We take a look at the Proteas’ top five Test run-scorers in Sri Lanka.
1. Daryll Cullinan
The Proteas’ No 4 was crucial to South Africa’s first away victory after readmission in 1993. Cullinan scored 237 runs in the three-match series in Sri Lanka which included one century and a half-century. After drawing the first match and winning the second, his 102 in the second innings of the final Test was crucial to the Proteas securing the series. He played his part in the Proteas’ second tour to Sri Lanka in 2000 and scored an unbeaten 114 in a losing cause in the first Test. The Proteas went on to draw the series.
2. Mark Boucher
The wicketkeeper-batsman is the Proteas’ most experienced player in Sri Lanka. He played seven matches and scored 364 runs at an average of 30.33, including four half-centuries. Despite his experience, he never won a series against the subcontinental side, with a drawn series in 2000, and a loss in both 2004 and 2006.
3. Jonty Rhodes
The electrifying fielder played two series in Sri Lanka, the winning tour in 1993 and the drawn one in 2000. He scored 340 runs at an average of 37.77 against them. Rhodes only scored three Test centuries in his 52-match career, one coming during the Proteas’ crucial draw in the first Test in Moratuwa; he scored 101 not out. He also managed two half-centuries in Sri Lanka, both coming in 2000.
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4. AB de Villiers
De Villiers could have topped this list but his shocking retirement in March has kept him at No 4. Having played four matches in Sri Lanka, De Villiers has the highest average on the list with 42.25 and he has scored 338 runs, which include three centuries. His highest score was 95, which came in their one-wicket defeat in 2006 in the second Test. De Villiers formed part of the Proteas’ last series victory in Sri Lanka in 2014 but failed to play a significant role, scoring 51 in the Proteas’ first Test win. Sri Lanka is one of the five countries De Villiers had never scored a ton in, the others being Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
5. Jacques Kallis
Kallis rounds off this prestigious list. Despite his phenomenal record of 13,289 runs in 166 matches – including 45 centuries – Kallis never scored a ton in Sri Lanka. He did, however, score three half-centuries in five matches against them, in 2000 and 2006. Bangladesh is the only other country where Kallis did not score a ton.
See the full list of Proteas in Sri Lanka
Photo: Ross Setford/Getty Images
