jul 18, 2010

Mark Boucher Profile

Mark Boucher

A man to go to war with, but never against, Mark Boucher packs all the archetypical attributes of the South African cricketer into his short, stocky frame. He is relentlessly competitive, invariably aggressive, and as hard and uncompromising as the new ball. He makes a point of, in his own words, "walking onto the field as if you own the place".

His relative lack of pure wicketkeeping skill and ability was exposed on South Africa's 1998 tour to England when he was repeatedly undone by the swing of the ball after it had pitched. But even then, as now, Boucher had no peer in terms of temperament, guts and determination, and he duly fashioned himself into one of the finest glovemen in the game. He can often be seen, long after the rest of the squad has hit the showers after a training session, willing himself through another set of wicketkeeping drills. The hard work has paid off, and he is likely to hold the record for Test dismissals - among many others - long after his retirement.

As a batsman Boucher lives for the big moment, the quick 30 or 40 his team needs to win a match, or the session that must be spent at the crease to ensure a draw. His most memorable innings is probably the scintillating unbeaten 50 he scored to complete South Africa's surge to a series-clinching target of 438 for 9 off the penultimate ball of a one-day international against Australia in Johannesburg in March 2006.

Boucher strutted through 75 consecutive Tests before the suits thought he needed to be brought down a peg or two and dropped him for the tour to India in 2004. His reality duly checked, he returned to the national team as the ultimate man for the trenches. Now in the autumn of his career, his renewed commitment to his conditioning should earn him extra years at the top.

For a man who looms so large in the world of cricket, Boucher started small. He was invariably smaller, and younger, than anyone else in the age-group provincial teams he played in. But the neon intensity in his eyes in the otherwise banal team photographs told of a kid who meant business. Boucher was a junior South African squash champion, and famously once played a national final with a racquet arm that had not long before emerged from a plaster cast. He lost, but in five games.

Full name Mark Verdon Boucher

Born December 3, 1976, East London, Cape Province 

Current age 33 years 356 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Border, Cape Cobras, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warriors

Playing role Wicketkeeper batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium

Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     136     192     22     5240     125     30.82     10483     49.98     5     33     621     20     485     22
ODIs     292     218     56     4664     147*     28.79     5505     84.72     1     26     354     83     400     22
T20Is     25     21     6     268     36*     17.86     275     97.45     0     0     22     2     18     1
First-class     198     288     40     8348     134     33.66             9     51             663     36
List A     358     282     67     6143     147*     28.57             2     35             476     31
Twenty20     70     57     20     1010     57*     27.29     878     115.03     0     2     76     31     39     9

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     136     1     8     6     1     1/6     1/6     6.00     4.50     8.0     0     0     0
ODIs     292     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
T20Is     25     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     198         26     26     1     1/6         26.00     6.00     26.0         0     0
List A     358     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
Twenty20     70     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Career statistics

Test debut     Pakistan v South Africa at Sheikhupura, Oct 17-21, 1997 

Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010 

ODI debut     New Zealand v South Africa at Perth, Jan 16, 1998 

Last ODI     West Indies v South Africa at Port of Spain, Jun 3, 2010 

T20I debut     South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Oct 21, 2005 

Last T20I     Pakistan v South Africa at Gros Islet, May 10, 2010 

First-class debut     1995/96
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010 

List A debut     1995/96
Last List A     Warriors v Knights at Port Elizabeth, Nov 5, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Eastern Cape v Western Province Boland at Port Elizabeth, Apr 13, 2004
Last Twenty20     Warriors v Chennai Super Kings at Johannesburg, Sep 26, 2010

AB de Villiers Profile

AB de Villiers Profile

A batsman of breathtaking chutzpah and enterprise, as well as the skills and the temperament required to back up his creative intent. A fielder able to leap tall buildings and still come up with the catch. A wicketkeeper who is perfectly at ease donning pads and gloves. A fine rugby player, golfer, and tennis player. All AB de Villiers needs to show off his abundant gifts is a ball. Just about any ball.

Cricket should be pleased to have him. Few drive the ball as sweetly and to the boundary as regularly, and - in South Africa, at any rate - even fewer possess the silkily snappy footwork required to put spinners in their place. de Villiers is also among the fastest and the most instinctively sensible runners between the wickets. Marry all that with an approach to life that veers between laconic and laid back, and it isn't difficult to fathom why he has been afforded senior player status in the South African team years ahead of his time.

de Villiers' potential was recognised years before he made the leap to senior international level as an opening batsman against England at Port Elizabeth in 2004-05. He has batted everywhere from number one to number eight - with the important exception of number three - and has performed well in most of these positions.

