Garth Le Roux

Garth le Roux was a big, powerful fast bowler who was unfortunate in that his whole career fell in the period when South Africa were barred from international cricket. Aggressive and in-your-face, he possessed a good bouncer which he used liberally, and was a hard-hitting tailender. He made an immediate mark as a young tearaway, so much to that he was signed for World Series Cricket despite his lack of experience, and he also forged a very successful decade-long career in England with Sussex - in 1981 his 81 wickets took the county within a whisker of their first Championship. He showed what might have been in 15 "Tests" for South Africa against rebel touring sides, taking 59 wickets at 23.06. For Western Province his 372 wickets cost under 19 each, at a time when Currie Cup cricket was at its height. In 2008, le Roux and an associate were been sentenced to an effective four years in jail for tax fraud.
Martin Williamson