The Proteas in England: 10 great moments

By Zaahier Adams

The Proteas begin their quest for that elusive series win on English soil - a feat last achieved back in 1965 - at Lord's on Wednesday.

It's not as if the South Africans have not had opportunities to lay the bogey to rest, considering that they have led the series or been level going into the final Test on each of the last three tours.

The heartache aside, the Proteas have enjoyed some fascinating tussles with the English, which has resulted in some brilliant cricket.

Here are 10 of the most memorable moments - not all of them confined to the scoreboard - between these two rivals on English soil since South Africa's re-admission to Test cricket.

1: Allan Donald-Michael Atherton duel - Trent Bridge 1998

If looks could kill, television viewers would not have the pleasure of listening to the erudite opinions of Atherton in his current role as Sky Sports cricket commentator today.

That was the intensity of the Donald stare that met Atherton after the Lancastrian fended off a fierce, rising delivery from Donald with his glove into the hands of wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, only for umpire Steve Dunn to rule not out.

What ensued on the fourth evening of the fourth Test has become part of cricket folklore as the two players involved went head-to-head in a gripping 40 minutes of blood-thirsty action. Donald: The hunter. Atherton: The hunted! With South Africa leading the series 1-0, and England requiring just 247 to level the series, "White Lightning", from around the wicket, unleashed one of the quickest spells of his career in an attempt to dislodge the "f****** cheat", according to Donald, but to no avail.

The former England captain stood tall - just like he did in his marathon innings of 185 not out against the Proteas at the Wanderers three years earlier - and survived a barrage of bouncers. Mentally and physically exhausted, Donald eventually let up when Boucher dropped a regulation chance off Nasser Hussain, who too felt the wrath of Donald during his stay at the crease. Atherton proceeded to lead England to a series-equalling victory, finishing undefeated on 98.

2: Graeme Smith's two double centuries - Edgbaston and Lord's 2003

When Graeme Craig Smith was named South Africa's youngest Test captain at the age of 22, his rookie status was confirmed when opposing skipper Nasser Hussain referred to him as "Greg" at a press conference prior to the first Test at Edgbaston.

A national-record 277 at the Warwickshire county ground, and a match-winning 259 at Lord's two Tests later and Hussain not only knew Smith's first name, but was also no longer at the helm of the England ship. Smith's record-breaking feats - his 259 being the highest score by a foreigner at the home of cricket, surpassing Sir Don Bradman's 254 - were filled with what has now become his trademark punches through midwicket off his legs and savage pull shots.

3: Makhaya Ntini's 10 wickets - Lord's 2003

Without Donald for the first time on English soil post-unity and with Pollock still wily, but beginning to lose pace, critics wondered whether the Mdingi Express would be able to spearhead the Proteas attack.

Ntini promptly allayed those fears with a five-star display in England's first innings and then, despite a brutal innings of 142 by Andrew Flintoff in England's second turn at bat, grabbed another five-for to become the first South African to claim 10 wickets at Lord's. The image of Ntini bending down and kissing the Lord's turf after dismissing Steve Harmison, his 10th scalp, was arguably the most memorable moment of the sporting year 2003.

4: Peter Kirsten's maiden Test century - Headingley 1994

Eight South Africans have scored Test centuries in England since 1994, some have even been doubles like Smith (277, 259) and Gary Kirsten (210), big ones like Herschelle Gibbs (178, 182) and memorable ones such as Kepler Wessels's 105 (the first century by a South African at Lord's since Roy McLean's in 1955) and Jonty Rhodes's 117 at Lord's in 1998.

However, none could have been more emotional than "Kirsey's". Having played the majority of his 22-year first- class career during South Africa's isolation from the international game, Kirsten was well past his prime when he made his Test debut at the age of 37 in 1992.

Now 39 by the time the second Test at Headingley came around, the right-hander drew on all his county cricket experience, gained during the South African winters with Derbyshire and Sussex, to hit his maiden Test ton and rescue the Proteas from a perilous position. The cricket world felt robbed that they had not seen more of the little genius from the Cape as Kirsten retired after the next Test.

5: Devon Malcolm's 9/57 - The Oval 1994

During England's visit to South Africa in 1995, the rainbow nation's iconic former president Nelson Mandela reportedly greeted Malcolm on introduction with the words: "Ah, you are the destroyer!" The fact that Madiba had taken cognisance of Malcolm's feats on that fourth day at The Oval said a lot of the significant impact the fast bowler had on the Proteas.

With South Africa 1-0 up and closing in on a series victory, Fanie de Villiers struck the tailender flush on the helmet. Visibly incensed, Malcolm vowed to claim revenge in South Africa's second innings. And boy, did he! Erratic at the best of times, but quite capable of bowling in excess of 90 mph, the Jamaican-born speedster revved up the accelerator.

