Today in SA sport history: February 13

1896 — Bonnor Middleton takes five wickets as South Africa bowl out England for 185 on the opening day of the first Test at St George’s Park.

1923 — Chasing 326 for victory, skipper Herbie Taylor makes 101 as South Africa make 247/4 to draw the fourth Test against England at Old Wanderers, with the series remaining even at 1-1.

1965 — Graeme Pollock, resuming on 56, scores 137 as South Africa make 502 in the fifth and final Test against England at St George’s Park.

1972 — Eric de Vries, described as “a sort of seam bowler”, takes seven wickets for four runs to help Springs High School Old Boys bowl out Benoni in a club cricket match.

1977 — All-rounder Alan Kourie hits a home run as his Giants team smash Bears 14-0 in a Castle Cup quarterfinal. The previous day Kourie, an all-rounder for the Transvaal cricket side, scored an undefeated 40 runs in a Currie Cup match against Rhodesia before bowling 0/46 in 15 overs. Kourie represented South Africa in both sports, a feat that has become more difficult in the professional era with longer seasons.

1978 — It is reported that South Africa will field its first-ever mixed Davis Cup team when they meet the US in Nashville, Tennessee, the following month. Selectors included junior Peter Lamb, a Coloured from Cape Town who was studying at university in Nashville. He wouldn’t play, but would get experience being with a squad that included doubles partners Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan, who ended up scoring South Africa’s only point in the tie. Bernie Mitton and Byron Bertram were unable to make a dent against Vitas Gerulaitis and Harold Solomon.

1982 — Robbie Williams fails in his challenge for the WBA’s newly created cruiserweight title, losing by a split decision over 15 rounds to Ossie Ocasio of Puerto Rico for the vacant belt at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg. One judge gave it to the South African by two points, but the other two had his opponent winning by four points.

1990 — Mike Gatting’s English rebel cricket tour is cut short with one Test and six one-day matches unplayed. The decision was made after widespread protests, including by some hotel staff, forcing Gatting to cook his own dinner at one stage. But the final straw was a bomb that blew up the ticket sales office at Newlands the previous day. The one-day game that had been scheduled to be played in Cape Town on February 27 had been sold out already in a day and a half.

1997 — Daryll Cullinan scores 60 as the Proteas, on 278/8, beat India by 17 runs in a rain-shortened triangular series ODI final at Kingsmead. The target was reduced to 251 off 40 overs.

1999 — Daleen Terblanche top-scores with 16 as the South African women are dismissed for 82 on their way to losing the first ODI against New Zealand in Dunedin by eight wickets.

2000 — Shaun Pollock takes 5/20 as the Proteas, defending 149, beat England by 38 runs at the Wanderers in the final of a triangular series also featuring Zimbabwe. Hansie Cronje made 56 with Mark Boucher and Lance Klusener being the only other batsmen to make double figures.

2004 — Graeme Smith scores 72 as the Proteas chase down the 226-run target to beat New Zealand by five wickets with two balls left of the first ODI in Auckland.

2005 — Ashwell Prince scores an unbeaten 62 to lead the Proteas, needing 241, to a three-wicket win over England in the final seventh ODI at Centurion to take the series 4-1. South African-born Kevin Pietersen scored 116 for the visitors.

2010 — Cape Town-based Chris Bertish wins the big-wave Maverick Surf Contest at Half Moon Bay, claiming the $50,000 first prize, part of which he used to pay back his brother and two friends who had lent him money for the air ticket. Waves were so big that they knocked spectators off their perches on a jetty, with three people suffering broken bones.

2013 — Shandre Fritz scores 64 and Cri-zelda Brits 52 as the South African women make 227/8 on their way to beating Sri Lanka by 110 runs in their World Cup Super Six contest in Cuttack. Dane van Niekerk took 4/18.

2018 — Lungi Ngidi takes four wickets and Hashim Amla makes 71, but the Proteas lose the fifth ODI against India at St George’s Park by 73 runs after being bowled out for 201.

2018 — Dane van Niekerk scores 38 to help the South African women to 164/4, but they lose the first T20 against India in Potchefstroom by seven wickets.

2021 — Dwaine Pretorius takes 5/17 to help restrict Pakistan to 144/7 before the Proteas win the second T20 in Lahore by six wickets.

2023 — Nonkululeko Mlaba takes 3/10 as the South African women bowl out New Zealand for 67 to win their T20 World Cup group match in Paarl by 65 runs.