Durban - Former Proteas spin-bowler turned estate agent, Pat Symcox, narrowly escaped death at the weekend when his bakkie hit a rock that had been placed in the middle of the N2.
The accident happened about 300m from the Umtentweni toll plaza on the South Coast.
Symcox said on Wednesday that he had been driving to his Hibberdene home from Port Shepstone at about 8.30pm on Saturday when his car slammed into the rock.
His wife, Estelle, was travelling ahead of him in her car and just missed the rock.
The height of his Toyota Hilux was his saving grace, he said. Three of his tyres burst and the rims folded. “I swerved across the road and the car spun,” he said.
Symcox said he almost lost control of the vehicle which then hit a road sign on the embankment.
“It was not a nice experience and I wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone. I was very fortunate that I didn’t roll the vehicle and I wasn’t a victim of a robbery or hijacking, which is often the case when such things happen.
“I was very lucky that my wife was in front of me and she didn’t hit it.
“The vehicle is quite badly damaged. There was no way to stop this… how do you police the entire road? Communities must come together and take responsibility for this kind of thing.”
Symcox played under Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje. He is the co-holder of the highest ninth-wicket partnership of 195 runs and scored a Test century against Pakistan. He retired from the game in 1998.
The Mercury