Top 10 players of colour to have ever played for South Africa

Race and colour are extremely sensitive subjects when it comes to the 'rainbow nation', that is South Africa. It is to do with the painful and discriminatory history of apartheid in the country and the fact that it led to the cricket team's exile from international cricket for around two decades make it an even more sensitive subject when the South African cricket team is discussed.

However, since their readmission, the nation has grown by leaps and bounds and the cricket team represents the multi-cultural values on which modern South Africa has been built. Plenty of players of colour have come through the ranks through sheer merit and also aided by the quota system. Most of them have represented the country with distinction and have gone on to become some of the finest cricketers in the world. Here is a look at 10 of the very best.

10 Charl Langeveldt

When he first burst on to the domestic scene in South Africa, Charl Langeveldt was known for having the ability to swing the ball prodigiously either way, and that too at pace. Soon enough, he came into the South African side having impressed the selectors but unfortunately he did not have a prolonged Test career, which had been restricted to only 6 Test matches.

However, in one-day internationals, he soon became one of South Africa's best operators in around the 2004-05 season and he was particularly well known for his ability to bowl yorkers. He took exactly 100 wickets for South Africa in 72 games and recorded a brilliant economy rate of only 5.0

9 Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir

The leg-spinner came to South Africa from his native Pakistan after he fell in love with a woman and soon enough, he started playing cricket for South Africa.

Imran Tahir first played for South Africa in 2011 and over the years, he has evolved into one of the best spinners in the limited overs formats of the game. In one day internationals and T20 internationals, Tahir has become a regular for South Africa and his quote of overs have often proven to be absolutely vital for them.

He has taken 138 wickets for South Africa in 81 one-dayers and recorded an economy rate of an incredible 4.64. On the other hand, in 36 T20Is, Tahir has snared 57 wickets with an economy rate of 6.80. He is also hugely in demand at most of the T20 leagues and is all set to become one of the finest limited overs spinners ever.

He has only played 20 Tests so far but the numbers have been disappointing. He picked up only 57 wickets at a poor average of 40.24.

8 Paul Adams

Paul Adams

The former left-arm spinner will probably never be forgotten as long as footage of his bowling action is still in existence, but Paul Adams is much more than his 'frog in a blender' bowling action. He was actually an extremely skilful googly bowler, whose stock delivery moved away from the right-handed batsman and in the late mid-1990s and the early noughties, he was South Africa's main spin bowler.

In the initial years of his career, his action confused most batsmen, and he picked up a lot of wickets. In 45 Test matches, Adams picked up 134 wickets at an average of 32.87 and supported the fast bowlers well, home and abroad. In one-day internationals, however, his tally was less tha impressive and he picked up only 29 wickets in 24 games.

7 Ashwell Prince

Ashwell Prince

The former South African captain was one of the finest coloured cricketers to have played for the country and has become an influential voice in the cricket fraternity regarding the system that is in place for selection to the national team.

Prince played for South Africa in both Test matches and one-day internationals as a middle-order batsman over the course of a career that spanned 9 years from 2002 to 2011. Prince was an elegant and technically correct batsman, who also had the ability to engage in a battle of attrition if the odds seemed to be stacked against him.

He played 66 Tests for South Africa and scored 3665 runs at an average of 41.64. He scored 11 Test centuries and just as many half-centuries. His one-day international career did not last as long and he played only 52 one-dayers in 5 years. Prince averaged 35.10 and scored no centuries.

6 Jean-Paul Duminy

Jean-Paul Duminy

South African all-rounder Jean-Paul Duminy first broke into the side back in 2004 but it was not till 2008 that he became a regular in the side and it all followed from a magnificent Test tour to Australia that year.

However, despite his early promise in the longest format of the game, Duminy eventually became one of South Africa's best known limited overs all-rounders and was responsible for many of the nation's victories in both formats of the limited overs game. Duminy's graceful stroke-play coupled with the ability to clobber sixes when necessary and a sound defensive technique made him an excellent middle-order batsman.

However, his Test career could only amount to 46 Tests and an average of only 32.85 does not do justice to his immense talents. In 179 one-dayers, he has so far made 4668 runs at an average of 37.64. He remains one of South Africa's most prominent coloured cricketers.

