Brains as well as brawn: South Africa fast bowlers are more than just brutes

Some time during the second one-day international between England and South Africa, while Anrich Nortje was unleashing thunderbolts in the Manchester gloom, the BBC’s lead commentator, Jonathan Agnew, wondered why the Proteas possess a seemingly endless supply of fast-bowling talent. A number of variables were mentioned but one in particular was cited as the primary reason: “Raw meat-eating Afrikaners.”

Agnew then reached for a collective noun for these brutish seamers who feast on biltong from the time they can chew. The Beeb’s statistician, Andy Zaltzman, whose father is South African, offered the term “herd”.

Agnew and Zaltzman were being complimentary. They were admiring, not ridiculing, these impressive athletes. Overt strength on the sports field is a quality highly valued in the Afrikans community. It is often cited as a contributing factor behind the success of the Springboks rugby team and the meat-munching trope is well worn around braais (South African barbecues) across the country.

But here’s the thing. Any joke hinges on its context. And hearing two British men with very British accents talk about some of South Africa’s greatest fast bowlers in such glib terms was mildly infuriating. As a South African, I wasn’t alone.

“I’ve heard it a thousand times before and yes, it does come across as a bit demeaning,” says Allan Donald, the alpha of the Afrikans quicks who terrorised a generation of batters, taking 330 Test wickets at 22.25 runs apiece. “It still gets to me sometimes. It does diminish the skill and tactical nous that you have to develop to be a successful bowler.”

No one could deny Donald’s genius with a ball. He could move it both ways, could hit any length at will and developed several slower balls