OTD 1977 – Andre Nel was born

Andre Nel, one of the feistiest and most competitive fast bowlers world cricket ever witnessed, was born on July 15, 1977. He turns 49 years old on Wednesday. The right-arm fast bowler will always be remembered by Indian cricket fans for his altercation with S Sreesanth during India’s tour of South Africa in 2006-07. In the first Test at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, Nel sledged Sreesanth before the latter responded with a six and then danced in front of him to rub salt into his wounds. While Nel turned villain for Indian fans on that day, every one of them will acknowledge his achievements in South African cricket. Also, characters like him make the beautiful game all the more intriguing.

In February 2001, he hit the headlines after bursting into tears when he felled the legendary Allan Donald with a fiery bouncer in a domestic first-class encounter. It later emerged that he was following the instructions of his head coach, Ray Jennings. A few months later, Nel made his ODI debut against the West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval and bagged a three-for. Four months later, he earned his maiden Test cap against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. The right-arm seamer bagged four wickets in the first innings and one in the second to cap off an impressive debut. Talking about his T20I debut, Nel faced New Zealand on October 21, 2005, at The New Wanderers Stadium. He finished with impressive figures of 2/19 in four overs.

While there were sparks of greatness in Nel, he had some disciplinary issues during his career. In 2001, during the tour of the West Indies, he, along with four other teammates, was found guilty of smoking marijuana. During 2003, he was sent home from a South Africa A tour of Australia after being pulled over for drunk driving.

Interestingly, Nel got married on the second day of the fourth Test against the West Indies on January 17, 2004. When it comes to the Indian Premier League, Nel signed for the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition in 2008, replacing Dwayne Bravo, who had to leave due to national duty. The former played just one game in the IPL, where he conceded 31 runs in three overs against the Delhi Capitals and picked up the wicket of current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir.

The Germiston-born retired from international cricket on March 25, 2009. However, he continued playing for his English county side, Surrey and various domestic teams before transitioning into coaching. Notably, he was an assistant coach for Essex. Nel finished with 123 wickets in 36 Tests, 106 wickets in 79 ODIs, and two wickets in as many T20Is.

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