Tertius Bosch

Tertius Bosch died in mysterious circumstances at the age of 33 in February 2000. His only Test appearance came in South Africa's first Test back in the fold, at Bridgetown in 1991-92. He apparently died of a rare viral infection, but 18 months later his body was exhumed and a post mortem suggested he might have been poisoned. It later emerged that Bosch had had his wife followed, after suspecting her of infidelity. He burst onto the scene while a young dental student at Pretoria University in 1986-87, moving from Northern Transvaal to Natal where he helped them to win two titles.

Cricketer obituary
Tertius Bosch, who ranked alongside Allan Donald as South Africa's fastest bowler of his era, died at Westville, near Durban, on February 13, a month short of his 34th birthday, after a long period of ill-health.

He represented South Africa in its first Test match after isolation against West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados, in 1992. He was also a member of the team that went to the 1992 World Cup in Australasia, playing a single match against New Zealand as well as the warm-up fixture against Zimbabwe. He made a second official one-day appearance on the West Indies tour.

Bosch first attracted attention as Fanie De Villiers' opening partner for Northern Transvaal and they formed a feared attack. In spite of the fact that he never sorted out his run-up and was regularly no-balled, he generated such power from his back and shoulders that he was genuinely able to match Donald for pace. It was because of this pace that he was one of a handful of cricketers singled out by Ali Bacher when South Africa's return to international cricket became imminent.

Later in his career he moved to Natal to pursue his career as a dentist and he carried their attack during the 1996-97 season when Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener launched their international careers.

If Bosch had a fault, it was a good one. He was a gentle and shy person and lacked the classic killer instinct of a fast bowler. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Michael Owen-Smith, The Cricketer, April 2000