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South Australia, now known as the West End Redbacks, is one of the oldest and most successful first-class domestic sides in Australia. The team was part of the very first Sheffield Shield competition held in 1892-93 and won its first 'Shield' in the very next season.
Over the course of the state's glittering cricketing history, some of Australia's greatest cricketers have played for the team and made them one of the finest in the country. While some of them have been native South Australians, many other moved to the side from other states and made the team their own.
Here is a look at 10 of the best players to have ever played for South Australia.
#10 Clem Hill
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Left-handed batsman Clem Hill was one of the earliest greats of the game and by the time his 16-year career spanning 49 Test matches ended in 1912, he retired as the highest run scorer in Test cricket with a tally of 3412 runs. Hill's game was developed in South Australia and he first played first-class cricket for them when he was 16 years old.
Following his debut in 1892, he had an outstanding first-class career for the state and scored 6270 runs for them at an average of 52.25 and his unconventional technique, coupled with his partiality for the cut and the pull, made him an excellent attacking batsman. He was the highest run-scorer for South Australia for a long time with 18 centuries in his 29-year first-class career, spanning 68 games.
#9 Vic Richardson
The grandfather of famed Chappell brothers of Australian cricket, Vic Richardson was one of Australia's best batsmen in the late 1920s and early to mid-1930s. He had also been the captain of the national team and during the course of a two-decade-long career for South Australia, he became one of the best batsmen to have ever played for the state.
Richardson was a stroke player par excellence and believed in dominating the opposition as much as possible. In his first-class career for South Australia, he played in 77 games and scored 6027 runs at an average of 43.55. Richardson is 9th among the all-time list of run scorers for South Australia and certainly, one of the finest in its history.
#8 Greg Blewett
Former Australian opening batsman Greg Blewett's career in international cricket did not quite take off despite the chances that he was given. The reason why he got as many chances was that he was a very gifted batsman, who scored a glut of runs for South Australia in domestic cricket. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia and started his first-class class career for his native state in 1991.
He was a superb stroke player, who was at ease against the short ball and was adept against spin as well. Blewett's game did not have many gaps and over the course of his 15 years career, he scored 9682 runs for South Australia at an average of 46.10. He scored 23 centuries and remains the 2nd highest first-class run scorer in the history of the state.
#7 Joe Darling
Opening batsman Joe Darling played 34 test matches for Australia between 1894 and 1905 and captained the side in 21 of those Tests. He was also a colossus of Australian first-class cricket and played for South Australia between 1893 and 1905. He was a technically correct batsman, who was often hard to dislodge and was particularly well known for being an excellent driver.
Darling played 202 games in his entire first-class career and scored 10,635 runs at an average of 34.52 in those games, to go down in history as one of South Australia's finest batsmen. He scored 19 centuries and 55 half-centuries in his career.
#6 George Giffen
South Australia's George Giffen was one of the earliest top all-rounders who went on to play for Australia. The medium pacer, who relied on off-cutters, opened the bowling for his domestic side and the national side many times, while he batted in the middle-order. Giffen started his career for South Australia way back in 1877 and continued to represent them with distinction till 1903. He played 31 Tests for Australia and had also served as the team's captain.
On the other hand, in his first-class career spanning 251 games, he scored 11,758 runs at an average of 29.54 and also hit 18 centuries. Giffen also took 411 wickets in his first-class career for South Australia (3rd highest) and holds the record for the best match figures for South Australia in domestic cricket, which he achieved when he took 17/201 against Victoria in the 1885-86 season.
#5 Ashley Mallett
Right arm off-spinner Ashley Mallett was born in Sydney, New South Wales but played all his first-class cricket for South Australia and went on to become one of Australia's best ever off-spinners with a haul of 132 wickets in 38 Test matches. Mallett was an accurate off-spin bowler and was particularly famous for his ability to extract disconcerting bounce.
He played for South Australia for around 14 years from 1967 to 1981 and during the course of his first-class career with the state, he picked up 415 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker in its history. In all first-class cricket, he had an excellent average of 26.27 and remained one of the best servants of South Australian cricket for the duration of his career.
#4 Darren Lehmann
The current Australian coach Darren Lehmann may have been known more for his exploits as a limited-overs batsman during his career for the national team but his exploits for South Australia in first-class always kept him on the fringes of the Test team. The native South Australian first played for the state in 1987 and played for them till 1989, before moving to Victoria for a three-year stint. However, he returned to South Australia in 1994 and had a superb career till 2007.
The left-hander may not have been the most elegant batsman to watch but he could accumulate runs and he did that with great alacrity for South Australia. With a tally of 11,622 runs in his first-class career for South Australia, he is the highest run-scorer in the history of the state. He was an extremely prolific batsman, who averaged 56.97 and hit 39 centuries during the course of his 119 game career for South Australia. He is definitely up there with the best players to have played for the state.
#3 Ian Chappell
He is among the best captains to have ever played in international cricket and in addition to that, Ian Chappell was also one of Australia's finest ever batsmen. The native South Australian started his first-class career with his home state back in 1962 and continued to play for them till 1980, with a break in between due to his involvement with the breakaway World Series Cricket.
His attacking batting style, excellent technique and the ability to punish anything short made him a thrilling batsman to watch at number three. In all, he played 89 games for South Australia and remains the state's 4th highest run-scorer in first-class cricket with a tally of 7665 runs. Chappell averaged 53.22 for his state and also scored 22 centuries during the course of his brilliant career.
#2 Clarie Grimmett
He was born in New Zealand but chose to represent Australia in international cricket and rose to become one of the greatest spin bowlers to have played for the country. Clarie Grimmett was a maddeningly accurate leg-spinner, who bowled quicker than most spinners and in addition to that, he had all the varieties. Other than the regulation leg break, he could bowl the googly and the top spinner but what made him devastating was the flipper, a delivery he is supposed to have invented.
He played for South Australia from 1924 to 1941 and during the course of his career, Grimmett rose to become one of their greatest bowlers. He picked up 668 wickets in first-class cricket for South Australia and remains their highest ever wicket-taker. There is no doubt that Clarie Grimmett is one of the greatest players to have played for the state.
#1 Sir Donald Bradman
He is the greatest batsman who ever played Test cricket and the fact that he played the bulk of his first-class cricket for South Australia makes Sir Donald Bradman the greatest player to have ever played for the state. After having played for New South Wales from 1927 to 1934, Bradman moved to South Australia in 1935 and continued to play for them till 1949.
Bradman continued in the same vein during his time at South Australia and continued to score heavily for the state in the Sheffield Shield. In his entire first-class career, he played 234 games and scored a staggering 28,067 runs at a mind-blowing average of 95.14. Bradman's 369 against Tasmania in the 1935-36 remains the highest individual score ever made by a player from South Australia.
He will remain the greatest player for South Australia for as long as the team exists.
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