Pietermaritzburg-born English cricketer, Kevin Pietersen (24), is following in some big footsteps.
Allan Joseph Lamb was born in 1954 in Langebaanweg. With South Africa banished from international cricket, he moved to England, where his parents were born, in 1977. Allan made his Test debut against India in 1982 and eventually represented England in 79 Tests and 122 one-day internationals. He ended his career with 4,656 runs.
Robin Arnold Smith was born in 1963 in Durban. He retired in 2003, after a career with Hampshire and England that spans 23 years. He scored over 41,000 runs in all forms of cricket, including 88 centuries. Robin joined Hampshire at 17. He played for England in 62 test matches and 71 one-day internationals. His elder brother Chris also played a few Tests before him.
Anthony William Greig was born in 1946 in Queenstown. His father was Scottish, a fact that allowed him to play for England 58 times and captain his adopted country 14 times. He was the first English player to score 3,000 runs and take 100 wickets. He moved to England at the age of 20 and qualified to play for Sussex the following year. He lives in Australia.
Andrew John Strauss was born in 1977 in Johannesburg. His parents are both South African. When Andrew was six, his father took up a job offer in Australia, and two years later accepted another to move to England. His grandfather and an uncle still live in Johannesburg. Andrew played cricket and rugby at school and university but he didn’t start playing cricket regularly until he was 21. After leaving Durham University in 1998 with a degree in economics, he got a trial at Middlesex through Andrew Wagner (who ran Radley’s cricket and was one of the best school coaches), who knew Ian Gould (then Middlesex coach). Wagner also sent Gould another player, Ben Hutton, grandson of former England captain Sir Leonard and Strauss’s close friend. Ben was born in the same Johannesburg hospital as Andrew, went to the same school and university and played for and captained the same county. When Andrew got married, Ben was his best man. His three elder sisters became a vet, an accountant and a doctor.
