pre-1991 South African team v post 1991 South African team

[Harsh Thakor]

In the apartheid era South Africa was one of the most competitive test teams of all time.Morally it could have matched the great West Indies and Australian teams with it's great resources of talent in every department.Imagine having batsmen of the capability of Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock or all-rounders of the class of Mike Procter,Clive Rice and Eddie Barlow.After it's re introduction to test cricket for a phase it became the best tset team in the world and the greatest rivals to Australia for the title of the champion test team. It produced some of the finest pace bowlers,batysmen and all-rounders in cricket history with the likes of Jacques Kallis,Hasim Amla,Ab Devilliers.Alan Donald,and Dale Steyn.I feel the pre-1991 and post 1991 teams would be neck to neck with each other.

 

South Africa

pre-1991

 

Barry Richards

Bruce Mitchell

Eddie Barlow

Graeme Pollock

Aubrey Faulkner

Trevor Goddard

Mike Procter

Clive Rice

John Waite

Garth Le Roux

Peter Pollock

 

 

Post 1991 team

 

Graeme Smith

Gary Kirsten

Hashim Amla

Herschelle Gibbs

Jacques Kallis

AB Deviliers

Shaun Pollock

Vernon Philanderer

Imran Tahir

Dale Steyn

Alan Donald

 

Pre-1991 team has a plethora of great allrounders like perhaps no team did with the likes of Procter,Rice ,Barlow and Faulkner.It has 2 of the greatest batsmen ever in Barry and Pollock and the fastest pacemen in Pollock and Le Roux.It has more batting depth than the post 1991 team.However post 1991 team has more skilled pacemen in Dale ,Pollock and and Steyn and better proven performers as Kallis as an all-rounder and Devilliers and Amla as batsmen ,who if rolled into one would make the perfect. batsmen.pre-1991 has more natural talent but the post-1991 team was more proven.so I would give it the marginal edge.Remember before it was banned South Africa was considered the strongest team in the world in 1971.

 

This proves that potentially South African test cricket had come of age and posessed abundance of talent.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Harsh Thakor

[Forward Defence]

Very good question. I would back the post 1991 team.

[Khota]

Their current team is better. Who knows how good Pollock brothers were. Maybe it was all hype. Anyway if you are so deeply racist that you don't associate with local population you really should not be playing. That is why I have such deep respect for Mahatma Gandhi.

[Jimmy Cliff]

Dudley Nourse and Hugh Tayfield should be a part of the pre-1991 side.

[Harsh Thakor]

29 minutes ago, Jimmy Cliff said:

Dudley Nourse and Hugh Tayfield should be a part of the pre-1991 side.

Very nearly made it .very valid point .

[prinzo]

Don't forget south africa pre 1991 had some great south African Indian, coloured and black players who were denied the opportunity to showcase their skills. There were many "amlas" etc in the Indian communities in South Africa during this time..