Pakistani Cricket Players: August 2011

Friday, 12 August 2011

Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn Biography
Full name Dale Steyn
Born June 27, 1983, Phalaborwa
Current age 27 years 207 days
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Essex, Northerns, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Titans, Warwickshire
Dale Steyn Profile
Dale Steyn could be just the latest nuclear-tipped arrow that South Africa have drawn from their seemingly bottomless quiver of classy fast bowlers. The trouble, for opposing batsmen, is that he is rather more than that. Pure pace is one thing, pinpoint pure pace distinctly another. Pinpoint pure pace poison-tipped with aggression still another. Add the regularity with which Steyn moves the ball away from right-handers, and the way his deliveries skid at batsmen - a lack of height isn't all bad - and the danger he poses is obvious.
Steyn has grown into a bowler who has a firm grip on all of the tenets of the faith of the fast and the furious. But his is no paint-by-numbers tale of ability plus skill plus experience seamlessly stitching itself into a story of success.

He began his career armed with more pace than he knew what to do with, and little else: when he played his first Test against England in 2004, he was far from the bowler just described. Then, as he made peace with his bowling action and figured out how best to hone a body seemingly not suited to the rigours of life as fast bowler for just that fate, came the accuracy. Steyn took 16 wickets in his second series, but there remained a suspicion that he wasn't as dominant and aggressive as a fast bowler of his class should be. He was simply too nice.

All of which changed in South Africa's home series against the New Zealanders in 2007-08. A visibly fired up Steyn took ten wickets in the first Test in Johannesburg. Then, shortly after lunch on the first day of the second Test in Centurion, he earned all that nastiness he needed in the sickening instant in which Craig Cumming flapped at a short delivery. Cumming missed, and the ball crashed into his face and sent him to intensive care. Suddenly, Steyn was no longer a nice kid with a bit of zip.

The flow of wickets became a gush, and in 2008, he became the fastest South African, and the 15th fastest overall, to reach 100 Test wickets. That September, Steyn was named ICC Test Player of the Year after taking 86 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.10. And so on and so forth ... expect many more stupendous statistics in the years to come.

Dale Steyn

India vs South Africa Dale Steyn 5 Wickets World Cup 2011

dale steyn 4-76 v england at headingly 2008

Johan Botha

Johan Botha Biography

Full Name:-Johan Botha

Born:-2 May 1982 Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa

Age:- 28

Career Information:-

Role:-Bowler

National side:-South Africa

Batting style:-Right-handed

Bowling style:-Right-arm off break

Test debut:-2 January 2006 v Australia

ODI debut:-16 November 2005 v India

ODI shirt no.:-

Botha's case is an interesting one. He began his career as an ordinary medium pacer for the Eastern Cape Warriors - by his own admission he was quicker than 125 kmph - but it was only after Mickey Arthur, the coach of the national team, had a look at him in the nets and saw something else that Botha dropped his ambitions for speed. Spurred on by Arthur's comments that he would do well to turn to spin, Botha remodeled his action and began studying the art of the doosra (A ball that turns away from the right-handed batsman) in hopes of emulating the wiles of Harbhajan Singh. A successful tour of Sri Lanka with the South Africa A side - in which he took key wickets as well as scoring runs - saw Botha's name penciled in as a potential spinning all-rounder. A determined and fiercely competitive individual, Botha found a place in the squad to tour India for a five-match one-day series after Nicky Boje pulled out over security concerns in regard to charges of matchfixing. He played in the first match at Hyderabad and produced a spell of 31 runs from six overs with the wicket of Irfan Pathan, bowled through the gate. Both Arthur and Graeme Smith rated him highly enough to see him as a vital part of the sides world cup campaign. He made his Test debut against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2006 during the 2005-06 tour, and claimed batsman Mike Hussey as his first Test wicket. However, he was reported for throwing the ball at the conclusion of the match. He was allowed to play several games during the 2005�06 VB Series, but in February, was suspended from bowling following an analysis by bowling expert Bruce Elliott. He hoped to return to bowling after an examination by the ICC in August 2006, but he was found still to be straightening his arm more than the acceptable 15 degrees. On November 21, 2006, Johan Botha's action was passed by the International Cricket Council and he was again eligible for selection by the South African national team. He made his comeback during the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup and returned to the South African one-day team during the tour of Pakistan in 2007-08

Johan Botha

Johan Botha
Johan Botha
Johan Botha
Johan Botha
Johan Botha

Johan Botha

Johann Botha bowling

Yusuf pathan hitting Johan Botha for three sixes in 3rd ODI against South Africa at Cape Town,2011

Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel Biography
Full name Morne Morkel
Born October 6, 1984, Vereeniging, Transvaal
Current age 26 years 106 days
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Relation Father - A Morkel, Brother - JA Morkel

Morne Morkel Profile
Morne Morkel, brother of allrounder Albie, is an out-and-out fast bowler who has the pace and height to trouble the best. Morkel made his first-class debut in 2003-04, and earned promotion to the Nashua Titans in the 2006 domestic season. A certain Allan Donald marked him out as national potential with good words for the lanky fast bowler's ability to extract bounce and bowl genuinely fast.

Morkel sat out of much of the 2005 season due to injury, but excelled in a fast bowling camp organised by the South African board under Donald's watchful eye. Critics have had little to say against him, and both his attitude and physical strength were seen as plus points. With the big talking point of the 2006-07 season being India's tour of South Africa, Morkel used the opportunity to play for Rest of South Africa against the tourists to make a statement. On the opening day of the four-day fixture at Potchefstroom, Morkel cut a swathe through the Indian top order with 4 for 29. That showing earned him a Test call-up, and he made his debut in the second Test at Durban when Dale Steyn was ruled out, showing good application in an unbeaten 32, shepherding his fellow tail-enders, and pushing South Africa on to a score that seemed scarcely probable earlier in the match. He added three quick wickets on day three to help South Africa to a fantastic win, but missed out on the final Test at Cape Town.

He had a brief stint with Kent during the 2007 season and then impressed during the ICC World Twenty20 when his pace and bounce proved too much for some top batsmen. A stress fracture early in the Pakistan tour which followed halted the rapid rise, and at the start of 2008, his spell at Yorkshire was cut short by injury, but Morkel bounced back to lead South Africa's attack, without ever being at his best, on their victorious tour of England in July and August. In October 2008 he and his brother Albie became the first brothers in 56 years to be named as South African Cricket Annual Cricketers of the Year in the same season, and Morkel was an important , if unspectacular, part of South Africa's successful tour of Australia. He paid the price for some indifferent bowling form in the return series, however, and was dropped for the third Test at Cape Town. After a relatively quiet year, during which he featured in South Africa's squad for the World Twenty20 but was overlooked for the Champions Trophy, Morkel was recalled to the one-day team for the third ODI against England in November 2009. He continued to trouble batsmen with sharp pace and steepling bounce in the Test series that followed, and came within a whisker of sealing a dramatic victory for South Africa in the third Test at Cape Town when he removed an obdurate Ian Bell in his penultimate over.

Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel

New Zealand vs South Africa Morne Morkel World Cup 2011

Morne Morkel Vs Ricky Ponting...Great Over...2008

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Francois du Plessis

Francois du Plessis Biography
Personal Information:-
Full name:-Francois du Plessis
Born:-13 July 1984, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Age:- 26
Nickname:-"FAF"
Height:-5 ft 11 in
Education:-Affies Boys School, Pretoria
Career Informaton:-
Batting style:-Right-hand
Bowling style:-Right arm leg break
Role:-All-Rounder
Twenty20 debut:-Titans v Eagles at Centurion, Feb 25, 2007
ODI Debut:-South Africa v India at Cape Town, Jan 18, 2011

Francois du Plessis

Bangladesh vs South Africa Francois du Plessis Interview 2011 Cricket World Cup

Fight Between Francois du Plessis & 5 New Zeland Players.World Cup Quarter Final 2011.flv

Robin Peterson

Robin Peterson Biography

Full name Robin Peterson

Born August 4, 1979, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province

Current age 31 years 169 days

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox

Major teams South Africa, Derbyshire, Eastern Province, Warriors

Robin Peterson Profile

Spin bowlers of genuine potential are a rarity in South Africa, much less the jewels who can hold a bat as well as field with attacking intent. Peterson, a left-arm finger spinner from Eastern Province, fills all three vacancies more than competently. At first glance he seems an overly orthodox slow bowler, but he turns the ball appreciably given help from the pitch and is invariably a tidy operator with a steadily developing understanding of flight. Peterson has also cultivated an unusual delivery that turns into the right-handed batsmen.He was part of the South African Under-19 team that took on Pakistan and England, and he played the Under-19 World Cup in 1998. Peterson made his Test debut in 2003 against Bangladesh, taking five wickets and scored 61. It was in Bangladesh where he took his first five-wicket haul as well, on the 2008 tour.

