Graeme Pollock was 41 when South Africa XI took on Australia XI in the first Unofficial Test at Durban in 1985. That was the time when the only international cricket South Africa got was from the rebel tours, as the country had been banned by the ICC because of its apartheid policy.
When Pollock played and missed a few times, wicketkeeper Steve Rixon sledged him. But the great South African batter went on to make 108.
Mike Haysman was one of the hapless Australian fielders who watched Pollock turn the clock back in great style. “From the moment Rixon started to sledge him, every single ball hit the middle of Pollock’s bat,” Haysman told The Hindu here on Tuesday. “And he was caught by a Kim Hughes screaming catch in the covers. A lot of the bowlers didn’t speak to Rixon ever again.”
