I have to express astonishment at all the comments in favour of Hanse Cronje. As a batsman, his main "claim to fame" was that he played Warne probably as well as anyone, taking the attack to him and ensuring he hit the rare bad balls to the boundary - unlike many who let the great man get away with the odd loose one without taking full advantage. He was, however, a poor player of quick bowling (especially for a South African) and an average of 36 says it all. But irrespective of his playing limitations, I find it hard to see how anyone who would claim to love this greatest of games could possibly consider him for an all too obvious reason, an act that would rule him out of my XI even if he'd been as good as Pollock.

South African cricket has always been blessed with an overabundance of three things: allrounders, fast bowlers, and middle order geniuses. The list above could be expanded to double its size and it would still be a tough pick. But when I say "a tough pick", I mean picking the backups. It seems almost a travesty to not be able to pick a guy like Herbie Taylor, but the simple fact is that we're faced in this list -- if I may be so bold as to overlook Barry Richards for a minute -- with the three best batsmen South Africa has ever produced on the Test stage. Those three men are (in terms of statistics over a span of 15 or more Tests, series-by-series contexts, correlation with South African cricket's greatest achievements, and first-hand anecdotal account by those who witnessed their play): Jacques Kallis; Graeme Pollock; Dudley Nourse. After that comes an even more difficult task: deciding their order in the batting lineup!

Given the format: I'd like Taylor to open with Richards. Then I can have Nourse, Pollock and Kallis in the middle order. I hope I get a chance to select Irvine as w/k - he is probably worth a shout in the middle order just as a batsman. Given the versatility of the SA players, one could consider Kallis for the allrounder slot, Procter at 8 to open the bowling, and then leave Mitchell as opener and Taylor at 3. Forcing us to select players in particular slots will not allow for the best side to be chosen.

are you kidding?A B is nominated and Collin bland is not ! if A B is eligible then so is Ashwell Prince and Hashim Amla. Prince has a far better record than A B. Prince - 11 century in 48 tests with average of 47. A B - 9 century in 53 tests with average of 43. Whenever S A is in trouble Prince stands like a rock . most of his centuries are scored when other batters ( including A B ) fails miserably . His record in bowling friendly pitches is superb. Anyway here is my team = 1. Barry Richards , 2 . Graeme Smith , 3 . Graeme Pollock , 4. Dudley Nourse , 5 . Jack Kallis , 6 . Aubrey Faulkner , 7 . John Waite , 8 . Mike Proctor , 9 . Shaun Pollock , 10 . Allan Donald ,11 . Hugh tayfield .12 Th man Colin Bland.

Those people surprised at not seeing Hansie Cronje's name on the list simply need to look at his average of 36 to know why. When you compare that to players like Kallis and Pollock it really is not even close. Even a player like Ashwell Prince far eclipses Hansie's record. Hansie was an good batsmen and a useful bowler, but captaincy aside he probably wasn't a GREAT player, which is what this list is about. As for AB: I think it's a little early to have him on this list, even if most of us will be surprised if he doesn't end his career as one of SAs greats. However if the list was based on potential then a few of the isolation era players could perhaps rather have been included.

Personally I am a huge AB fan but at the moment I dont think he deserves to be there. In say three or four years he should almost be a certainty but hardly now, as he has only recently got his average above 40. His fielding does definately add to his credentials but you dont pick a middle order for fielding. Will be a superstar in a few years though but isnt quite there yet!

1 G.Smith 2 H.Gibbs 3 J.Kallis 4 AB de Villiers 5 D.Cullinan 6 S.Pollock 7 M.Boucher 8 N.Boje 9 D.Steyn 10 A.Donald 11 M.Ntini Just a pre-selective list of the greatest modern South Africans in my opinion. Tough not to include the likes of Kirsten, Klusener, Rhodes etc. Please post comments ASAP and let me know what you think. P.S. All opinions welcomed! =)

Hi everboby. My ALL Time XI : 1) Garry Kristen. 2) Barry Richards. 3) Daryll Cullinan 4) J Kallis 5) Hanse Cronje 6) Graeme Pollock 7) AB de Villiers 8) Shun Pollock 9) Mark Boucher 10) Styne 11) Donald 7)

Having De Villiers in here is even more ridiculous than having Atherton as a potential opener for the English all time XI. Were the panelists influenced by Obama's Nobel, perchance?

Why is Cronje not even considered? As much as I love watching AB bat, Cronje was a class apart altogether.