Jacques Rudolph

Rudolph is a left-handed batsmen who stands tall at the crease and has a compact technique to weather any kind of bowling. Twice he was in-line for a debut and both times he fell victim to controversy. First was the unofficial Test against India, the aftermath of Mark Denness affair and then came the Sydney Test in 2002, where Justin Ontong was handed a Test cap because then Board President Percy Sonn wanted a Cape Coloured player to represent the National side.

Rudolph, finally, got a chance against Bangladesh in 2003 at Chittagong and boy, he made the most out of it. He scored an unbeaten 222 and was involved in a 429-run stand for the third wicket with Boeta Dippenaar. From then on he featured regularly in the Test side, and the highlight of his career has to be the unbeaten 102 against Australia at Perth, he helped South Africa save the match with a gritty knock. However, he failed miserably after that and found himself on the sidelines.

In 2007, Rudolph decided to sign up for Yorkshire as a Kolpak player which did not allow him to represent his country. He signed a contract for three and further extended his stay in 2010. He was released mid-way through the 2011 season, which prompted him to go back home and play for the Titans. Rudolph had a prolific 2011-12 season, he scored 954 runs in 17 innings and was recalled to the South African side. In the 13 Tests after his comeback, Rudolph managed only one hundred and was not consistent enough. He was given the axe at the end of 2012.

On 18 September 2013, Rudolph signed up as an overseas player with Glamorgan, he was replacing Marcus North. He also played in the Caribbean Premier League and represented the Jamaica Tallawahs.

by Akshay Maanay

As of May 2014