Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African international cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. A right-handed all-rounder, as captain Cronje led his team to victory in 27 test matches and 99 one day internationals. He was voted the 11th greatest South African in 2004 despite having been banned from cricket for life due to his role in a match-fixing scandal. He died in a plane crash in 2002.
The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season and the first T20I, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season, winning both games. The team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League.
The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. Its nickname derives from South Africa's national flower, Protea cynaroides, commonly known as the "King Protea".
Graeme Craig Smith is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held the position of test captain until his retirement in 2014. At 22, he was appointed as South Africa's youngest ever captain. He was the most capped captain ever when he played his 102nd test against England. He is considered as one of the greatest ever test captains of all-time having led South Africa to a record 54 test victories and under his captaincy South Africa was often highlighted as the best travelling team in the world.
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches. He holds the world records both for the most appearances made in first-class cricket, and for the most wickets taken (4,204). He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season a record 16 times. Rhodes played for Yorkshire and England into his fifties, and in his final Test in 1930 was, at 52 years and 165 days, the oldest player who has appeared in a Test match.
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five Wisden cricketers of the decade at the end of 2019. He is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the sport.
George Aubrey Faulkner was a South African cricketer who played 25 Test matches for South Africa and fought in both the Second Boer War and World War I. In cricket, he was an all-rounder who was among the best batsmen in the world at his peak and was one of the first leg spin bowlers to use the googly.
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African former professional cricketer who played for the South African Cricket Team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and the best Test bowler of his generation. During the 2007–08 season, Steyn achieved a tally of 78 wickets at an average of 16.24, and was subsequently rewarded with the ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award. He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2013, and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2013 in 2014's Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. He was featured in Wisden Cricketers of the Decade at the end of 2019. He also was included in the ICC Test Team of the Decade at the end of 2020.
Herbert Wilfred Taylor was a South African cricketer who played 42 Test matches for his country including 18 as captain of the side. Specifically a batsman, he was an expert on the matting pitches which were prevalent in South Africa at the time and scored six of his seven centuries at home. His batting was also noted for quick footwork and exceptional 'backplay'. He became the first South African to pass 2,500 Test runs and was selected one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1925. In domestic cricket, he played for Natal, Transvaal and Western Province.
Johan Wilhelm Zulch was a South African international cricketer who played 16 Test matches for South Africa between 1910 and 1921.
Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946. It has since been replaced by the New Wanderers Stadium.
Charles Bennett "Buck" Llewellyn was the first non-white South African Test cricketer. He appeared in 15 Test matches for South Africa between 1895 and 1912, and played in English cricket as a professional for Hampshire between 1899 and 1910.
Christopher Maitland Howard Hathorn was a South African cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1902 to 1911.
Albert Edward Ernest Vogler was a South African cricketer. A leading all-rounder skilled both at batting and bowling, Vogler played cricket in South Africa prior to becoming eligible to play for Middlesex County Cricket Club in England after serving on the ground staff of the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's. He rose to prominence during the 1906 home Test series and then in England the following year: he was described during the latter as the best bowler in the world by Tip Foster, and named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
Manfred Julius Susskind was a South African cricketer who played in five Test matches in 1924. The first Jewish Test cricketer, he was born and died in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The South African national cricket team toured England during the 1904 season, playing 22 matches. Most of them were against regular first-class sides, but there were also matches against an England XI, against Marylebone Cricket Club and a South of England side with five Test players. The tourists won ten of their 22 matches, and lost two against Worcestershire and Kent. They did not manage to beat any of the top four sides in the Championship, though; they drew with Lancashire and Yorkshire (twice), lost to Kent and tied with Middlesex. No Test matches were played.
The England cricket team toured South Africa under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club from December 1905 to March 1906. There were five Test matches, and seven first-class games against South African provincial teams. While the team won a number of their first-class matches, they also lost several, and South Africa won the Test series 4 to 1.
