South Africa is a competitive team that has had moderate success in ICC events. The country has seen everything throughout the years, from domination over Australia and England in the early 1900s to becoming the best test nation in the world to facing a 21-year suspension for Apartheid.
Since their comeback in 1991, they have continued where they left off, making an immediate impact on the field and establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the world. Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, AB De Villiers, and others have all come from the country.
They, on the other hand, consistently fail to demonstrate their superiority in important events. However, this does not negate their players’ achievements in other formats over the years. South Africa is, without a doubt, the most successful side in One-Day Internationals. Let’s take a look at the top ten finest Proteas players.
Jonty Rhodes
Fielding usually takes a back seat when it comes to determining excellence, but not when it comes to Jonty Rhodes. He set a new standard for fielding that has yet to be surpassed. Rhodes, widely regarded as the greatest fielder of all time, is ranked tenth on the list.
Rhodes was the first South African cricketer to catch 100 balls in one-day internationals. Aside from fielding, Rhodes has a respectable hitting average. He has amassed over 8000 runs in his career, with the best score of 121 in one-day internationals.
Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher is considered one of the top ball keepers behind the stumps. Boucher has 998 dismissals in 467 appearances, making him the most successful wicketkeeper in the world. In Test cricket, he also holds the record for most dismissals (555).
When it comes to batting, Boucher is one of the few batsmen in the proteas’ history to score 10,000 international runs. Boucher is the ninth most run-scorer for the proteas with 10,289 runs.
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is ranked eighth on the list. He connects with the millions of Africans who want to play for their country. Ntini was the first black player to play cricket for South Africa.
He never failed to astound on the pitch, despite his feet being off the pitch. Ntini is the proteas’ third-highest wicket-taker across all formats. In 283 games, he has taken 661 wickets. After Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, he became the proteas’ third player to take 300 Test wickets.
Graeme Smith
Smith was appointed captain of the South African national team at the age of 22, making him the country’s youngest captain. Nobody could have predicted that boy would become their most successful captain.
With 102 Test appearances, Smith holds the record for most caps as a captain. He’s also the only player in the world to have led his team to victory in over 100 Test matches.
When it comes to batting, he is considered one of the best opening batsmen in the world. He has four 300-plus opening partnerships, and his 259 in Lords is the highest individual score ever recorded at cricket’s pinnacle. Smith has amassed over 17000 international runs and is South Africa’s all-time leading run-scorer in all formats.
Allan Donald
The ‘White Lightning’ is ranked number six on the list. Donald was not just South Africa’s top fast bowler, but also the world’s best fast bowler at the time. He was one of the top bowling duos in the world, together with Shaun Pollock.
Allan Donald was the first South African bowler to reach the 300-wicket mark in international competition. For Pollock, Steyn, and Ntini, he drew a road. With 272 ODI wickets, he is the second-best wicket-taker for the Proteas. In all formats, he is their fourth-highest wicket-taker. In his professional career, he has taken 601 wickets.
Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla is regarded as one of the best batsmen in history. Many legends have lauded his serenity and decision-making talents on the field. Amla enjoys breaking records and has a long list of them to his credit.
Amla has the record for the fastest batsman to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, and 7000 runs in one-day internationals. By himself, he is dominating the limited format. He also became the quickest batter in ODI history to reach 27 hundred. He had 27 centuries and 8,113 runs in ODIs at the end of his career.
In terms of his Testability, he holds the record for South Africa’s greatest individual score of 311 runs, which is still unbroken. In all formats, Amla ranks third among the Proteas’ most runs. He has scored 18,553 runs in his career.
AB de Villiers
Mr 360 dominated the cricketing globe and left an indelible impression. De Villiers is recognized for his aggressive approach and ability to hit the ball to all four corners of the field, bringing opponents to their knees.
De Villiers is one of the greatest limited-overs batsmen in history. He has won the ICC One-Day International Player of the Year award three times. In ODI cricket, he also holds the record for the fastest century, scoring 100 in 31 balls.
De Villiers has 9,577 ODI runs to his name, and his red-ball efforts have been eclipsed by these numbers. He has scored 8,776 test runs at an average of 50.66, making him one of the few batsmen in history to do so.