Top 5 South African all-rounders of all-time
South Africa might not have won a Cricket World Cup but it’s sure regarded to be one of the elite powers in World Cricket. After returning from more than a two-decade ban in 1991, South Africa have entertained spectators with their mesmerizing performances in all three formats of the game.
The country has produced a number of great cricketers over the years which includes the likes of Allan Donald, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten and many more. South Africa has also produced a considerable number of all-rounders in cricket with a number of their players shining in the game with both the bat and ball.
Let’s take a look at the top five all-rounders produced by South Africa in cricket.
#5 Brian McMillan
Considered by many to be the best all-rounder in the world during the mid-90s, Brian McMillan could have had a more successful international career had it not been for South Africa’s ban from international cricket as by the time he made his national team debut in 1991, he was already 28.
Nevertheless, McMillan played for the Proteas for seven years before retiring in 1998. McMillan was a right-arm pacer who had the capability to score quick runs as a middle-order batsman. For a player of his build, McMillan was surprisingly an agile fielder at slip.
A part of the South African team that played their first match since their reinstation in world cricket, McMillan scored 1968 runs in 38 Tests at an average of 39.35 and a strike rate of 42.85, scoring 13 half-centuries and three centuries with his highest score being 113 against Pakistan at Johannesburg in 1995.
He took 78 Test wickets at an average of 33.82 and at an economy rate of 2.51 with his best bowling performance being 65/4 against New Zealand at Cape Town in 1995. In the 78 ODIs he played, McMillan scored 841 runs at an average of 23.36 and a strike rate of 73.32, with a 127 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1995 being his highest ODI score.
He also took 70 wickets at an average of 36.98 and an economy rate of 4.28 with his best bowling figures in ODIs being 32/4 against India at Port Elizabeth in 1992.