South Africa is one of the most exciting teams in the world of cricket. From time to time they have produced some magnificent performances and have provided fans with immense entertainment. The likes of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel, Faf du Plessis and many others played an instrumental role in making the team the staggering force in cricket.
3 Popular South Africa players who scored centuries on Test debut
Making an impact in the debut innings is something that every player would want to do. South Africa has been producing generational talents from time to time and has set the stage on fire. But only four players have managed to hit a ton on the debuts and in this piece, we take a look at 3 Popular players who scored centuries on their Test debut:
Jacques Rudolph – 222*
One of the popular South Africa players who scored a century on their Test debut is JA Rudolph. He made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2003 and his innings in his maiden outing is still considered as one of the greatest innings on debut in overseas conditions. The former Proteas batter scored unbeaten 222 runs off 383 balls, smashing 29 fours and 2 sixes. He went on to play 48 games for South Africa and scored 2622 runs at an average of 35.43 to go with 6 tons and 11 half-centuries.
Faf du Plessis – 110*
It’s fair to say that Faf du Plessis is one of the most popular players from South Africa but he had to work hard for it. He made a staggering mark in his debut Test innings as he blasted a magnificent century against Australia in Adelaide in 2012 and played innings of the highest caliber. The right-hander scored unbeaten 110 runs off 376 balls and smashed 14 fours. He’s considered as one of the greats to have represented South Africa. He played 69 Tests, scoring 4163 runs at an average of over 40 to go with 10 centuries and 21 half-centuries.
Stiaan van Zyl – 101*
Another Popular South Africa players who scored century on his Test debut is Stiaan van Zyl. The southpaw made his debut in the longest format of the game against West Indies in 2014. He played a decent knock of unbeaten 101 runs and batted for 130 balls that also saw him smashing 15 boundaries as well. He played 12 games for the Proteas in the longest format of the game scored 395 runs. He became popularly after he abandoned his South Africa ambitions to sign a Kolpak contract with Sussex in 2017.
