Robin Peterson

For a country not known to produce quality spinners, Robin Peterson was already in the wrong trade as a left-arm spinner but if you are a rare commodity, you won't be too far from glaring eyes.

Robin Peterson who started his career with the Eastern Province Warriors in 1997 was part of South Africa's 1998 Under 19 World Cup squad before debuting in ODIs as a 23 year old against India in 2002. An orthodox left-arm spinner who could turn the ball, Peterson was selected as a frontline spinner but struggled to lead the spin attack despite little competition from his peers. Nevertheless, South Africa continued to persist with him handing him his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2003 where he impressed with a 61 and also picked up five wickets in the process.

Despite being granted numerous chances, the left armer's habit to push through deliveries and over defensive play finally led to his downfall in 2003, and in spite of being a brilliant fielder and a decent bat found himself out of the Test side whilst struggling to be in the ODI side. He was given a lifeline as he was named in the squad for the 2011 World Cup and silenced his critics in some style with sterling all-round performances which included a crucial innings with the bat against India which helped South Africa clinch a thriller. He ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker for South Africa.

He remained a mainstay in the limited overs side more often than not. He was roped in by Mumbai franchise in the Indian T20 League for the fifth season in 2012. He has made sporadic appearances in the longest format of the game and one of his memorable performances came in Durban Test against India in 2013 where he scored 61 runs down the order in the first innings and then ripped through the Indian batting line-up with a four-wicket haul in the second innings to script a series win. Post that, Peterson was always in-and-out of the national team but continued to play domestic cricket and in the T20 Leagues around the globe. In the year 2016, Robin eventually announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.