da pinup bet: Denis Begbie, a quick-scoring batsman who played five Test for South Africa immediately after the war, has died at the age of 94
da stake casino: Martin Williamson10-Mar-2009Denis Begbie, a quick-scoring batsman who played five Tests for South Africa immediately after the war, has died at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the third oldest surviving Test cricketer behind New Zealand’s Eric Tindill and another South African, Norman Gordon.Begbie had just established himself in the Transvaal side when World War Two arrived, and it undoubtedly robbed him of some of his best years. He had to wait until 1947, by which time he was 33, for international recognition when he toured England after a productive domestic season. Despite enjoying a good summer – he scored 612 runs at 30.60 – he did not win a place in the Test side.His debut finally came in 1948-49 by which time he was past his best. In five Tests – three against England that year and two more against Australia the following summer – he failed to make any impression with a highest score of 48.Begbie was also a very good golfer, and was a past president of the Royal Johannesburg. He was a scratch golfer, and was a member of the club for 80 years.His son, Jim Begbie, said his father had been following the current tour by Australia. “He said although it was inexperienced, this was the best Australian team he had ever seen,” said his son. “He said they play better than we do.”Oldest Surviving Test Cricketer
EWT Tindill 1937-1947 5 18 Dec 1910 98y 82d N Gordon 1938-1939 5 6 Aug 1911 97y 216d RA Hamence 1947-1948 3 25 Nov 191593y 105d ESM Kentish 1948-19542 21 Nov 1916 92y 109d CA Snedden 1947-1947 1 7 Jan 1918 91y 62d AJW McIntyre 1950-1955 3 14 May 1918 90y 300d AV Bedser 1946-1955 51 4 Jul 1918 90y 249d L Tuckett 1947-1949 9 6 Feb 191990y 32d Mohammad Aslam 1954-19541 5 Jan 1920 89y 64d RT Simpson 1948-1955 27 27 Feb 1920 89y 11d GE Tribe 1946-1947 3 4 Oct 1920 88y 157d AG Ganteaume 1948-1948 1 22 Jan 1921 88y 47d SJE Loxton 1948-1951 12 29 Mar 192187y 346d MK Mantri 1951-19554 1 Sep 1921 87y 190d PH Punjabi 1955-1955 5 20 Sep 1921 87y 171d AR Morris 1946-1955 46 19 Jan 1922 87y 50d K Rai Singh 1948-1948 1 24 Feb 1922 87y 14d ES Maka 1952-1953 2 5 Mar 192287y 5d AJ Watkins 1948-195215 21 Apr 1922 86y 323d R Tattersall 1951-1954 16 17 Aug 1922 86y 205d JC Watkins 1949-1957 15 10 Apr 1923 85y 334d DV Smith 1957-1957 3 14 Jun 1923 85y 269d F Ridgway 1951-1952 5 10 Aug 192385y 212d TE Bailey 1949-195961 3 Dec 1923 85y 97d MR Rege 1949-1949 1 18 Mar 1924 84y 357d R Appleyard 1954-1956 9 27 Jun 1924 84y 256d AR MacGibbon 1951-1958 26 28 Aug 1924 84y 194d SC Guillen 1951-1956 8 24 Sep 192484y 167d RC Miller 1953-19531 24 Dec 1924 84y 76d EW Dempster 1953-1954 5 25 Jan 1925 84y 44d VI Smith 1947-1957 9 23 Feb 1925 84y 15d ED Weekes 1948-1958 48 26 Feb 1925 84y 12d RT Barber 1956-1956 1 23 Jun 192583y 260d GHG Doggart 1950-19502 18 Jul 1925 83y 235d DJ Insole 1950-1957 9 18 Apr 1926 82y 326d LV Maddocks 1954-1956 7 24 May 1926 82y 290d JG Dewes 1948-1950 5 11 Oct 1926 82y 150d RG Draper 1950-1950 2 24 Dec 192682y 76d DB Carr 1951-19522 28 Dec 1926 82y 72d Israr Ali 1952-1959 4 1 May 1927 81y 313d S O’Linn 1960-1961 7 5 May 1927 81y 309d MC Frederick 1954-1954 1 6 May 1927 81y 308d TW Graveney 1951-1969 79 16 Jun 192781y 267d JJ Warr 1951-19512 16 Jul 1927 81y 237d E Leadbeater 1951-1952 2 15 Aug 1927 81y 207d RJ Westcott 1954-1958 5 19 Sep 1927 81y 172d Khan Mohammad 1952-1958 13 1 Jan 1928 81y 68d Imtiaz Ahmed 1952-1962 41 5 Jan 192881y 64d KA Archer 1950-19515 17 Jan 1928 81y 52d CB van Ryneveld 1951-1958 19 19 Mar 1928 80y 356d JR Reid 1949-1965 58 3 Jun 1928 80y 280d JD Nel 1949-1957 6 10 Jul 1928 80y 243d RN Harvey 1948-1963 79 8 Oct 192880y 153d RH Shodhan 1952-19533 18 Oct 1928 80y 143d KW Hough 1959-1959 2 24 Oct 1928 80y 137d DK Gaekwad 1952-1961 11 27 Oct 1928 80y 134d FCM Alexander 1957-1961 25 2 Nov 1928 80y 128d T Meale 1958-1958 2 11 Nov 192880y 119d CC McDonald 1952-196147 17 Nov 1928 80y 113d NI Thomson 1964-1965 5 23 Jan 1929 80y 46d LS Butler 1955-1955 1 9 Feb 1929 80y 29d






