Innings is over but the great statesman remains undefeated. With all due respect to our own English moguls, Ali Bacher is seen as one of cricket's greatest statesmen, intoxicated by cricket, capable of monumental misjudgments but possessed of a human heart, writes Sue Mott. [Telegraph Sport | Cricket]
A nice interview of Dr Ali Bacher on a PR tour to promote his autobiography. It must make interesting reading. I first saw Ali as a rugby player; he was the flyhalf of the KES rugby team (King Edward VII School, Johannesburg, alma mater also of current SA cricket captain Graeme Smith), which came down to play Maritzburg College in 1958. College won. The following year Grey High School from Port Elizabeth toured with Graeme Pollock at flyhalf, and in 1963 Hilton College with Mike Proctor at flyhalf beat College (only their second loss since 1948). Add in guys like Jackie McGlew (College 1948), Peter Kirsten (Wynberg Boys High) and Herschelle Gibbs (Bishops) and you have quite a correlation between flyhalf and cricket excellence.
Later, in 1962 or 1963, Ali brought the Wits University cricket team down to Pietermaritzburg to play the University of Natal, together with stalwarts like Don MacKay-Coghill, Des Sacco and Elton Chatterton, all Transvaal cricket stars and members of the Old Johannians Club when I played hockey there. A few years later Ali was Springbok captain, thrashed Australia comprehensively twice (ah, those were the days) before going into international isolation, administration, and bringing SA cricket successfully into the world game.
7:01:33 PM 
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