Famously nicknamed 'the white lightning', the credit for a lot of Proteas' success goes to the man who shaped their fortunes in the post-apartheid era. A fearsome fast bowler with a classical action, Donald led the way for the new generation of pace devils who would enthrall the crowds later on.

Known as 'White Lightning', he is remembered as a fearsome fast bowler, scowling and aggressive, with a circular white area of zinc cream across his cheeks and nose. Making his international debut in late 1991 against India, Donald came into his own during the 1992 WC taking the centre-stage with his zippy pace bowling, he was arguably the fastest bowler of that tournament as he took South Africa to the semis. The Test debut was to come soon enough and Donald was one amongst the 10 South Africans to debut in the one-off Test against West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados. Donalds’s first Test at home was in the summer of 92 and he enjoyed a successful homecoming grabbing 20 wickets in the 4-Test series against India.

Some of the magical moments are stuffed in realms of stories about his bowling capabilities. His riveting showdown against Mike Atherton in the Trent Bridge Test in 1998 is still a bookmark for hostile pace bowling. His tantrums against Rahul Dravid in the 1996 tri-nation finals at Durban showed the spark in his eyes when things got tough.

Donald’s flow was interrupted by injuries which forced him to give up Test cricket in 2001 and the ODI form of the game after South Africa crashed out of the 2003 WC. Donald ended a superb career with 330 wickets from 72 Tests at a very acceptable strike rate of less than 50.

Donald was known for his Birmingham accented English, partly due to spending years at Edgbaston playing for the English county side, Warwickshire. Since retirement, Donald has had temporary stints as the bowling coach with England and New Zealand before accepting the full time job as the bowling coach of South Africa in 2011.

Donald also was the bowling coach and was also made the head coach of the Pune Warriors team in the IPL. He had a forgettable time with the team as they always finished last or just one spot above in the three years that he was in charge. However, after the team was terminated in 2014, Donald was drafted by Royal Challengers Bangalore to be their bowling coach.

Donald has also served a period of time as a commentator for South Africa Broadcasting Corp (SABC). He has authored his biography which is known as 'The White Lightning'.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy
As of April 2014