Who was the first South African to score 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year?
(29 October 2001)

A thousand runs in a calendar year is a monumental feat in any form of cricket. In the cut-throat, high-stakes world of Test cricket, then, it becomes an all-the-more memorable achievement.

The first man to savour the joy of crossing this landmark was a dashing and debonair Englishman, Denis Compton. An icon in every sense of the word, Compton compiled 1,159 runs, with a highest of 208, in the nine Tests and 15 innings that he played in his golden year in cricket - 1947. He was followed to the summit by his great friend and on-field rival, the peerless Sir Donald Bradman, who repeated the feat in his farewell year - 1948.

The following years saw that very famous accumulator of runs, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, cross the landmark as many as four times. Other Indians too have achieved this honour; among them is Mohinder Amarnath, who remains the fastest to accomplish the feat - he scored his 1,000th run of 1983 on May 3.

It was a full 15 years after this that the first and, so far, only South African crossed this landmark - the soon-to-be-tainted Wessel Johannes Cronje. Hansie, as he was lovingly known, crossed the 1,000-run mark in 1998. In 14 Tests and 24 innings, the born-again Christian from Orange Free State aggregated 1040 runs, with one hundred and nine fifties, at an average of 47.27. Those indeed were Hansie's halcyon days...

For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]

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