16 Facts about Allan Donald - The white lightning

16 Facts about Allan Donald – The white lightning: Allan Donald is arguably the greatest fast bowler South Africa has ever had. Donald is attributed with much of South Africa’s success it achieved in the 90’s.

With a classical action, Donald was a genuinely fast and instigated fear into the minds of the opposition with his demonic speed. He was not tall and intimidating like the ones West Indies had during their prime, but he had true raw power with sharp cricketing sense. Donald can be classified as a workhorse who could tirelessly bowl lengthy spells in mid-140s to constantly test the batsmen’s skills.

His skiddy bouncers always kept the best batsman on their toes. But, Allan Donald was not only about speed and threatening bounce. His ability to swing the ball at high speed with immense control made him a world-class bowler.

With such outstanding qualities, Allan Donald made a name for himself as one of the supreme fast bowlers of the modern era.

1. Birth:

Allan Anthony Donald was born on 20th October 1966 in Bloemfontein, Orange Tree Province.

2. Nickname:

Allan Donald was affectionately called as the “The White Lightning.” He got this nickname because of his lightning quick bowling.

3. Stunning ODI debut:

Donald made a stunning debut in front of more than 90,000 Indians at Eden Gardens, claiming 5 for 29 in an exhibition of fast bowling that made the rest of the world sit up and take notice of him.

4. Impressive Test debut:

Allan Donald made his Test debut against West Indies on 18 April 1992 in South Africa’s 1st Test since their return to world sport after the abolition of apartheid. Donald had a figures of 2–67 and 4–77 in the lost Test match.

5. A legend:

He was the first South African to capture 300 Test wickets. Donald got 5 wickets in an innings on 20 occasions and took 10 or more on thrice.

6. Distinctive look:

Allan Donald would apply a circular white area of zinc cream across his cheeks and nose while playing to avoid sun-burn.

7. Domestic cricket in England:

Besides appearing for South Africa, Donald was also an extremely successful performer on the English county circuit. He played for Warwickshire and spearheaded its bowling attack for many years.

8. The famous duel:

1998 Test Match at Trent Bridge. Donald had a now famous duel with the English batsman Mike Atherton during the Trent Bridge Test Match of 1998.

Donald was incensed, calling Atherton a “fucking cheat”, raising the tension further. Donald proceeded to hurl three bouncers from around the wicket, at close to 90 mph, but Atherton was immovable. Both cricketers have described this vignette in their respective autobiographies.

England cruised home by 8 wickets on the back of Atherton’s 98. This intense period of play, which captivated audiences in the ground and on TV, remains in Test Match folklore. Nonetheless, at the end of the day’s play, the protagonists were sharing a beer in the dressing room. Several years later, Atherton gave Donald the gloves he wore on this occasion for Donald’s benefit year auction. According to Atherton’s autobiography, the red mark where the ball struck was clearly visible, which he duly circled and autographed.

9. Controversies:

In 1997, he came under intense scrutiny from the international media after he was alleged to have used racially abusive language against India’s Rahul Dravid in the finals of a one-day series.

10. An odd fact:

Allan Donald played more cricket for his county team Warwickshire than for his country South Africa.

11. Marriage:

He is married to an English woman Tina, from Birmingham.

12. Retirement:

He quit Test cricket after breaking down in the crushing defeat against Australia at Johannesburg in 2001-02 and retired from ODIs a year later after South Africa’s exit from the 2003 World Cup. He quit all forms cricket a year later as his physical deterioration accelerated.

13. Life post-retirement:

He became a commentator and later a coach after retiring to transfer his huge knowledge of fast bowling to the next generation. He was also a temporary bowling consultant for England in 2007. Donald was also a coach at Warwickshire County Cricket.

14. Highest wicket-taker for South Africa:

When Donald retired from Test cricket, he was South Africa’s record wicket-taker with 330 Test wickets at an average of 22.25. However, this record was overtaken by his fellow fast bowler Shaun Pollock later.

15. Bowling coach of South Africa:

Donald is currently the bowling coach of South Africa, under head-coach Russel Domingo. He was originally drafted into Gary Kirten’s team who was the head coach of South Africa in 2011.

16. Indian Premier League:

Donald is also the coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the Indian Premier League. He joined them during the IPL 2014 season.