Given more chances in ODIs, Peterson has failed to grab the opportunities. With his bowling hardly a threat to the opposition batsmen, it is not surprising that one of his ODI career highlights is his winning boundary - an outside edge past slip - in South Africa's one-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Providence during the 2007 World Cup.

Robin Peterson

India vs South Africa, Robin Peterson interview, 2011 Cricket World Cup

Robin Peterson to Lara - 28 runs of one over

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers Biography
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984 in Pretoria) more commonly known by his initials AB plays cricket for South Africa and the Northern Titans. He also plays for the Delhi DareDevils in the Indian Premier League. De Villiers is a right-handed batsman, who, in a very short space of time, has accumulated many runs in Tests including centuries against England, India, the West Indies and Australia. He has been dismissed in the 90s on five occasions in Tests. He held the record for most Test innings without registering a duck (78), before being dismissed for nought against Bangladesh in November 2008. He made his test debut as a 20 year old on 16 December 2004 against England at Port Elizabeth. He made an impression opening the batting, but was dropped down the order for the second test and also handed the wicket-keeping gloves. In this match, he made a match saving half century from number seven. However, he found himself at the top of the order again for the final test of the series and has played the majority of his tests there. Since then he has not missed a Test match and has also batted down the order in some tests leading to speculation that he may possibly take the place of Mark Boucher as the wicket-keeper/batsman when Boucher retires. Despite a good tour of the Caribbean where he scored 178 to seal the series, his rapid progress was halted on the tour of Australia in 2005. Despite playing Shane Warne well, he struggled and made just 152 runs in 6 innings. de Villiers holds the record for scoring most Test runs before getting out for a duck. He is used in a similar fashion to Jonty Rhodes in ODIs. He opens the batting in and the 2005 ODI tour to India represented a 'coming of age' for de Villiers as a cricketer as he scored his second ODI 50 24 October, 2006 batting 5th in a partnership with Mark Boucher, playing against an impressive Sri Lankan side. De Villiers gave the selectors a sign by producing his then highest one-day score of 92 not out including 12 fours and one six from 98 balls against India in the 2006 winter series. De Villiers has a reputation as an outstanding fielder, typified by a sensational diving run-out of Simon Katich of Australia in 2005. This has also led people to further comparisons of him to Jonty Rhodes as he was also one of the finest fielders of his generation.

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers

AB De Villiers 135 vs Netherlands 2011 World Cup

ab de villiers: south Africa's young talented batsmen and athletic fielder

Jacques Henry Kallis

Jacques Henry Kallis Biography
Jacques Henry Kallis was born on 16 October 1975 in Pinelands, Cape Town, South Africa, is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in both one day and Test match cricket.

Kallis attended and played cricket for Wynberg Boys’ High School. In 2009, Wynberg honoured Kallis by naming their main cricket oval after him. As a teenager, Kallis had a brief spell with Netherfield CC in England where he established himself in Northern England but he was released. Kallis also played for Old Edwardians for a spell as a teenager, where coaching staff saw potential for him to become a first-class all rounder; later in his first season he was picked for South Africa U-21′s as a 12th man.

He made his first-class debut in 1993/94 as an 18-year-old, playing for Western Province. His first Test appearance was in December 1995 against England at Durban, but he struggled with the bat in his first few matches. His breakthrough came in 1997 with 61 against Pakistan, but more notably two matches later when he salvaged a draw for South Africa with a fighting century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

From October-December 2007 he produced a streak of five centuries in four Test Matches; he has 34 in total. He was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2008 Wisden for his performances in 2007 in addition to being the “ICC Test Player of the Year” and ICC Player of the Year in 2005. He has been described by Kevin Pietersen and Daryll Cullinan as the greatest cricketer to play the game.

The Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation was established in Kallis’ benefit year with the aim of combining the academic and life skills programmes of existing school structures with funding and mentoring support from Jacques Kallis. In so doing, the Foundation with its partners, hopes to provide talented youngsters from all walks of life the opportunity to reach their full sporting and academic potential.

Currently, the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation sponsors 2 boys from Pretoria Boys High School, 2 from Maritzburg College and 2 from Selborne College. Jacques Kallis partakes in annual fundraising events for his Foundation, to which he invites fellow South African celebrities and cricketers like Mark Boucher and Andre Nel.

Jacques Henry Kallis

Jacques Kallis 201* v India, 1st Test 2010/11

Jacques Kallis 120 vs South Africa 1st Test 2009-10