Memories of Donald

Michael Henderson, in the Guardian, reminisces about Allan Donald's performances in '98 while looking ahead to the Test series between England and South Africa.

How beautifully Donald bowled that summer. The bare bones reveal that he took 33 wickets at 19. They do not tell you how fast he bowled, for so long, in all conditions. His performance at Old Trafford, where Shaun Pollock was absent, and where injuries robbed him at different times of the support of Lance Klusener and Jacques Kallis, was one of the great feats of fast bowling in the modern age.

However well the South Africans bowl this summer, and Steyn in particular looks primed, they will do well to rival the Donald of '98. He was a magnificent athlete, an admirable competitor and, yes, a great fast bowler. Sometimes, when people reflect on the outstanding fast men of the past three decades, of whom there have been so many, his performance can be overlooked. It shouldn't be. The man was a champion.