• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Interesting article on Darryl Cullinan

Marius

International Debutant
Interesting article about a helluva plyer. Pity he never proved himself against the Aussies, I always though he was South Africa's best batsman in the 1990s.

Ooh, a link His own worst enemy
12/04/2005 07:49 - (SA)

Four years ago, when South Africa won their first Test match in the Caribbean, victory was built around two commanding innings from the number four batsman.

Daryll Cullinan made 103 in South Africa's first innings and 73 in the second. He was named man of the match after the South Africans had won by 69 runs. He played three more Test matches, all in the same series, and never represented his country again.

Cullinan announced his retirement from first-class cricket last month after four years in the wilderness. He is 38 and probably feels he needs a rest after more than 20 years in the game, but he will leave behind the sense of a talent never completely fulfilled.

Even those whom most admire him will find it hard to argue that Cullinan was not a difficult man, more often than not his own worst enemy.

He was the most gifted South African player of his generation and yet he will probably be remembered less for his achievements than his failures.

By his own estimation the worth of a cricketer is how he measures up against the best of his time. Against Australia he failed.

During the 1997/98 tour of Australia, Cullinan was left out for the second and third Tests. The South African coach, Bob Woolmer, justified Cullinan's exclusion by saying he had a cloud hanging over him.

On the Sunday of the third Test in Adelaide I found myself turning steaks next to Cullinan at a braai. The South Africans were due to fly home immediately after the match ended and Gauteng had an away game against Natal scheduled the following weekend.

No point in stating the obvious

"So Daryll," I asked, "are you going to play next weekend?"

"What," he snapped. "What good is playing on a Kingsmead greentop going to do me?"

There seemed no point in stating the obvious: that the only way Cullinan would be able to win back his Test place was by playing.

The next day I interviewed Cullinan in the umpires' room as the Test match went on outside. He was courteous, honest and frank.

His well-publicised duels with Shane Warne, he acknowledged, had left him the laughing stock of two countries.

He couldn't quite explain the hold Warne had over him, but the sub-text to everything he said was the frustration he felt at not being able to prove to the world, and to himself, that he could play against Warne.

Throughout his career Cullinan was his own worst enemy, often picking senseless fights with people who were well-inclined towards him.

Some days he'd listen, sometimes he'd sneer. You were never very sure which Daryll Cullinan you'd find yourself talking to.

After retiring Barry Richards once confessed that he wished he'd scored fewer runs and made more friends during his playing days. Cullinan may reflect on this in his retirement.

He effectively stymied his own chances of playing more Test cricket three years ago when he walked out on the South African team on the eve of the second Test against Australia at Newlands.

In a moment that seemed to sum him up perfectly, Cullinan flew into Cape Town, involved himself in an argument about a contract and caught the next flight back to Johannesburg.

Chickened out

He didn't manage to make it outside Cape Town airport.

No matter what he said or felt, he'd burned his bridges. No one was going to take this sort of behaviour and there was no sympathy from his fellow players.

To make it worse was the knowledge that Cullinan probably would have captained the side.

No matter how he tried to explain his position, the widespread feeling was that he'd chickened out of a confrontation with Warne. It was a completely pointless argument that forever tarnished him as a person and a player.

Still, he leaves memories of his batting, scores of innings and strokes effortlessly. I saw him bat many times, but the innings that stands out for me was the 94 he made at the Oval in 1994 as Devon Malcolm destroyed South Africa with nine for 57.

It was as if Cullinan was batting on a different pitch and against a different attack to his team-mates. Malcolm might have been bowling at medium pace for all the impact it made on Cullinan.

Perhaps that was Cullinan, though. He needed circumstances that allowed him to show he was better than everyone else. He was always a difficult bugger, but he could bat a bit.
 

howardj

International Coach
Marius said:
Interesting article about a helluva plyer. Pity he never proved himself against the Aussies, I always though he was South Africa's best batsman in the 1990s.
Cullinan.....hmmmm.... :dry: ......don't know.......us Aussies never got much of a look at him :p
 

Son Of Coco

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
From what I saw of his attitude, the type of career he had couldn't have happened to more worthy person - not a huge fan of the man, but he could bat a bit (as long as Warney wasn't at the other end).
 

howardj

International Coach
Son Of Coco said:
From what I saw of his attitude, the type of career he had couldn't have happened to more worthy person - not a huge fan of the man, but he could bat a bit (as long as Warney wasn't at the other end).
They were the days when you could give send-offs to fallen batsmen. Warney gave Cullinan an almighty barrage when he flippered him at the SCG in '94. Bring it back!
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
Looked a decent batsman to me; he struggled against Australia because of his mental state IMO (once they get a hold of you, it plays on your mind).
 

Son Of Coco

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
howardj said:
They were the days when you could give send-offs to fallen batsmen. Warney gave Cullinan an almighty barrage when he flippered him at the SCG in '94. Bring it back!
hahaha, the superstars of the couch would have a heart attack. Cullinan deserved everything he got though - he loved a chat himself, and some of it was funny.
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
Thanks for that, good article.. I feel privelaged to have seen Cullinan at his best, and in my eyes it is no bad thing to have been done over by someone who is for all intents and purposes the best bowler in the world..

