WHAT do Kagiso Rabada, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Lance Klusener and Andrew Hall all have in common? They are, of course, all current and former South African fast bowlers.
They were the men that dominated the South African best bowling figures in a One-Day International innings prior to Imran Tahir surpassing them all on balmy Wednesday evening in St Kitts when the leg-spinner claimed a record-breaking haul of 7/45.
It was only natural to expect those speed merchants to top the charts. South Africa have enjoyed a rich history of producing fast bowlers of the highest calibre ever since the Proteas’ first official ODI in Kolkata back in 1991 when a fiery Donald unleashed a hostile spell to issue the world a warning of what they could expect going forward.
In contrast the spin cupboard has not been equally well stocked over the same period of time. A combination of factors ranging from adverse home conditions, confusion over the spinner’s role and lack of faith from the selectors has propagated the belief that South Africa lacks a spin bowling culture.
The fact that Tahir was enticed to abandon a career in his native Pakistan only due to the intoxicating power of love for his South African-born wife is further testament to the Proteas’ previous struggles in the spin department.
The likes of Pat Symcox, Paul Adams, Nicky Boje, Robin Peterson, Johan Botha and Roelf van der Merwe were all tried previously, but not one can hold a candle to Tahir in terms of the success that the Lahore-born spinner has achieved in the Proteas ODI shirt. Often South Africans fail to realise the calibre of their own players and only truly appreciate their true value when they retire – Jacques Kallis comes to mind – and Tahir is definitely another shining example.
Not only does Tahir boast the best ever bowling figures by a South African in ODI cricket, he also became the quickest South African to reach 100 ODI wickets achieving the feat in just 58 matches. Morne Morkel held the previous record, taking 59 matches to reach 100 wickets.
Boje was previously the most successful spinner with 95 wickets from 113 matches at an average of 35.27, while Peterson was next best with 75 wickets at a similar average to the Free State left-armer. Tahir currently has 105 wickets at the amazing average of 22.75. His strike-rate of 29.2 is also superior to that of any South African ODI bowler.
On the global circuit Tahir sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the very best the game has witnessed. His haul of 7/45 placed him ninth on the all-time best bowling in an innings list, while he was also fourth fastest to 100 ODI wickets.
"I feel really proud. I will take that any day," Tahir said. "I'm just really pleased. When things like this happen, you feel good about yourself and all the hard work you've done in the nets," Tahir said.
Although this year is only half-way through Tahir has enjoyed a red-hot streak in 2016. He has already claimed 21 wickets to be the leading ODI wicket-taker in the world. New Zealand paceman Matt Henry is next best with 15 scalps.
A glowing acknowledgement of Tahir’s success is also the way he has slowly convinced the national selection panel that there need not be an over-reliance of pace bowling and that South Africa could rely on quality spin bowlers to achieve success if the conditions were favourable.
The emergence of Tabraiz Shamsi now too is further indication of the culture change Tahir has initiated. With Tahir admitting Shamsi “is a like brother to me”, the timing for the young pup to learn from the maestro could not be better, just like it has previously been for a long line of fast bowlers that have been developed. - Independent Media