The Kirsten brothers, who opened the innings, and the late Hansie Cronje were all back in the hut with just one run on the board, courtesy of Malcolm.

Further carnage followed as Malcolm then struck Rhodes with a sickening blow that Mike Tyson would have been proud of on the side of the head. Although Rhodes returned later in the innings after being rushed to hospital, only Daryll Cullinan offered any form of resistance with a courageous innings of 94.

Malcolm's figures, the third- best by a fast bowler in the history of Test cricket, skittled the Proteas for 175. If the Proteas were not physically bruised, they were mentally in shock as England raced to the series-equalling victory target of 202 with eight wickets to spare early on the final day.

6: Mike Atherton's dirt-in-the-pocket affair - Lord's 1994

Read virtuous England captain, see Mike Atherton. At least that was what the English cricket hierarchy had hoped for when they appointed the opening batsman, who was educated at Manchester Grammar School, Downing College and Cambridge University, in 1993.

Twelve months into the job, during the first Test between England and South Africa for 29 years, Atherton dispelled all theories of that notion when he was caught by the television cameras rubbing dirt from his pocket on the ball in an attempt to get the ball to reverse swing.

Despite Atherton officially denying any wrongdoing to match referee Peter Burge, the Fleet Street hounds attacked Atherton.

The England skipper escaped with an ECB-imposed fine and possibly his mantle as England captain.

7: Monde Zondeki's 59 - Headingley 2003

Gary Kirsten's first-innings rearguard century, Andrew Hall's 99 and Jacques Kallis's nine wickets in the match, including a match-winning 6/54 in England's second knock, to spur South Africa to a crushing 191-run win claimed all the headlines at the conclusion of the fourth Test.

All three players would, however, be first to admit the importance of Zondeki's contribution to that momentous victory. South Africa were reeling at 21/4 an hour into the Test and then 142/7 when Test debutant Zondeki nervously walked to the crease to face Andrew Flintoff's hat-trick ball.

The 21-year-old Border fast bowler, who was only playing because Shaun Pollock had returned home to be present at the birth of his first child, survived the hat-trick attempt and displayed a batting technique that belied his single-digit first- class average to share a record eighth-wicket partnership of 150 with Kirsten.

Unfortunately for South Africa, Zondeki could not exploit the confidence gained when it was his turn with the ball as he pulled up injured just 4.5 overs into his first spell.

8 Javed Akhtar's dubious umpiring - Headingley 1998

The riveting five-match series was all square heading into the final Test at Leeds. In a low-scoring match, with neither team managing to score more than South Africa's first innings total of 252, the highlights package was rather disappointingly filled with errors by umpire Akhtar.

The Pakistani official adjudged nine of the 10 lbw decisions in the match, eight of them against South Africa, seven of which were particularly "dubious". The inept umpiring cost the Proteas the series as England won the match by 23 runs.

So incensed were South Africa by Akhtar's performance that former United Cricket Board chief executive Ali Bacher claimed at the King Commission in 2000 that Akthar was on a bookmaker's payroll, an allegation that so incensed Akhtar that he threatened to sue Bacher.

9 Robert Croft and Angus Fraser - Old Trafford 1998

The Proteas had amassed a huge first innings total of 552/5 declared with Gary Kirsten compiling a double century and Kallis 132. Paul Adams, who could always bamboozle the English, took four wickets to help spin out the hosts for a paltry 182.

Senior batsmen Mike Atherton (89) and Alec Stewart (162) fought valiantly during England's follow-on innings, although all seemed lost when No 10 Darren Gough became Donald's sixth victim of the innings. Even the most ardent of English supporters did not believe that the last pair of Croft and Fraser would be able to keep Donald and Co. at bay for the six remaining overs in the day.

Although passionately Welsh, Croft displayed all the courage of the English bulldog in his eventual 190-minute stay at the crease and together with last-man Fraser survived a few perilously nervous moments to save England.

10 Allan Donald and Fanie de Villiers's flag-waving - Lord's 1994

South African cricket had been on the global stage for three years, played in a World Cup semifinal and suffered the pain of being blown away by a rampant West Indies pace attack, but their return to international cricket would only be viewed as complete once the team stepped onto the hallowed Lord's turf again.

The build-up to the Test was therefore a rather emotional one. The enigma of playing at tradition-steeped Lord's added to the tension as the players were well briefed about the strict "house rules" of the MCC.

The "egg and bacon ties" in the members area were expected, but the no flag-waving rule dumbfounded even most of the players, who were raised on a diet of flag-waving, loud-cheering, beer-drinking Benson & Hedges Night Series fans.

So when South Africa crushed the English by 365 runs, firstly coach Mike Procter incurred the wrath of the Lord's authorities by waving the new flag of the newly-elected democratic government of South Africa, followed by Allan Donald and a bare-chested Fanie de Villiers.