Allan Donald may be Bangladesh’s bowling coach these days, but he is certainly still a staunch Bok supporter.
This was evident in a TV image showing Donald standing on the side of the field in a pair of green Springbok socks during the World Cup cricket tournament. The television cameras briefly focused on him assisting his bowlers during the World Cup action between the Proteas and the Tigers.
The former Protea blitz wore the pair of socks with his official team kit.
It is widely known that Donald is a big Springbok supporter and the 57-year-old Bloemfontein native sang the Boks’ praises in one of his recent Instagram posts.
“The World Cup quarter-final between South Africa and France was one of the best rugby matches you will ever see and we won by one point. Then England came our way and they were the better team for a large part of the semi-final, but the Boks did what they had to to win by one point,” shared the cricket star.
According to Donald, the Goats’ resilience and refusal-to-throw-in-the-towel attitude are their great strengths.
“There is only one match between the Springboks and something very special. But it also doesn’t matter what happens on Saturday (against New Zealand); this team will never be forgotten. The players have always said that it’s not about them – they’re playing for something much bigger.”
Donald is still considered one of South Africa’s best bowlers. In 72 Tests he took 330 wickets at an average of just over 22.
With his distinctive white war paint (at least in his younger days) he looked as if he was gliding towards the wickets and not running. However, a lightning explosive movement at the end of his run-up ensured that no batsman could ever rest on his laurels when he bowled; the ball whizzed past his helmet countless times at speeds faster than 145 km/h.
Several analysts believe that his fiery duel with Michael Atherton in 1998 at Trent Bridge had all the ingredients of a captivating cricket drama.
