Neil Adcock dies aged 81

RIP Neil Adcock. Condolences to your family during this sad time.

It is easy to take for granted the culture of excellence that exists within SA fast bowling today, but these things do not happen by magic. It is great gentlemen and competitors like Neil Adcock who perform the feats and create the traditions for the next generation to aspire to. Your partnership with Peter Heine, sadly now also passed, was the stuff of legends and you were, simply, the fastest gun in town.

Very nice piece Lillian. I was not aware of this tragic event but will certainly find the time to read up on this and the game.

Brings a tear to hear of Neil's passing. I was at Ellis Park when he felled Sutcliffe, who was taken to hospital. With the rail crash in mind, it seemed things could get no worse for NZ as wickets tumbled. But Sutcliffe was heroic and fearless on his return, head wrapped in a big white bandage, and played a awesome, defiant knock. Tall, blond, wiry, Neil Adcock had a long, fluent run-up, his right arm straight at his side, ending in a circular whirl as he wound up to deliver. Unforgettable.

Also remember Adcock and Heine peppering Richardson and Bailey on the first morning at the Wanderers in 1957, when the field seemed to shine like a mirror in the blazing summer sun. Richardson scored the slowest-ever century in Tests that day. Neil's peak though was in 1960, on the tour to England when he carried the attack in a weak Springbok team, taking 69 wickets at 22.57 in first class matches.

Memories of Neil will never fade. RIP

The passing of this magnificent fast bowler tugs also at our heartstrings in New Zealand.

It was Adcock's fiery bowling in 1953-54 which was the driving force behind the legendary Christmas Test at Ellis Park. He battered NZ's batsmen, and the star player Bert Sutcliffe eventually returned after having retired hurt, swathed in bandages, to prop up the Kiwi innings. He was eventually partnered by the grieving Bob Blair, whose fiancee had been killed in our worst ever rail disaster immediately prior to the day's play. Blair had already withdrawn from the match, and his act of bravery in coming out to help his team-mates resist the rampant Adcock is a treasured national memory for us.

So as soon as I heard of Adcock's passing my thoughts turned to the Tangiwai rail disaster. For Kiwis his name will always be a big part of our "Scott of the Antarctic" story of gallant defeat on the cricket pitch but also reminds us of the awful loss of life that day.