John Waite

Johnny Waite was something of a legend for over a decade of Springbok cricket during the 1950s and '60s, as he became the first man to represent his country in 50 Tests - and the only one to do so in the pre-isolation era. First selected in 1951 as a 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, Waite showed he was no shrinking violet by joining his uncle, Eric Rowan, in a remarkable display of protest when both sat down on the pitch while batting against Lancashire after being slow-handclapped. Waite's pugnacity as a batsman, the strength of his character and his skill with the gloves meant that he displaced first-choice keeper Russell Endean and played in the first four Tests of the series. Waite was chosen as Endean's understudy once more for the 1952-53 tour of Australia, but again rose quickly to the top forcing Endean to reinvent himself, successfully, as a specialist batsman. Most of Waite's long list of national records have now been surpassed by Dave Richardson and Mark Boucher, although he still holds, with Boucher, the record for the most dismissals in a five-Test series - 26.
Neil Manthorp