After a brief slump in form in 2006 and 2007, de Villiers returned to the straight and narrow early in 2008 with a blistering 103 not out off 109 balls in Durban against West Indies. Later that year came one of de Villiers' career highlights, an undefeated 217 at Ahmedabad. It was the first double-century by a South African against India.

South Africans do not take easily to the precociously talented, but it helps if they do not come across all precocious. Such is the case with de Villiers, whose lazy smile under an every-which-way thatch of blond hair has helped convince the nation that he's worth feeding despite all that talent. The nation is not wrong.

de Villiers adjusts to the requirements of cricket's various formats as effortlessly as someone of his ample abilities should do. So much so that he has yet to fall victim to the curse of selection disputes, a curse that has struck even as accomplished a player as Jacques Kallis. Instead, as a career that should be in its adolescence by the mere measure of time and matches arches ever upward, the only question to be asked about de Villiers is how to deploy him to maximum effect.

Full name Abraham Benjamin de Villiers

Born February 17, 1984, Pretoria

Current age 26 years 280 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Delhi Daredevils, Northerns, Titans

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium

Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     63     108     13     4540     278*     47.78     8498     53.42     11     23     522     31     88     1
ODIs     109     105     15     4056     146     45.06     4509     89.95     9     24     387     68     79     1
T20Is     32     31     6     590     79*     23.60     481     122.66     0     4     42     20     32     4
First-class     87     151     18     6389     278*     48.03     11341     56.33     14     37             134     2
List A     135     130     18     5135     146     45.84             11     33             101     1
Twenty20     71     67     12     1585     105*     28.81     1263     125.49     1     9     122     48     62     6

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     63     4     198     99     2     2/49     2/49     49.50     3.00     99.0     0     0     0
ODIs     109     1     12     22     0     -     -     -     11.00     -     0     0     0
T20Is     32     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     87         228     133     2     2/49         66.50     3.50     114.0     0     0     0
List A     135         12     22     0     -     -     -     11.00     -     0     0     0
Twenty20     71     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Career statistics
Test debut     South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Dec 17-21, 2004
Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010

ODI debut     South Africa v England at Bloemfontein, Feb 2, 2005
Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

T20I debut     South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Feb 24, 2006
Last T20I     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Oct 27, 2010

First-class debut     2003/04
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Nov 20-24, 2010
List A debut     2003/04
Last List A     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Titans v Lions at Centurion, Apr 8, 2004
Last Twenty20     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Oct 27, 2010

Jacques Kallis Profile

Jacques Kallis Profile

No batsman prizes his wicket more highly, and no wicket in all of cricket is more highly prized. Jacques Kallis is the broad-shouldered colossus of the South African team, a figure whose looming presence inspires calm in some and dread in others. Few players who belong to the modern age are a better fit for the notion of the classical cricketer. Kallis is a fine, forceful batsman who has at his disposal both a rock-solid technique and a mind impervious to distraction. Though his role as a bowler diminishes with each passing season, he will be remembered as a purveyor of sometimes surprising pace and swing, and awkward bounce. In the slips, his sure-handedness and rattlesnake reflexes make ridiculous catches look regulation. 

Kallis announced himself as a batsman of international stature in his seventh Test, the drawn Boxing Day epic at Melbourne in 1997, when he scored a fighting 101 on a worn last-day pitch. Not even Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne could dislodge him before he had all but saved the match for South Africa.

Over the years Kallis has delivered many such innings, performances in which grit is a far more valuable commodity than glitz to a South African team that remains more confident in the field and with its fast bowlers in full cry than as a batting unit. Kallis has willingly shouldered the role of the fulcrum around which the wheel must try to turn. But, occasionally, he has unfurled a stroke of startling aggression that hints at what might have been.

Certainly, his lofted drive, which begins with a menacing backlift before uncoiling into the irresistible momentum of a mighty downward swoop of the bat and finishing in a twirl of Baroque, might be described as Mozart in motion. In the lightning flash of that fleeting instant it really does seem as if Kallis could, in the words of one observer, hit a six whenever he felt like it.

