Garth Le Roux.

I don't know if you can remember Garth le Roux. There was an enlightening article in the Sunday Times about him, first I will give you some info on him and then the story.

Profile.

Garth le roux was an aggressive fast bowler with a mean bouncer and a decent tailender. He did believe in hurting batsmen to intimidate them. Although he never played for SA in official tests he was signed for the world series and in 15 unofficial matches for SA took 59 wickets at 23.06 apiece.

His first class record:

Matches 239
Wickets 838
Average 21.24
Economy 2.7
Strike Rate 47.
Batting average 25.71

Here is the article as written by Tristan Holme of the Sunday Times.

It is difficult to reconcile the Garth le Roux of today with the reputation of the gruff fast bowler from the 1970′s and 80′s.

The imposing frame remains, as does the former paceman’s moustache, but there’s a gentleness that doesn’t fit with the man who so obviously wanted to hurt people.

That is, until Le Roux, 55, explains his antipathy towards batsman – one that could extend to good friends, as Western Province roommate Peter Kirsten found out during a club match.

“We knew each other well and he’d watched me bowl and hit people from day one,” says Le Roux. “He wasn’t a terribly good hooker and he walks in with a cloth cap in the days of helmets.

“So I bowl him a baby bouncer and he hits me for a one-bounce four. The next one gets a bit more heated and hits him straight on the pip.

“He goes down and has to spend two weeks in a dark room. Almost kills him. And I felt nothing for him because he should have known better.”

Never mind friends – Le Roux’s white-line fever went further. “at that moment that mist comes over, I don’t care if you put pads on my wife. If she’s standing between me and the woodwork, she either gets out of the way or she takes the pain. That’s how it works.

“There’s got to be fear, all the greatest fast bowlers have been mean. That’s why I’m worried about Morne Morkel. He’s got all the ability, but I want to see him hit people properly and tell them to get up or f… off. Those batsmen will spread that story so quickly it will make your head spin.”

That approach served Le Roux well. His entire career was eclipsed by South Africa’s isolation, but he made his mark during a season of World Series Cricket that came out of the blue.

His reputation at provincial level had travelled to Australia and the unwitting youngster received a phone call from Tony Greig in his university digs at Stellenbosch in 1977. His next season he turned out for the World XI against players he’d only seen posters of.

“I walked into the Perth hotel and there was this massive car, swivelling on a disc. And sitting in the drivers seat was a guy with a hooked nose, a big, shiny man. It was Viv Richards.

“A sign next to the car said it was for the man of the series, so I thought: ‘Well it must be all done – he must be the winner.’ Guess what? I go and do so well that I win the car, at the age of 22!”

He would go on to take 372 wickets for Western Province during the Currie Cup’s halcyon period and 59 wickets in 15 “tests” during the rebel tours.

These days Le Roux sells property at Fancourt golf estate in George, While the lifestyle is idyllic it hasn’t all been plain sailing – in 2008 he was sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud, but had the ruling overturned on appeal.

“To cut a long story short, it took seven years and two judges in the high court to prove it wasn’t fraud, and not only was it not fraud, but (the money) wasn’t taxable.

“It wasn’t a very good time as you can imagine, but it’s spilt milk and I don’t want to whine about it.”

Sussex fans will remember him and Imran tearing in at Hove, no doubt.

remember him well, bowling in tandem with Stephen Jefferies for WP (& SA during the rebel tours)

Garth Le Roux's bowling style was a bit like that of someone such as Morne Morkel or a Steve Harmison, i.e. a very tall pace bowler who would come charging in and aim to intimidate/frighten opposing batsmen with awkward bounce at a decent respectable pace of 80 to 85ish mph.

I saw him a few times playing in the WSC series... he was an intimidating bowler and could throw the bat on occasion. I remember some kid at school doing impersonations of him and Proctor in the playground... I stuck with Barry Ricahrds or Zaheer Abbas.