From rebel tours to comm box, South Africa remains constant for Mike Haysman

The former Australian cricketer shared his experience of the rebel tour to South Africa and what made him stay in the country after he drew curtains on his playing days.

Mike Haysman was a part of the Australia team which visited South Africa for Unofficial Tests in 1987. | Photo Credit: P.K. AJITH KUMAR

Mike Haysman is one of those talented players who never made it to international cricket. He had been a prolific scorer in the Sheffield Shield for South Australia and even scored a hundred on debut against Queensland. When an opportunity came, he wasn’t aware.

“I was on standby for an Ashes tour, but I wasn’t officially told, and in the meantime I had been approached for the rebel tour [to South Africa],” Haysman told Sportstar here on Tuesday. “I hadn’t already signed up, but I wasn’t sure what the selectors thought about me. So, it was a bit of a tricky situation all around and a communication issue, which tends to happen in cricket.”

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After South Africa had been banned by the ICC because of its apartheid policy, the only international cricket for South Africa came from the rebel tours during that period.

Haysman feels South Africa needed such tours to keep the international game alive in the country at that time. “South Africa had some fabulous players even then, like Clive Rice, who was the captain, Garth Le Raux and Pollock. I also had a good time with the bat; I was the leading scorer on the 1986-87 tour (738 runs at an average of 61.50),” Haysman said.

Haysman’s most distinct memory from his playing days is from South Africa XI’s first Unofficial Test against Australia XI at Durban in 1985.

When Graeme Pollock played-and-missed a few times, wicketkeeper Steve Rixon sledged him, Haysman recalled. The great South African batter, however, turned the tables around and scored 108.

“From the moment Rixon started to sledge him, every single ball hit the middle of Pollock’s bat,” Haysman said. “And he was caught by a Kim Hughes screaming catch in the covers. A lot of the bowlers didn’t speak to Rixon ever again.”

Haysman now has a strong association with South Africa, where he has been a regular commentator for several years. “I love this country; it is beautiful but it has its problems, as does every country,” he said. “I love animals, and Africa is the best continent for wildlife.”

For the India-South Africa Test series, Haysman wished more than just two matches. “I would have loved five matches,” Haysman said.