Daryll Cullinan - South Africa - Batsman

Forever remembered as Shane Warne's bunny, Cullinan was one of the finest cricketing products of South Africa post apartheid. A school boy wonder, Cullinan made news when he became the youngest South African player to score a century in domestic cricket beating the record previously held by the legendary Graeme Pollock. Cullinan also set the record for the highest individual score in FC cricket when he scored a superb 337 against Northern Transvaal in 1993. A man hungry for runs, Cullinan briefly held the record for the highest score by a South African batsman when he scored 275 against New Zealand in Eden Park in Auckland going past the previous best of 274 by Graeme Pollock. It was no wonder that he was termed as the next 'Graeme Pollock' by the cricketing fraternity back home, a tag he struggled to shed during his formative years.

Cullinan made his test debut against India in Cape Town during the 1992-93 series. His first century was to come during his first tour of the sub-continent in Sri Lanka in 1993 when he cracked a superb 102 at Colombo. The innings was followed by a series of struggle as Cullinan flopped on his first tour Down Under managing a highest score of just 10. Cullinan did not get another test until the 3rd Test against England the following summer of 1994. Against a rampaging Devon Malcolm, Cullinan played a superb hand scoring 94 and was the only man not to be dismissed by Malcolm in that innings. South Africa's fortunes were deeply linked with the ability of Cullinan making a big score, they lost only once when Cullinan made a century.

A stylish player, Cullinan played both pace and spin with equal aplomb. He made batting look easy with his silky and stylish technique, making batting look very easy and pleasing to one's eyes. Cullinan was set to opt out of ODI cricket in 2001, but was persuaded it against it by the SA board. Differences with the board later crept in and Cullinan played his last Test for SA in 2001. Cullinan has served as the coach of the ICL team, Kolkata Tigers and is also an analyst on various cricketing channels in South Africa.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy