Wisden overview
A burly allrounder from the unfashionable part of Johannesburg, Andrew Hall had a dream to play for his country from an early age. But most people didn't think he had the talent. Bustling medium-pace with a hint of awayswing was his strength until the then Gauteng coach Jimmy Cook decided that his stout, lower-order hitting might be worth an experiment at the top of the order. He promptly blasted a century. And a couple more. Then Herschelle Gibbs was banned for six months and South Africa needed a new one-day opener. Hall's dream had come true. He found a very different kind of notoriety in 1999 when he survived a brutal mugging and attempted murder while withdrawing cash from a bank service till. But he has made news on the field as well. In a one-day international against Australia in 2000-01, he scored vital runs, kept wicket for 47 overs because of injury to Mark Boucher and then bowled South Africa to victory with two of the final three overs. And on his Test debut against Australia in 2001-02, he top-scored with 70, after coming to the crease with South Africa reduced to 92 for 6. Neil Manthorp

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