OTD | South Africa’s most competitive and successful allrounders, Eddie Barlow, was born in 1940 

South African cricket has always produced cricketers who have created a mark in the game. Eddie Barlow was one such player who had every skill to be counted as one of the finest all-around talents the world has seen. During his heyday, the South African star was a star with the bat, as well as with the ball and in the field. 

Having made his debut in 1961 for South Africa, Eddie Barlow soon became an integral part of the side. Eddie Barlow played 30 Test matches for the South before the cricketing world decided to isolate them for the next 22 years. 

After his retirement, Eddie Barlow became a successful businessman and did some coaching. In 2005 Eddie Barlow died at the age of 65 due to several health issues which had been plaguing him for nearly five years. 

Eddie Barlow: South Africa’s shining star all-rounder 

Born on the 12th of August 1940, Eddie Barlow made his international debut during the home Test match at Durban against New Zealand. In his very first game, Eddie Barlow scored 15 and 10 and went wicketless in the match. 

Throughout the next 29 matches of his national side, Eddie Barlow used his imposing figure with the bat at the top order. With the ball, Eddie Barlow managed to pick up 40 wickets with one fifer from his 30 games. In the first-class format, Eddie Barlow ended with 571 wickets. 

By the time South Africa was starting to get isolated from the cricketing world, Eddie Barlow was known to be an aggressive player who fought on till the end. He was also a huge part of the Kerry Packer series then became a raging hit. 

Eddie Barlow played 30 test matches and scored over 2500 runs with 6 centuries and 15 half-centuries. His career average was 45.74 and he was one of the best players from South Africa at that point. Eddie Barlow also played 283 first-class matches and scored 18212 runs with 43 centuries and 66 fifties with an average of 39.  

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