Till Thursday South Africa only had two inductees in ICC’s prestigious Hall of Fame. Both these cricketers were from the apartheid era, players whose immense talent went unnoticed as South Africa were barred from international cricket. Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards were batsmen par excellence and that is why the duo was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, the year ICC launched it.
On Friday Allan Donald became the third Protea and the first bowler from the country to make it to the elite club. He is also the first South African from the post-apartheid era to be bestowed with this honour.
“Donald, known as the ‘White Lightening’, was arguably South Africa’s fastest bowler ever and finished with 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets. He is one of the players credited with South Africa’s success in the game after their return to international cricket in 1991,” write ICC in their official mailer.
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The global cricket body paid rich tributes to Donald on Twitter as well. “One of the fiercest and fieriest fast bowlers of all time, Allan Donald did as much as anyone to establish South Africa as a cricketing force to be reckoned with after isolation,” ICC posted on their twitter handle.
{{/usCountry}}The global cricket body paid rich tributes to Donald on Twitter as well. “One of the fiercest and fieriest fast bowlers of all time, Allan Donald did as much as anyone to establish South Africa as a cricketing force to be reckoned with after isolation,” ICC posted on their twitter handle.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to the ICC after the ceremony, Donald said, “The biggest shock when you open an e-mail like that - it says congratulations Allan Donald, you have been inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame! It hits you, it hits you quite hard because it is a prestigious award and something that you can’t take lightly. I thank the ICC for the huge honour.
Donald got nostalgic about the past and spoke about the people who had played a big role in helping him achieve success in international cricket.
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“It all immediately takes you back to where you started. The reflection is of such a nature that everything that you have done in your career since you were a little boy starts to creep into your head. There are so many people to thank who have influenced my life – as mentors, as coaches.
“If I start with Free State cricket back in the day, then the legendary Hansie Cronje’s dad Mr Ewie Cronje, helped me through school and college cricket and then there was my uncle Des Donald who was very hard on me. Bob Woolmer was a mentor, we clicked in international cricket and he showed me the road to success,” the former paceman said.