Wisden 100 tables

It is a defining image of South African cricket: when Fanie de Villiers caught the young Glenn McGrath off his own bowling to complete a thrilling five-run victory at the SCG in January 1994, South Africa announced their return to the international fold after two decades of isolation. And appropiately, de Villiers' performance - 6 for 43 in 23.3 overs - is rated the best bowling in Australia-South Africa Test history, a contest that dates back to 1902-03. Australia - chasing just 117 to win after a Shane Warne masterclass - were shot out for a measly 111, exactly the same total they had made at Headingley in 1981. It was only de Villiers' second Test (after a rain-ruined debut at the MCG), and South Africa's tenth in all since re-admission in 1991-92.

But there is no doubting the star performer in Australia-South Africa Tests. Legspinner Clarrie Grimmett dominates the Wisden 100 table, with no fewer than six performances in the top 15, spread over two series and four years. Grimmett took 77 wickets in ten Tests against South Africa, and was particularly at home on South Africa's matting wickets, where he took a record 44 wickets in 1935-36, including his career-best 7 for 40 at Johannesburg. That particular performance comes in at No. 11 - but it is only his fourth-highest entry on the table. And yet, despite these performances, Grimmett was dropped after the series and never played for Australia again.

As usual, there's no doubting who's top of the batting lists - Don Bradman's 299 not out at Adelaide in 1931-32 is rated the fifth-best innings of all time in the Wisden 100, and lies comfortably ahead of Mark Waugh's series-clinching 116 at Port Elizabeth in 1996-97. Warwick Armstrong carried his bat at Johannesburg in 1902-03 to reach No. 3 on the list (his 159 runs equalled Australia's eventual margin of victory), and Graeme Pollock's 274 at Durban is No.4 - one of just two entries from the definitive 1969-70 series, when Australia were trounced 4-0.

Surprisingly, the only entrant from the recent series in Australia is a South African. Jacques Kallis' defiant 99 wasn't enough to save the Melbourne Test, but it was enough to sneak in at No. 18 on the batting table.

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