Top 10 South African bowlers of all time
South African cricket can be divided into two phases - before and after the Apartheid. However, in terms of bowling talents, the Proteas have always been a notch above the rest in unearthing rare gems from the many schools that groom young boys into fearsome fast bowlers.
Over the years, quite a few South African pace bowlers have stood at the peak of fast bowling charts with consistent, electrifying performances but they have also started churning out enough spinners in the recent past.
While immigrants from India and Pakistan have helped in this regard, fast bowlers still remain South Africa's no.1 weapon in cricket across formats. Here we put together a list of top 10 South African bowlers across formats. Bear in mind that the list is not arranged on the basis of the number of wickets they have across formats, although wickets in itself are one among the many criteria followed in selecting this group of special bowlers.
#10 Neil Adcock
An aggressive, intimidating fast bowler, Neil Adcock was one of South Africa's first pace bowlers in World cricket. Adcock was tall and could generate disconcerting bounce and lift off the surface. He was the first South African to a 100 Test wickets.
Adcock made his Test debut in 1953 against the Kiwis in a home series. He made his inaugural Test outing memorable with 24 wickets in the series. Two years before retiring, Adcock snapped up 26 wickets in a tour of England and the following year won the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award. He died, aged 81, on 6th January 2013.
