Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Hendrik Human Dippenaar
Born June 14, 1977, Kimberley, Cape Province
Current age 31 years 119 days
Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Eagles, Free State, Leicestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

1718

177*

30.14

4128

41.61

237

ODIs

107

3421

125*

42.23

5047

67.78

334

T20Is

1.00

20.00

First-class

149

247

9412

250*

41.64

150

List A

210

191

6501

125*

39.64

Twenty20

387

16.12

402

96.26

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

0.50

ODIs

107

T20Is

First-class

149

3.29

List A

210

2.00

Twenty20

Career statistics

Test debut

South Africa v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein, Oct 29-Nov 1, 1999 scorecard

Last Test

South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town, Jan 26-28, 2007 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

India v South Africa at Nairobi (Gym), Sep 26, 1999 scorecard

Last ODI

Africa XI v Asia XI at Chennai, Jun 10, 2007 scorecard

ODI statistics

Only T20I

Australia v South Africa at Brisbane, Jan 9, 2006 scorecard

T20I statistics

First-class debut

1995/96

Last First-class

Eagles v Cape Cobras at Kimberley, Oct 2-4, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

1995/96

Last List A

Kent v Leicestershire at Canterbury, Aug 12, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Dolphins v Eagles at Durban, Apr 11, 2004 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Leicestershire v Derbyshire at Leicester, Jun 27, 2008 scorecard

A year after making his Test debut, Boeta Dippenaar scored his maiden century against New Zealand at the Wanderers before he unluckily lost his place at the top of the order to the recalled Herschelle Gibbs. He grabbed his chance of returning to the Test team, after South Africa's disastrous 2003 World Cup, with an unbeaten 178 against lowly Bangladesh.

Prolific first-class runscorers occasionally have weaknesses found out against top-class opposition, and so it was with Dippenaar who quickly found that his tendency to play across and around his back-foot defensive strokes was costly against quality Test bowlers. He worked hard to rectify the problem. On good days, however, he can please the eye for six hours and more. He is not a tall man yet he bats like one, seemingly able to reach the pitch of every ball bowled on or outside off stump and drive it through the covers. The reach and the sweetness of the timing are the foundations of his game; his ability as a cover fielder is a bonus.

He has had great success while opening the batting in one-dayers and cemented his place in the one-day side after a fantastic series against West Indies in 2005, when he ended with an average of more than 100. Dippenaar revels in the outdoor pursuits which kept him busy as a boy growing up in the Free State, and touring is almost as much an opportunity to fish new waters as it is to play cricket. He scored a crucial unbeaten 85 to take South Africa to victory in the first of three ODIs against Zimbabwe at home in September, and was part of a 14-man squad for October's Champions Trophy in India. But despite a year of sustained one-day success he was overlooked for the World Cup squad. After leading Eagles to the SuperSport Series title in 2007-08 he announced his retirement from international cricket with a modest and rather unfulfilled record. Neil Manthorp January 2008

May 13, 2008

Boeta Dippenaar sweeps © Getty Images

Jun 6, 2007

Boeta Dippenaar misses the ball and is clean bowled © AFP

Jan 27, 2007

Kamran Akmal catches Boeta Dippenaar late on the second day © AFP

View the full list of 101 related images