South African Cricketers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hansie Cronje

Hansie Cronje was captain of the South Africa from 1994-2000. He is regarded as one of the best captains of South Africa and also one of the most successful ODI captains in cricket. He scored 5,565 runs in 188 ODIs and 3,714 runs in 68 tests. In 2000 in a test against England, he became the first captain to forfeit a test innings, he did this to ensure that the game had a result.

In 2000, he was implicated in the match fixing controversy and was banned for life. In 2002, he died in a plane crash at the age of 32.

Answer: Shaun Pollock

Shaun Pollock made his test debut against England in 1995 and his ODI debut in 1996 against England. He played 108 tests with 3,781 runs and took 421 wickets at a good average of 23.11 with 16 five-wicket hauls. In ODI's he played 303 matches scoring 3,519 runs taking 393 wickets at an average of 24.50.

He was selected as captain of South Africa in 2000. In 2003, he was named by Wisden as Cricketer of the year. He retired from international cricket in 2008. He played for Mumbai Indians, a team he captained for few matches in the 2008 Indian Premier League.

Answer: Clive Rice

Clive Rice was successful in domestic tournaments and also in county cricket. He played in the Packer World Series cricket along with other South Africans. He captained South Africa in many of the rebel series. Following South Africa's return to cricket in 1991, he was ODI captain and played 3 matches, after which he was left out.

He never played a single official test match. Post-retirement he involved in commentary and also worked as coach for his county side of Nottinghamshire.

Answer: Jonty Rhodes

Jonathan Rhodes or Jonty Rhodes made his debut in 1992 and played 52 tests scoring 2532 runs. In ODI cricket, he played 245 matches, scoring 5,935 runs with 2 centuries and 33 fifties and 105 catches. He was known for his electric fielding, his most famous effort being the spectacular run out of Inzamam-Ul-Haq in the 1992 world cup.

He retired from test cricket in 2000 and ODIs in 2003. Post-retirement he has worked as fielding coach for the South African team.

Answer: Barry Richards

Barry Richards played only four tests against Australia when he scored 508 runs at an excellent average of 72.57 with 2 hundreds and 2 fifties. Following this match, South Africa was exiled from international cricket resulting in his missing out playing test matches.

He however made voluminous runs in first class cricket playing in domestic cricket and also for Hampshire. He has scored 28,358 runs in 339 first class matches with an average of 54.74 with 80 hundreds and 152 ODIs. Post-retirement, he is a popular commentator having worked with SABC, Supersport, Ten Sports, Neo Sports.

Answer: Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith made his debut for South Africa in 2002 against Australia. In 2003 after South Africa's disastrous world cup campaign, he was appointed as captain at the age of 22 years. He was also selected by the ICC to captain the World XI squad in 2005 against Australia. He has scored two double hundreds in consecutive tests in England. His 259 at Lords was the highest score by a foreign player at Lords. I

n 2008 against Bangladesh, along with Neil McKenzie he was involved in a record 415 runs opening partnership. He captained South Africa in what is regarded as the greatest one day match ever, when his team chased 434 and beat Australia. In a 2007 ODI against Pakistan he hit Naved-Ul-Hasan for six consecutive fours notching another record to his name. He has scored more than 5000 runs in both forms of the game. He played for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2008 IPL and played a key role in helping his team win the tournament.

Answer: Dave Richardson

Dave Richardson was wicket keeper for the South African team during the period after its return to world cricket. He played 42 tests taking 150 catches with a century to boot. In ODIs he has 148 catches and 17 stumpings. Post-retirement, this lawyer by profession, was appointed as the first General Manager of the Internal Cricket Council (ICC) in 2002.

Answer: Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis made his debut in 1995-96 against England. He is the first cricketer to have made 9000 runs, taken 200 wickets and 100 catches in both test cricket as well as one day cricket. He has scored 30 centuries in test cricket and 16 centuries in one day cricket. He has topped the ICC Cricket ratings many a times for being the best all-rounder.

He became the third player in test history (after the Don and Mohd Yousuf) to score centuries in five consecutive matches. He has a test fifty in 24 balls and in 2007 scored 5 centuries in 4 matches. Rated as one of the top batsmen in the world, he was not selected for the first T-20 world cup. He played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2008 for the Bangalore team.

Answer: Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten made his debut against Australia in 1993. In 101 tests for South Africa he scored 7289 runs at an average of 45.27 with 21 centuries and 34 fifties. His top score was 275 against England, which remained a record for some time. In one day cricket he played 185 matches scoring 6798 runs at an average of 40.95 with 13 hundreds and 45 fifties with a top score of 188 which is also a South African record. Along with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, Kirsten formed a company called Performance Zone.

He took over as coach of the Indian cricket team in 2008.

Answer: Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener made his debut against India in 1996-97. Klusener, nicknamed as Zulu, was known for his one-day prowess. In ODIs he has scored 3,576 runs in 171 matches at an average of 41.10 with 2 hundreds and 19 fifties. He also took 192 wickets at an average of 29.95.

He was the man of the tournament in the 1999 World Cup. His injuries coupled with differences with South African captain Smith led to his being sidelined from the South African team. He has been involved in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).