Sport24.co.za | Donald picks Proteas duo in best ever XI
Cape Town – Former South African fast bowler Allan Donald has named his best-ever cricketing XI with former Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis and former batsman AB de Villiers selected.
Donald revealed his all-time XI on the Lord’s Cricket YouTube channel, with the criteria being that he had to have played with or against them, or have been strongly influenced by the players mentioned.
Donald, known as “White Lightning” during his career, named the usual suspects, which included Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who regularly make such lists.
However, Donald received flak from some fans on YouTube, who noticed the omission of Indian and Pakistani players, which included icons Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram.
Former Proteas legend Kallis slotted in at No 4 on the list and Donald stated that his former South African team-mate is “probably the greatest cricketer of all time”.
Kallis, who retired from international cricket in 2014, played 166 Tests for South Africa scoring 13 289 runs and taking 292 wickets in the process.
When referring to De Villiers, the former Proteas bowling coach said that he is “one of the all-time bests and is an explosive batsman.”
De Villiers, who announced his retirement from international cricket in May, played 114 Tests for the Proteas and scored 8765 runs with an average of 50.66.
Donald retired from international cricket in 2003 and played 72 Tests for South Africa, taking 330 wickets at average of 22.25.
He is currently the assistant coach at English county club, Kent.
Allan Donald’s all-time XI:
Matthew Hayden (Australia), Justin Langer (Australia), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Brian Lara (West Indies), Sir Viv Richards (West Indies – captain), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Adam Gilchrist (Australia – wicketkeeper), Shane Warne (Australia), Malcolm Marshall (West Indies), Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Glenn McGrath (Australia)