As many as 3 Zimbabweans selected in the best South Africa-Zimbabwe combined Test XI since 1990
What do we end up with if we combined some of the best talents to emerge from South Africa and Zimbabwe?
That is the question we were seized with at Cricket365. So, we decided to create a squad of 11 plus a 12th man, and the results were interesting. It is not a weak side, by any means.
This is our combined South Africa and Zimbabwe Test cricket team since 1990.
1. Graeme Smith (captain)
Graeme Smith spent 12 years opening the batting for South Africa. During that time, he averaged 2.25 centuries and 3.16 half-centuries a year. He finished his career with 27 tons and 37 50s.
The left-hander wasn’t just an exceptional opening batter, but was also an outstanding captain, and he led South Africa to the top of the Test rankings in 2013.
He scored 9253 runs, the third-most Test runs for South Africa, at an average of 48.7.
2. Gary Kirsten
Two left-handed openers? Why not if both their first names start with G and are called Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten? Kirsten is the most successful South African opening batter after Graeme Smith.
Kirsten was one of the best South African batters in Asian conditions.
He scored four centuries and seven 50s in 13 Tests, at an average of 53.85 on tours to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He finished his career with 7289 runs at an average of 45.27. He hauled in 21 centuries and 34 50s in his 11-year Test career.
3. Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla is one of the best number three batters in Test cricket. His sublime, unbeaten 311 marked the first triple century by a South African batter in Tests.
The ICC Hall of Famer ended his 15-year career with 9282 runs at an average of 46.6. He recorded the second-most centuries for South Africa, with a tally of 28, accompanied by 41 half-centuries.
4. Jacques Kallis
No Test list is ever complete without Jacques Kallis. It takes incredible talent, ability, character, and determination to average 55.25 in an 18-year-long career.
Kallis is the best number four batter in the history of Test cricket. He is one of five batters with 13,000 or more Test runs, alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, and Joe Root.
Kallis finished his career with 45 centuries and 58 half-centuries in a brilliant career.
5. AB de Villiers
Few batters could change gears in Test cricket like AB de Villiers. He could both stonewall bowling attacks or engage a higher gear at will.
De Villiers is one of the best number fives in world cricket, and he finished his career with 8765 runs at an average of 50.66 in a productive 14-year run that yielded 22 centuries and 46 half-centuries.
His unbeaten 278 against Pakistan in 2010 was his second double century and the second-highest individual score by a South Africa cricketer in Test cricket.
6. Andy Flower (wicketkeeper)
Flower, or Petals, as he was affectionately known by his teammates, was the best batter ever to come from Zimbabwe. He handled fast bowling with aplomb and masterfully. He is one of the best exponents of the sweep shot.
Flower’s name isn’t just a great in Zimbabwean cricket, but is highly regarded in world cricket and features in global top 10 lists.
He finished his career with 4794 runs, the most by a Zimbabwean player, at an average of 51.54.
7. Shaun Pollock
One of the best bowling all-rounders produced by South Africa. Pollock held the record for the most Test wickets for South Africa for close to a decade before Dale Steyn surpassed his haul of 421.
When he picked up the bat, Pollock scored his way to the 11th most Test runs by a South African batter, close to 500 runs behind Faf du Plessis.
Pollock retired with a combination of 421 wickets and 3781 runs. The perfect number seven.
8. Heath Streak
The only Zimbabwean cricketer who features in both the top 10 highest run-scorers and most wicket-takers for Zimbabwe. Streak finished his career with 216 Test wickets, the most by a Zimbabwean bowler.
He is so far ahead of the next best wicket-taker, Ray Price, who has 136 fewer scalps with 80.
Streak carried Zimbabwe’s bowling attack on his shoulders through his career and included the batting after Andy Flower left. He finished his career with 16 four-wicket and seven five-wicket hauls.
9. Dale Steyn
No combined South Africa-Zimbabwe Test team is complete without the highest wicket-taker from both countries. Steyn bagged the most four-wicket hauls (27), the most five-wicket hauls (26), and the most 10-wicket hauls (5) for South Africa.
The pacer finished his career with 439 wickets at an average of 22.95. Steyn was no Shaun Pollock or Heath Streak, but he could add a few runs to the total and has two half-centuries to his name.
10. Kagiso Rabada
No bowler with 300 or more wickets has a better strike rate than Kagiso Rabada. He is the apex predator. Rabada is South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with 336 scalps at a strike rate of 38.9. His strike rate compares better to the figures Dale Steyn (42.3), Waqar Younis (43.4), Pat Cummins (45.9), and Malcolm Marshall returned.
His average of 21.74 is one of the best among the best active pacers in Test cricket. He is behind Jasprit Bumrah, who boasts an otherworldly 19.4 and ahead of the mercurial Pat Cummins, who averages 22.2.
11. Ray Price
Ray Price is the best spinner produced by Zimbabwe. But it is not by a long shot; he edges Paul Strang to the honours. The left-arm spinner is Zimbabwe’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. Zimbabwe employed him as a wicket-taker, but he often had minimal support at the other end.
One of Price’s great strengths was to bowl dry, an underrated skill in Test cricket. He finished his career with 80 wickets in 35 innings. He was one of three Zimbabwean bowlers with a 10-wicket haul in a Test, alongside Paul Strang and Adam Huckle.
12th man. Dave Houghton
Dave Houghton scored an exceptional century, 121 from 322, on his Test debut in 1992. He was 35 years old. His innings provided a peek into what could have been had he played Test cricket earlier in his life.
Instead, Houghton spent his youth playing provincial cricket in South Africa, followed by a few spells in the UK and the Netherlands. He was one of two world-class batters Zimbabwe has ever produced.
He scored a masterful 266 at the ripe age of 37 against Sri Lanka. Only Andy Flower reached 50 in that innings.
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