1962 — Goofy Lawrence takes four wickets as South Africa bowl out New Zealand for 249 to win the fourth Test at the Wanderers by an innings and 51 runs, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Lawrence finished the match with figures of 9/109.
1965 — A Pretoria umpire walks off court mid-match to protest the constant complaints by one of the players during a semifinal. American Donald Dell was playing against Australian-turned-South African Bob Hewitt — and it wasn’t the normally fiery-tempered Hewitt doing the moaning. Dell had repeatedly complained about line calls and then complained further when the line judges walked off the court. That’s when umpire Ian Cunningham decided he’d had enough too. “Well, it’s all yours, boys,” he said as he threw down the score sheet, put on his coat and walked into the stands. An office-bearer from the South African Lawn Tennis Union took over as umpire. Dell surprised Hewitt to win 7-9, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. In 2015 — half a century later — Hewitt would be convicted of rape and sexual assault against girls he coached in the 1980s and 1990s.
1970 — Graeme Pollock scores an unbeaten 160 and Barry Richards 140 on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Kingsmead.
1983 — Brian Baronet, one of the tragic characters of South African boxing, beats journeyman Bramley Whiteboy on an eighth-round technical knockout at the Ellis Park tennis stadium to stretch his unbeaten record to 17. But he would suffer his first defeat in his very next fight, against Lorenzo Luis Garcia of Argentina in Durban the following month. Baronet died after being knocked out by American Kenny Vice in 1988.
1984 — The all-South African racing team of Sarel van der Merwe, Tony Martin and Graham Duxbury win the Daytona 24-hour Classic in their Kreepy Krauly March 83G. The South African debutants led for two-thirds of the race but had testing moments along the way, like when the car ran out of petrol 800m from the pits after six-and-a-half hours. ‘Supervan’ had to run to the car with enough petrol to get it back, and the delay cost them eight laps. They finished nine laps ahead of the defending champions in a Porsche 935, which included 1983 world endurance drivers championship runner-up Derek Bell of Britain. In total they drove 3,962km in their 640 laps.
1999 — The South African one-day cricket team defeats the West Indies by a massive 114 runs in Bloemfontein in the sixth contest of their series. Captain Hansie Cronje top-scored with 82 runs from 79 balls and Shaun Pollock took 3/23.
1999 — Helen Davies takes 4/23 as the South African women restrict Australia to 199/8, but they lose the first ODI in Buderim by 92 runs, with Denise Reid scoring 48.
2006 — Mark Boucher top-scores with 76 as the Proteas are restricted to 287/6 to lose their tri-series ODI against Australia in Sydney by 57 runs.
2013 — Marizanne Kapp scores an unbeaten 102 and Dane van Niekerk 55 not out as the South African women, totalling 207/5, beat Pakistan by 126 runs in their World Cup match in Cuttack. Kapp took 3/18.
2018 — Dane van Niekerk’s 41 is the highest contribution as the South African women are bowled out for 125 to lose the first ODI against India in Kimberley by 88 runs.
2021 — Anrich Nortjé takes five wickets as the Proteas bowl out Pakistan for 272 in the second Test in Rawalpindi.
2024 — Neil Brand takes six wickets as South Africa bowl out New Zealand for 511 in the first Test in Mount Maunganui.
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