His critics, particularly those who have a limited understanding of the dynamics of the South African team, accuse him of not dominating attacks he has already ground into the dust, of unnecessarily slow scoring, and of failing to take the match situation into account as he plots his innings. All of which hints at selfishness, which is quite ironical, because his team-mates vouch for the fact that Kallis bats the way he does precisely because he puts his team first and his personal ambitions some way behind. It's the only way he knows how.

 

Full name Jacques Henry Kallis

Born October 16, 1975, Pinelands, Cape Town, Cape Province

Current age 35 years 38 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Cape Cobras, Glamorgan, ICC World XI, Middlesex, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warriors, Western Province

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     141     239     36     11334     189*     55.83     25364     44.68     36     54     1257     78     160     0
ODIs     307     293     53     11002     139     45.84     15117     72.77     17     80     862     129     116     0
T20Is     16     16     1     512     73     34.13     427     119.90     0     4     40     17     6     0
First-class     231     379     53     17686     200     54.25             53     92             222     0
List A     401     383     64     14183     155*     44.46             23     102             145     0
Twenty20     67     67     10     1978     89*     34.70     1729     114.40     0     17     200     45     24     0

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     141     234     17959     8429     266     6/54     9/92     31.68     2.81     67.5     7     5     0
ODIs     307     269     10270     8264     259     5/30     5/30     31.90     4.82     39.6     2     2     0
T20Is     16     12     186     229     5     2/20     2/20     45.80     7.38     37.2     0     0     0
First-class     231         26694     12393     401     6/54         30.90     2.78     66.5         8     0
List A     401         13079     10270     335     5/30     5/30     30.65     4.71     39.0     3     3     0
Twenty20     67     59     1112     1482     36     3/16     3/16     41.16     7.99     30.8     0     0     0

Career statistics

Test debut     South Africa v England at Durban, Dec 14-18, 1995
Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010

ODI debut     South Africa v England at Cape Town, Jan 9, 1996
Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

T20I debut     South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Oct 21, 2005
Last T20I     West Indies v South Africa at North Sound, May 19, 2010

First-class debut     1993/94
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010
List A debut     1994/95
Last List A     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Eastern Cape v Western Province Boland at Port Elizabeth, Apr 13, 2004
Last Twenty20     Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban, Sep 19, 2010

Hashim Amla Profile

Hashim Amla Profile

An elegant, stroke-filled player blessed with the temperament to make the most of his talent, Hashim Amla is the first South African of Indian descent to reach the national squad - his grandparents migrated from Gujarat - and he shares the penchant for wristy leg-side flicks that ooze off his bat. His elevation to the South Africa side was a poorly kept secret after he reeled off four centuries in his first eight innings of the 2004-05 season, after being appointed captain of the Dolphins (formerly Natal) at the tender age of 21. His older brother by four years, Ahmed, made his first-class debut two seasons before Hashim, but there is little doubt that the younger Amla is the better player. He is also a devout Muslim whose requests to have logos promoting alcohol removed from his playing gear have been successful so far. Amla toured New Zealand with the South African Under-19 team in 2000-01, he captained South Africa at the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, and after starring for the A team, made his Test debut against India in 2004-05. He was not an instant success, with serious questions emerging about his technique as he mustered 36 runs in four innings against England later that season.

When he was handed a second chance he made it count with 149 against New Zealand at Cape Town, helping guide South Africa to a draw. He remained a consistent performer, if not as prolific as South Africa would like, with fifties against Pakistan in 2007, but saved his best for the following tour to India where he racked up 307 runs in the three Tests. It included a majestic 159 in Chennai, his second score of 150 or more, and was followed by a pugnacious 81 in the second innings, in conditions trying thanks to the weather, the pitch, the attack and the vociferous home crowd. In the summer of 2008, he got his name on the honours board at Lord's with a sublime century, and in the process silenced all whimpers about his pedigree for the longest version. Still, doubts remained over his ability in the shorter formats, and while Twenty20 cricket was never going to be his strong point, he developed a remarkable appetite for ODI excellence, when given an extended run in the side. He contributed crucial fifties during South Africa's heist of Australia in 2008/09, but his inability to convert them into big knocks meant the likes of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy stole the headlines. Amla righted that with a couple of big scores in the ODI series that followed, as Australia were humbled in all formats at home. A consistent run of scores followed before a strong home series against England. Then came the magnum opus tour of India where the hosts threw everything at him, but could not find a way past or around his monk-like patience and ability to soak pressure. He followed that with a string of big knocks in the ODI series in West Indies, and is already looked upon as Jacques Kallis' successor in the role of middle-order bulwark.