5 Vernon Philander

Vernon Philander

No bowler has proven to be as dangerous with his line, length, accuracy, swing and seam movement as South Africa's medium pace Vernon Philander, ever since he first burst on to the cricketing firmament, back in 2011. He raced to 50 career Test scalps in only 7 Tests and ever since, he has been a fixture in the South African Test side. Philander has primarily been a Test match bowler and has only played 30 one-dayers and a handful of T20Is for the national team.

However, in Test cricket, his numbers are brilliant. In 47 games, he has already taken 173 wickets at an outstanding average of only 22.37 and in addition to that, he has a strike rate of only 49.4. Those are the numbers of someone who is well on his way to becoming one of the game's great fast bowlers.

4 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada

Has there ever been a young fast bowler in recent years who has taken the world of cricket by storm like South Africa's fast bowling superstar Kagiso Rabada? He burst onto the scene back in 2015 and since then he has become a fixture for South Africa in all three formats of the game.

It is in fact, quite startling that a 22-year-old could be so intelligent at such an age and make full use of his talent at the biggest stage. He might have played only 23 Test so far but he has claimed 105 victims and has an average of 22.29. On top of that, the strike rate of 39.4 is clearly something that even some of the greatest bowlers in history can only dream of.

In limited overs cricket, his variations and the ability to keep the batsmen in check come to the fore. In one-dayers, Rabada has taken 70 wickets in 43 games and has an economy rate of only 5.05. He has played 16 T20Is so far and claimed 22 wickets, at a slightly expensive economy rate of 8.25. However, one needs to remember that he bowls at a time when the batsmen are usually swinging at everything.

Maybe 33 runs in 4 overs in a T20 game on average is not so bad after all. He is only two years into his career but anyone can see that he is well on his way to becoming one of South Africa's greatest and an heir to the legacy of Dale Steyn.

3 Makhaya Ntini

Makhaya Ntini

He is one of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever played for South Africa and in a career that lasted around 11 years, he was one of the most important bowlers in the bowling line up of the national team. Ntini was a genuinely quick bowler and in addition, he had the ability to move the ball off the pitch either way.

Makhaya Ntini was an extremely awkward bowler to face in is prime and he shone for South Africa in all formats of the game. He played 101 Test matches from 1998 to 2009 and 173 one-dayers in the same time span.

He is the third highest wicket-taker for South Africa in Test cricket with a tally of 390 wickets. He had an excellent average of 28.82 and a strike rate of 53.4. In one-dayers, Ntini picked up 266 wickets at an average of 24.65 and had an economy rate of 4.53.

2 Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs

South Africa have always produced great batsmen but they never had a 'flair player' in their batting line up. A batsman who has his own homegrown technique, a certain maverick streak and the ability to take apart bowling attacks without much trouble.

All that changed, however, with the emergence of Herschelle Gibbs and for around 12 years from 1996 to 2008, he became one of the world's most dangerous opening batsmen. He played 90 Test matches for South Africa and scored 6167 runs, at an average of 41.95. He also scored 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries in his Test career.

In one-dayers, Gibbs was one of the top opening batsmen of his generation and slammed 8094 runs in 248 games, at an average of 36.13. He also played 23 T20 internationals for South Africa and had an impressive strike rate of 125.78.

1 Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla

He has been one of the world's leading batsman for around a decade and will definitely go down in history as one of the finest batsmen to have ever played for South Africa. As far as coloured cricketers are concerned, there has not been anyone who comes close to Hashim Amla. He has been a colossus for South Africa at number 3 in Test cricket and has been one of the team's best performers across the three formats of the game.

Amla's technique, stroke-play, temperament and the ability to play the marathon innings has made him one of the game's finest batsmen. Amla has played 110 Tests so far and scored 8583 runs at an average of 49.61 and has scored 28 centuries already.

In limited overs cricket, he has played in many positions for South Africa and in 158 one-dayers so far, he has made 7381 runs at a brilliant average of 51.25. The strike rate of 89.21 is quite brilliant. He is a regular for South Africa in T20 internationals as well and has scored 8 fifties so far in his career.