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5 South African players who were unlucky not to have played more for their country

Albie Morkel
Albie Morkel was pigeonholed as a white-ball cricketer despite his strong first-class record

The 1948 national election saw the seeds of racial discrimination being sowed in the heartlands of South Africa. 22 years later, the country's fabric was irrevocably altered when both IOC and ICC spearheaded their expulsion from the sporting arena.

In March 1970, South Africa played their last Test match before being ousted from the international circuit for 21 long years. The Apartheid-enforced suspension meant that numerous world-class cricketers had to remain content by plying their trade at domestic level.

Also Read: 5 Australian players who were unlucky not to have played more for their country

Here are five South African cricketers who can consider themselves deeply unlucky not to have represented their country on more occasions. Needless to say, the list is dominated by those iconic names whose careers overlapped with the nation's isolation. To ensure parity, a couple of other cases from more recent times have also been brought into the limelight.


#5 Albie Morkel

Since making his ODI debut in 2004, Albie Morkel had to wait for five more years before the team management deemed him worthy of Test cricket. When the coveted moment came his way, he responded by procuring the prized scalp of Ricky Ponting. A blazing half-century, albeit against a tired Australian attack, further raised hope. However, the match remains the only Test appearance in his journey.

The presence of the iconic Jacques Kallis meant that the all-rounder spot was inevitably out of reach for any aspirant. If only he was born a decade later, Albie could have ended up playing plenty of Tests for his country. The 37-year old's first-class numbers make for fascinating reading. From 77 matches, the left-hander has scored 4117 runs at an average of 44.26 and picked 203 wickets at a strike-rate of 58.1.

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