A quiet man, there is no doubting Amla's immense hunger for runs. He remains a candidate to become South Africa's second non-white Test captain after Ashwell Prince, and possesses the most impressive beard in all the game.

Full name Hashim Mahomed Amla

Born March 31, 1983, Durban, Natal

Current age 27 years 237 days

Major teams South Africa, Dolphins, Essex, KwaZulu-Natal

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium, Right-arm offbreak

Relation Brother - AM Amla

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     47     83     7     3581     253*     47.11     7327     48.87     11     17     444     3     39     0
ODIs     37     36     4     1906     140     59.56     2041     93.38     6     10     190     11     16     0
T20Is     2     2     0     52     26     26.00     50     104.00     0     0     4     1     0     0
First-class     134     223     21     9886     253*     48.94             30     49             102     0
List A     90     88     6     3525     140     42.98             9     21             36     0
Twenty20     26     25     0     555     57     22.20     497     111.67     0     2     66     6     3     0

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     47     4     42     28     0     -     -     -     4.00     -     0     0     0
ODIs     37     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
T20Is     2     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     134         315     224     1     1/10         224.00     4.26     315.0     0     0     0
List A     90         16     28     0     -     -     -     10.50     -     0     0     0
Twenty20     26     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Career statistics

Test debut     India v South Africa at Kolkata, Nov 28-Dec 2, 2004
Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010

ODI debut     Bangladesh v South Africa at Chittagong, Mar 9, 2008
Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

T20I debut     Australia v South Africa at Brisbane, Jan 13, 2009
Last T20I     South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Mar 27, 2009

First-class debut     1999/00
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010
List A debut     2001/02
Last List A     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Western Province Boland v Dolphins at Cape Town, Apr 7, 2004
Last Twenty20     South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Mar 27, 2009

Graeme Smith Profile

Graeme Smith Profile

Meaty, muscular and mighty, that's Graeme Smith, who looms even larger than all that as South Africa's colossus of a captain. His achievements as a batsman are significant, but the most important monument to his career is the fact that under Smith, the confidence of South Africans, both within and outside of the national team and its structures, has been rebuilt. 

Smith's leadership and his batting are all about being direct and upfront. The subtleties of captaincy have grown into his game, but he is still at his most comfortable surging once more unto the breach himself with a cursory backward glance to see if his men are following.

His batting is similarly forthright: anything bowled near his pads will be sent screaming through midwicket. Anything drivable on the off-side will be driven, brutally, often inelegantly, but always effectively. Square of jaw and shoulder, they don't call him "Biff" for nothing. With Smith, what you see really is what you get.

Smith can hardly be blamed for doing things his own way. He was, after all, handed the reins at 22 - which made him his country's youngest captain - and tasked with rebuilding South Africans' faith in the integrity of game itself. That precious jewel had been shattered by Hansie Cronje's immoral greed and it was not restored completely under Shaun Pollock's sincere but undemonstrative leadership.

If Pollock was too maturely minded a captain for South African sensibilities, Smith was spot on: an overgrown schoolyard bully of the nicest possible type who would just as soon take a (verbal) swing at an opponent as buy him a beer. After the game, of course.

The double centuries Smith scored in his 11th and 12th Tests, and just his third and fourth as captain, in England in 2003 made for an ironclad argument to retain his overtly direct approach to getting the job done. Those were his early days in charge, but arguably his greatest triumph came much later, when he led South Africa to their first Test series victory in Australia, in 2008-09. All that remains now is to get his hands on a chunk of ICC silverware, a prize that has eluded South Africa since 1998. 

 

Full name Graeme Craig Smith

Born February 1, 1981, Johannesburg, Transvaal 

Current age 29 years 294 days

Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Cape Cobras, Gauteng, Hampshire Cricket Board, ICC World XI, Rajasthan Royals, Somerset, Western Province

Playing role Opening batsman

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

 

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	87	153	9	7304	277	50.72	12169	60.02	22	28	930	22	115	0
ODIs	160	158	10	5941	141	40.14	7139	83.21	8	42	693	38	84	0
T20Is	31	31	2	958	89*	33.03	742	129.11	0	5	122	25	18	0
First-class	125	217	14	10491	311	51.67			31	38			170	0
List A	217	213	15	8167	141	41.24			12	61			113	0
Twenty20	75	75	6	2216	105	32.11	1768	125.33	1	11	274	48	34	0

