Sport: Cricket Inducted: 1991 Country: South Africa Born: May 24, 1942 in Johannesburg, South
Africa
One of the
greatest cricketeers in South African history, Ali Bacher
played in 12 test matches for his country,
captaining his teams in 4 of those fixtures.
Making his first class debut in 1959, at age 17, he made
a total of 120 first class appearances during his career.
As an active player he scored 7,894 runs (averaging 39.07
per match), 18 centuries, and made 110 catches. He captained
the Balfour Park Cricket Team in 1962 and captained Transvaal
the following year.
Bacher’s highest single match score came against Australia
in 1966, when he rang up 235 runs for his Transvaal side
in the first-ever victory for a South African team against
an Australian team in South Africa.
In 1972, he was awarded South Africa’s Sports Merit
Award, the country’s highest athletics honor.
Bacher cut short his playing career in 1974 at only 31 years
of age, when South Africa was banned from international
competition due to its apartheid policy.
