Blast from the past: Proteas bounce back against Aussies after Hansie scandal

Today in SA sports history: April 16

1960 — Gert Potgieter celebrates his 23rd birthday in style by breaking his own 440-yard (402m) hurdles world record at the SA championships in Bloemfontein, clocking 49.3 sec. His previous mark from 1958 had been 49.7, but it was unofficial. Converted into metres it would have equated to 49-flat, quicker than American Glenn Davis’s 400m hurdles record of 49.2.

1968 — Willie Ludick’s bid to win the world welterweight title ends when he’s stopped in the fifth round by WBA and WBC champion Curtis Cokes in Dallas. Cokes came to SA a few months later and beat Joe Ngidi and Joseph Sishi in non-title bouts. He also faced Ludick in a rematch in Maputo, winning in the third round. Cokes, who would lose his crown to Jose Napoles in 1969, returned to SA in 1998 as the trainer of then WBO junior-middleweight champion Winky Wright for his defence against Harry Simon.

1996 — The Proteas beat Pakistan by eight wickets in an ODI in Sharjah. Fanie de Villiers took 3/28 in 10 overs as SA bowled out Pakistan for 188. Opener Andrew Hudson scored 94 from 86 deliveries as SA reached the target in the 34th over.

2000 — Mark Boucher and Lance Klusener produce a late onslaught against Australia to lead SA to a four-wicket victory at the Wanderers. The win gives SA a 2-1 series victory as well as a moral boost after the recent sacking of skipper Hansie Cronje over match-fixing allegations. This was the first series captained by Shaun Pollock, who took 4/37 in the match as SA bowled out the visitors for 205. SA were 122/6 when Boucher (55 not out) and Klusener (52 not out) came together.