 

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	87	33	1322	805	8	2/145	2/145	100.62	3.65	165.2	0	0	0
ODIs	160	43	1026	951	18	3/30	3/30	52.83	5.56	57.0	0	0	0
T20Is	31	3	24	57	0	-	-	-	14.25	-	0	0	0
First-class	125		1690	1052	11	2/145		95.63	3.73	153.6		0	0
List A	217		1968	1796	47	3/30	3/30	38.21	5.47	41.8	0	0	0
Twenty20	75	7	96	148	4	3/23	3/23	37.00	9.25	24.0	0	0	0

Career statistics

 
Test debut     South Africa v Australia at Cape Town, Mar 8-12, 2002 

Last Test     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010 

ODI debut     South Africa v Australia at Bloemfontein, Mar 30, 2002 

Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

T20I debut     South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Oct 21, 2005 

Last T20I     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Oct 27, 2010 

First-class debut     1999/00
Last First-class     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 12-16, 2010 

List A debut     1999/00
Last List A     Pakistan v South Africa at Dubai, Nov 8, 2010

Twenty20 debut     Western Province Boland v Dolphins at Cape Town, Apr 7, 2004 

Last Twenty20     Pakistan v South Africa at Abu Dhabi, Oct 27, 2010

 

Sreesanth Profile

Sreesanth Profile

For three seasons, Sreesanth was hardly anything more than an answer to a trivia question - who is the only Kerala bowler to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick ? His rise, though, was rapid, and since he played for a weak side, unnoticed. Not too many bowlers get selected for the Duleep Trophy in their first season, like Sreesanth did in 2002-03 after snapping up 22 wickets in his first seven games.

His progress was halted owing to a hamstring injury in the following year, but he returned stronger, with a more side-on action and increased pace, and a superb display in the Challenger Trophy, in 2005, propelled him to the national squad for the Sri Lanka series. In the last game of his impressive debut season, he snapped up 6 for 55 against England. Idiosyncratic, with an aggressive approach - to the stumps and the game - he can be expensive in one-dayers, but is also a wicket-taking bowler. He does it in Tests, too - in Antigua in June 2006 he fired out Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara (for 0) in successive overs, and then took five wickets in Jamaica and played a key role in bowling India to a historic triumph. 

The year was one of several highlights, including a haul of eight wickets against South Africa in Johannesburg, which helped India win their first Test in the country. However, things turned sour two years later in the inaugural IPL, when he was involved in a spat with Harbhajan Singh, who slapped him at the end of a match. Sreesanth signed with Warwickshire and enjoyed a satisfactory first season, but injuries and a steady decline in form kept him out of the national team. His problems with discipline are well documented; he was warned by the BCCI with suspension from domestic cricket if he violated the code of conduct. But his ability with the ball earned him a recall for the home Tests against Sri Lanka in November 2009.

Full name Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

Born February 6, 1983, Kothamangalam, Kerala 

Current age 27 years 289 days

Major teams India, Asia XI, Kerala, Kerala Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Warwickshire

Also known as Gopu

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Batting and fielding averages

 

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	20	28	8	256	35	12.80	463	55.29	0	0	34	4	3	0
ODIs	49	20	10	40	10*	4.00	115	34.78	0	0	1	0	7	0
T20Is	10	3	2	20	19*	20.00	14	142.85	0	0	4	0	2	0
First-class	60	79	23	566	35	10.10	1252	45.20	0	0			12	0
List A	78	35	15	123	33	6.15	279	44.08	0	0			9	0
Twenty20	44	14	9	71	19*	14.20	82	86.58	0	0	13	0	8	0

 

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	20	39	4045	2349	68	5/40	8/99	34.54	3.48	59.4	4	2	0
ODIs	49	48	2312	2326	68	6/55	6/55	34.20	6.03	34.0	1	1	0
T20Is	10	9	204	288	7	2/12	2/12	41.14	8.47	29.1	0	0	0
First-class	60		10656	6069	180	5/40		33.71	3.41	59.2	8	5	0
List A	78		3710	3508	97	6/55	6/55	36.16	5.67	38.2	2	1	0
Twenty20	44	43	871	1270	38	3/29	3/29	33.42	8.74	22.9	0	0	0

Career statistics

 
Test debut     India v England at Nagpur, Mar 1-5, 2006

Last Test     India v New Zealand at Hyderabad (Deccan), Nov 12-16, 2010