As a South African. I believe that our cricketing rivalry with Australia is not based on our differences but rather on how similar we are.
The antipathy’s true nature may be fairly straightforward
They are us. They are. in fact. us. or a distorted image of us that was reflected back to us from across the Indian Ocean like it was from a carnival mirror. They play like we do. They also violate human rights and are victims of British imperialism. just like we are. Are we related? Siblings? The greatest of foes?
I have put on my partisan fan helmet instead of my impartial journalistic hat. When the South African Proteas take on Australia. it’s hard not to. I felt obligated to support the athletes who represented my country because I was raised in the early days of a democracy whose nation-building project was tied to its sports teams.
Captain
Is likely to play in the first South Africa Test. despite Josh Hazlewood’s absence. My villains were their foes. Furthermore. the Australian men’s cricket team was the sport’s greatest villain.
Before I realized that international sport is a political act. this idea took root. Before South Africa’s isolation as a result of apartheid. the Australians were the last nation to compete against them. In January 1970. when Bill Lawry’s Australians arrived in Cape Town. they were hammered 4-0 by a legendary team led by Mike Procter. who took 26 wickets at 13.37; Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock each scored more than 500 runs at an average of over 70.
The screen then remained black for 21 years. The smoldering mark of this rivalry. which would go on to define South African cricket for three decades. could still be seen when it blinked back on. The changing state of the game in Australia is documented through clashes with and in the country.
At South Africa’s first World Cup
In Sydney in 1992. England were eliminated from the competition due to rain and the absence of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern formula. Two years later. at the same venue. Fanie de Villiers put on a masterful display of swing and pace. scoring six for 43. and bowled Australia out for 111 in a five-run victory.
An era of subjugation followed.
Australia always had the higher card in Top Trumps. Shane Warne’s cleverness made Daryll Cullinan’s strokeplay better. Ricky Ponting’s bat won more games than Jacques Kallis’ genius did. Glenn McGrath’s efficiency could not be matched by Allan Donald’s speed. Hansie Cronje’s friendliness withered under Steve Waugh’s brutality.
In 1999. Australia celebrated Allan Donald’s decisive exit. a traumatic moment for South African fans. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Allsport As a South African cricket fan. compiling a list of the most memorable matches. matches. and series quickly evolves into a record of iconic battles against an old foe. Do you remember in 2002. when Adam Gilchrist posted the fastest double century in a Test match at the Wanderers with a 204-run knock to secure an innings victory? What about the 2006 “438 Game.” in which Herschelle Gibbs won the most remarkable one-day international by scoring 175 runs off 111 deliveries? Or does Donald drop his bat and get run out with only three balls left in the chase in the tied 1999 World Cup semi-final?
Due to safety concerns.
Candice Warner declines the bodyguard offer for Test matches. These two do not do boring. For that. there is too much needle. The Klitschko brothers probably never fought each other in the ring because of this. This upcoming Australian series is the first since the 2018 “Sandpapergate” scandal. which was the most contentious incident in a series with a lot of flashpoints. In the player’s tunnel in Durban. a fight almost broke out between the teams before Cameron Bancroft was discovered in Cape Town with his hands down his pants. Violence was only stopped by Faf du Plessis intervening. who was only wearing a small white towel aroun