Saturday, 25 April 2020 marks exactly 17 years since former Proteas batsman Boeta Dippenaar hit the highest score of a 38-Test career.

Dippenaar recorded a maiden Test ton against New Zealand at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in 2000, but had to wait three years for a second.

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He amassed the bulk of a sterling 177 not out on day two of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. The steely right-hander spent almost eight hours at the crease throughout, faced 369 deliveries and struck 25 fours and two sixes.

He and double centurion Jacques Rudolph shared an unbroken 429-run alliance, which is a South African record to this day. Openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith came close to surpassing it five years later, against the same opposition, at the same venue, but only managed 415.

Dippenaar welcomed a third and final Test century against England at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth in 2004. Two years later, a largely underwhelming Test career ended with an average a smidgen over 30.

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Five years after that, Dippenaar’s final five innings in first-class cricket yielded three ducks – and a disappointing exit for the Free State fighter.

Photo: Gallo Images