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There have been South African cricketers who have rocked the great game of cricket with unthinkable deeds, having transformed the art of batting into a funfeast that's all about runs. Then there have been batters who have made lightwork of even the most gifted bowlers they've made to compete against. But only a few have entertained and inspired awe in equal measure.
As the most ultimate stage of Test match cricket is about to strike us, inducing a sense of compulsion to watch the contest with bated breath for such profound is going to be its impact, it ultimately being the WTC final, one can't help but imagine which Australian batters can carve their own niche in the high octane final match against the mighty South Africans.
But an even bigger question excites in terms of its sheer statistical amazement and that's which have been the most successful batters from South Africa's stable where it comes to most Test centuries against an opposition as mighty as Australia?
Here, we've got it covered for you:
AB de Villiers
A generational talent and one who hit or smashed bowlers for fun, scoring eye popping hundreds as if to suggest that cricket was merely the realm of batters and one where bowlers only existed not to have an impact, AB de Villiers will always be respected for being a force of nature and one that one shall never see another batsman rival in terms of greatness and sheer impact.
He remains the most successful Protea bat in test cricket games played vs the Aussies, against whom he hit 6 centuries from 24 Test matches.
Graeme Pollock
A legendary batter with a voracious appetitte at run scoring, Pollock was and will always be considered in a league of his own where it comes to identifying and underlining the very best that have gone on to play for the wonderful Proteas team.
It's a shame that in a 7-year-period playing Test match cricket, which was too less for a godly talent like him, Pollock only played 23 Tests and that's all. And yet, found a way to score over 2200 Test runs, striking no fewer than 5 Test hundreds against the ferocious Australian team. His highest individual test score of 274 that came at Durban in 1970 is considered one of the greatest knocks ever compiled by a Protea talent in tests. His career was alas curt short sadly due to South Africa's exclusion from the game owing to the Apartheid crisis.
Eddie Barlow
A great batting talent and albeit one who perhaps didn't get the fame and popularity he so richly deserved having always been a selfless and truly committed South African cricketer. Barlow played 30 Tests fro South Africa for almost a decade and made 2516 runs at a fluent average of 45.
In so doing, Barlow made the most against Australia, hitting 5 tons in Tests against the mighty Aussies.
Hashim Amla
A classical batsman, and one with a touch of finesse and elegance, all those who lord over Kohli and Babar's cover drives, should actually also spend time seeing Amla executing the pitch perfect off and cover drive, something he played with the solidity you'd find in a bodybuilder lifting heavy weights. There was a sense of precision and timelessness about how Hashim Amla batted, someone who holds the distinct record of having hit the only triple century that ever came from the bat of a Protea.
Amla hit during his test career playing against Australia, no fewer than 5 Test hundreds from 40 innings, which meant a ton in every eighth inning for his dominant South African team.
Jacques Kallis
Not called "King Kallis" for nothing, the burly right hander's most amazing talent in the cricket field was his ability to contest with prolonged phases of focus. He was absolutely committed to the South African cause and hardly ever buckled under pressure.
It's one thing to be a great all rounder and something quite else to be considered the greatest in the game since 'Sir Gary' Sobers.
Kallis earned this priceless distinction for having played with excellence and having led a career unsullied by controversy. He hit 5 centuries from 28 Tests against Australia, with 1978 test runs against his migthty opponents.
