England fast bowler Devon Malcolm consigned the Proteas to a heavy defeat in the third Test at The Oval in London in 1994. His record haul of 9-57 in the tourists’ innings is fabled in cricket history.

Last men standing

Tailender Fanie de Villiers and near-centurion Darryl Cullinan were the only visitors not to be dismissed by Malcolm in that second innings. De Villiers remained unbeaten on zero, while Cullinan was removed by fast bowler Darren Gough for 94.

‘It was the one time in my career that I saw some of the so-called tough guys of world cricket tremble a bit and depart quite happily, supposedly having gloved one to the keeper. You either want to be there or you don’t. Those sorts of situations bring out the best or the worst in you. The fear factor is huge. It can show up, big time, whether you’ve got the stomach for it or not,’ Cullinan was quoted by ESPNcricinfo several years later.

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Peter Kirsten just couldn’t

Opening batsman Kirsten was removed by Malcolm in the first innings, too. The tour was his last with the Proteas. One wicket in the first innings and nine in the second yielded match figures of 10-138 for Malcolm. He was named England’s player of the match. All-rounder Brian McMillan, good for 93 in South Africa’s first innings and 25 in the second, was South Africa’s player of the match.

‘There were a couple that didn’t really front up and preferred to be in the changing rooms.  If I’d known Devon was going to take those wickets, I might have gone into the England dressing room with a rifle and maybe broke his kneecaps if I could have,’ recalled McMillan.

Not quite Laker or Lohmann, but still …

Malcom’s figures remain the eighth best in an innings in the history of Test cricket. They are not the best for England, though. Off-spinner Jim Laker took 10 against Australia in 1956, while seamer George Lohmann managed nine against South Africa in the late 1800s.

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