However, I do feel slightly short changed by Cullinan, and not many are willing to forgive the walkout..
 

Son Of Coco

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Langeveldt said:
Thanks for that, good article.. I feel privelaged to have seen Cullinan at his best, and in my eyes it is no bad thing to have been done over by someone who is for all intents and purposes the best bowler in the world..

However, I do feel slightly short changed by Cullinan, and not many are willing to forgive the walkout..
No, it's not. At a time when Warney was probably at his best too. I think the joy gained from it by Aussies at least was mutiplied by Cullinan's apparent attitude...it did look very funny at times. :D
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
Son Of Coco said:
No, it's not. At a time when Warney was probably at his best too. I think the joy gained from it by Aussies at least was mutiplied by Cullinan's apparent attitude...it did look very funny at times. :D
To be fair there has been a lot of needle between the two sides.. Ive been reading a lot on Allan Donald, Andrew Hudson and Gary Kirsten.. I've heard Hudson, a christian and a totally quiet unassuming guy was given a sick send off by Warne I think it was.. Disgusting, although now we have Andre Nel to go and ruin my moral high ground..

Im glad that its been more or less stamped out, and should disappear when McGrath goes.. I'd rather see wickets taken in any form of cricket due to good bowling, and not words..
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
Langeveldt said:
To be fair there has been a lot of needle between the two sides.. Ive been reading a lot on Allan Donald, Andrew Hudson and Gary Kirsten.. I've heard Hudson, a christian and a totally quiet unassuming guy was given a sick send off by Warne I think it was.. Disgusting, although now we have Andre Nel to go and ruin my moral high ground..
Yeah, Warne has said he still cringes when he sees it, apparently some security guard had been taking the **** out of him when he was fielding on the boundary, so when he got Hudson out he was very ****ed off at the time... not sure how true that is though.
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
Tom Halsey said:
Yeah, Warne has said he still cringes when he sees it, apparently some security guard had been taking the **** out of him when he was fielding on the boundary, so when he got Hudson out he was very ****ed off at the time... not sure how true that is though.
Well at least he appears to regret it..
 

howardj

International Coach
Tom Halsey said:
Yeah, Warne has said he still cringes when he sees it, apparently some security guard had been taking the **** out of him when he was fielding on the boundary, so when he got Hudson out he was very ****ed off at the time... not sure how true that is though.
ah the memories.....back when boys could be boys
 

Langeveldt

Soutie
howardj said:
ah the memories.....back when boys could be boys
There was only one "boy" in that incident.. And it wasn't Andrew Hudson

Although to be fair, I think the bullsh** was fairly evenly scattered among the two sides *cough McMillan cough*
 

howardj

International Coach
Langeveldt said:
Although to be fair, I think the bullsh** was fairly evenly scattered among the two sides *cough McMillan cough*
For sure mate. Fast Fanni Devilliers wouldn't have been a shrinking violet either, I'd imagine.
 

Marius

International Debutant
I was at the game when Warne exploded, and have seen a number of TV replays of the incident. Warne had to be physically restrained by Ian Healy after bowling Hudders, with Hudson looking absolutely bemused at Warne's reaction at bowling him. It was disgusting and unacceptable, but I have to say Warne seems to be genuinely embarrassed by the incident, and as much as it pains me to say it as a South African, he seems like a decent bloke (apart from taking diuretics and talking dirty to every woman on the planet except his missus).
 

shaka

International Regular
Ever since Warne got Cullinan out for hanging his bat while ducking, cullinan has never really been impressive.
 

Marius

International Debutant
shaka said:
Ever since Warne got Cullinan out for hanging his bat while ducking, cullinan has never really been impressive.
It was Craig McDermott who got Cullinan out while ducking under a bouncer, not Warne.
 

Top_Cat

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Ever since Warne got Cullinan out for hanging his bat while ducking, cullinan has never really been impressive.
Yeah you need to be a tad quicker than spinner's pace to make a batsman duck. :D

Although to be fair, I think the bullsh** was fairly evenly scattered among the two sides *cough McMillan cough*
From what I've read from a couple of Aussie players, McMillan wasn't the champion sledger he's made out to be. They reckon he chirps a bit but it was never nasty and was usually just competitive stuff. The Aussies seemed to have liked him quite a bit because he was a real fighter with both bat and ball.

But yeah, the Aussies hated Cullinan and part of it was that they rated him such a good player. I thought he was a fantastic looking player and had shots galore, partucularly through the off-side off the back-foot. His technique wasn't really able to be faulted and as far as Warnie goes, it was definitely Warnie the man and not just Warnie the bowler who beat him. Why? When Warnie wasn't in the side, Cullinan won a few ODI's for SA and against other spinners, Cullinan showed that he actually was quite an inventive player of spin and and certainly comfortable against spinners of most types.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Marius said:
he seems like a decent bloke (apart from taking diuretics and talking dirty to every woman on the planet except his missus).
Hey now, I'm sure he talks dirty to her sometimes as well. ;)

I've no doubt he's a real sleaze though. I know a girl (17 at the time, I should add :p) who met him once at a hotel the Victorian team was staying at, and suffice to say he wasn't exactly a gentleman about things. ;)
 

Top