5 facts about South African cricket history that you probably didn't know

#3 South Africa was the first team to have a spin quartet

Reggie Schwarz, the leader of the quartet.

Whenever one thinks of a South African bowling attack then the first few things that come to anyone's mind are pace, bounce and fury. However, that was not always the case with South Africa and in fact, in the early years of their existence as a cricketing nation, there was a time when the team was renowned for its quartet of spin bowlers.

At the beginning of the 20th century, South Africa put together a quartet of bowlers who specialised in bowling the googly and with them, they found unprecedented success. The leader of the pack was Reggie Schwarz, who taught the art of bowling the googly to all-rounder Aubrey Faulkner, batsman Gordon White and Bert Vogler.

Vogler bowled the googly but at a medium pace and the quartet took South Africa to new heights in that era. So, whenever anyone talks about the famous Indian spin quartet of the 1970s, it is important to keep in mind that the very first one was surprisingly South African and more successful.