South Africa ’76: What could it be?

The long and hot summer of 1976 witnessed the Montreal Olympics, Bjorn Borg won the Wimbledon Tennis Championship for the first time, and Johnny Miller won the British Open Championship. It also witnessed the fierce competition between England and talented cricketers in the West Indies. A 3-0 series defeat made the England team somewhat flattered, as Viv Richards defeated his opponent on the Oval with a score of 291. However, what can be achieved in the test in South Africa at this time?

As the apartheid regime continues to tarnish the country’s reputation, the Proteas have been in exile for six years. In a perfect world, sports have nothing to do with politics; however, the reality is different, because players unknowingly become diplomats of the country they represent. Since apartheid and the continued rejection of non-white players in 1948, pressure has been steadily increasing. The catalyst emerged after the MCC planned to travel to South Africa in 1968-69.

Basil D’Olivera has been a member of the England Test Team since 1966. The decline in form led to his absence, but the injuries of other players prompted him to be invited to the MCC party. D’Olivera was born in Cape Town and has Indian and Portuguese descent. The South African government insists that if D’Olivera is selected, the tour will not be possible.The two sides are arguing politically Dolly Choice, but split close at hand. In March 1970, South Africa defeated Australia with 323 points in the 4th Test in Port Elizabeth, winning the series 4-0. This will be their last official test match in 22 years.

But if we live in that perfect world, has apartheid never raised its ugly head? The golden generation in South Africa is a strong combination at the test level, and most of them are in the county cricket industry. If we sit on a virtual selector board, who will enter a team that has never been in?

The opening bat will be the talented Barry Richards from Hampshire. In the test series against Australia, he scored 508 points and averaged 72 points per game. He scored the last of the 4 test caps in Port Elizabeth and scored 126 points. Richards enjoys a brilliant first-class career, including the 80th century and the highest score of 356 points, more than 28,000 times. In his first season in Hampshire (1968), he scored a staggering 2,395 runs Moved, and formed a fatal partnership with Gordon Greenwich. Richards will start with Eddie Barlow, a wizard wearing glasses. The man from Pretoria took part in 30 tests and was the captain of Derby County in the mid-70s.Barlow with glasses quickly acquired Billy Bont label. However, this masked a fiercely competitive cricketer. What is unusual for the opening batter is that he is also a useful mid-speed bowler and has participated in 40 test wickets, an average of 34.

Graeme Pollock, the main player of the first great dynasty of cricket, ranked third. Peter’s brother and Sean’s uncle, the family had 159 auditions. Pollock is one of only two players in this virtual lineup who have never played county cricket. His domestic career was spent in Eastern Province and Transvaal. When the ban came into effect, Pollock’s personal score in the final decisive series reached 274 points, reaching his peak. Australia captain Bill Laurie praised his extraordinary strength, he has never seen anyone hit the ball so hard.

Entering the middle order, we rank Clive Rice in fourth place. It is painful that he was selected to participate in the 1971-72 Australian Tour, but it never happened. Therefore, he focused on a thriving career in Nottinghamshire, where he led them to two county championship titles. Rice has a huge sense of presence, and his statistics are impressive. In a first-class career, he ran 26,000 times, an average of 40 to 48 centuries. A steady mid-speed bowler Rice hit an average of 930 wickets, an average of 22. He also received more than 400 catches and completed a complete demonstration of an all-around player; there is irrefutable evidence that a special player lost his best time during the suspension.

Kepler Wessels (Kepler Wessels) may be controversial, and ranked fifth, he was only 19 years old in 1976. However, Wessels has spent three seasons in Orange Free State and has just joined Sussex as a starting bat. He continues to enjoy a colorful career, taking 24 tests for Australia and 16 tests for South Africa. He is a potential child prodigy and may have just been promoted.

The anchor in the middle sequence is Mike Proctor of Gloucestershire; a giant with a bat and a ball. When the ban was implemented, he had just broken into the testing party. In 7 test matches, he hit 41 wickets with an average of 15 times. Only his batting ability can be demonstrated at the test level. He starred for Gloucester for 16 years and won 1,417 first-rate wickets. His batting score is more moderate, with an average score of 36 points, but it remains in the 48th century. I clearly remember BBC2’s report on the John’s Player League on Sunday afternoon; Proctor was thriving at the wicket and demanded a hat-trick. An inspiring player, like many people here, has an automatic selection.

The position of the goalkeeper is a more laborious dilemma. Although the international players Dennis Gemsey and Dennis Lindsay before the suspension may file a claim, I will hand over the gloves to Ray Jennings. In the 20-year career of the Transvaal team, he received 567 times and hit 54 times. Jennings is also a useful batsman, scoring more than 4,000 times, with a maximum score of 168. He further proved that the apple will never be too far from the tree. His son Keaton plays for Lancashire and is currently an England international.

The next level will start with Norman Featherstone, a sideliner with 12 first-class centuries.In Middlesex’s long career Smoked The average number of bowling balls for bowling remains at 27 points. Ranked 9th is Garth Le Roux, he is a speed bowler with real power and threat. From 1978 to 1987, he played for the Sussex team, hitting an average of 393 times and an average of 23 times. Another advantage is Le Roux’s racket ability. He once scored 83 points and compiled a highly credible batting average of 28 points.

Also ranked 10th is Vintcent van der Bijl. Like Clive Rice, he was also selected to participate in the 1971-72 Australian Tour. Interestingly, van der Bijl is qualified to be a teacher and plays for Natal as an amateur player. He eventually gave up teaching and then spent a season in Middlesex in 1980. It was a very good year and helped them win the county championship and the Gillette Cup. He is an excellent mid-speed bowler, averaging 16, over 767 shots. van der Bijl has a maximum score of 87 and an average score of 16. No. 11 will be Rupert Hanley, a bowler in the same pattern as Le Roux. In 1984, Hanley played for Northamptonshire for a season; with 408 wickets and an average of 20 wickets, he was another great genius lost in the cricket test.

This team has amazing potential and is made up of players who were at their peak in 1976. The only exceptions are Wessels and Jennings, both of whom made their debut for the young Bucks. Although Barlow, Rice, and Proctor were the captains of their respective counties, in fact only Graeme Pollock was the captain. The embarrassment that he could have gotten wealth. Seven frontline bowlers provide different speeds and spins; Le Roux and Hanley open the bowling ball with Mike Proctor as the first change?

Fragments of this team have indeed played together in some unofficial games. At the end of the 1970s, Kerry Packer’s World Series of Cricket Championships featured the two sides playing under the flag of South Africa. Similarly, rebel teams from England, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Australia played against South Africa in the 1980s.But the Rebellious The labels affixed to these games deny any credibility of them.

With the crime of apartheid being recorded in history, South Africa’s sports renaissance seems to be complete. However, there are still residual effects of isolation. Tony Gregg, Alan Lamb, and Robin Smith all love testing careers in England. If the situation is different, will they choose their country of birth? Players who crossed the end of the ban were also affected; Allan Donald lost the first five years of his testing career and may have been pushing 500 test wickets instead of 330 small pushes. in case It takes us into a rabbit hole full of possibilities; it also provides the opportunity for the biggest tester of imagination to never play.

Brian Payne

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