Daryll Cullinan is a former South African cricketer, who played for the national team from 1993 to 2001.
Career
Cullinan was the pivot in the batting line up of South Africa from the early to the mid 1990s after returning to the international scene after apartheid. He had an interesting rivalry with Shane Warne, whom regularly took his wicket, labelling him his “bunny”. However, Cullinan had such a high regard for the Australian team and possessed a strong desire to prove himself against such a team that he failed on two Australian tours.
| Role | Batsman |
| Born | 4 Mar 1967 |
| Nationality |
South Africa
|
| Team History | |
Easterns
|
2003 - 2004 |
| Titans cricket team | 2003 - 2004 |
|
Gauteng
|
1997 - 2002 |
South Africa
|
1993 - 2001 |
Kent
|
2001 |
| Transvaal cricket team | 1991 - 1996 |
|
Derbyshire County
|
1995 |
| Western Province cricket team (South Africa) | 1984 - 1990 |
| Impalas cricket team | 1984 - 1985 |
Interestingly, he was successful against all other teams and on all types of tracks. Evidence of this fact is given by his century in 2000 at Galle against Sri Lanka. This hundred was scored against the world’s best off spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan on a turning track. In 1994, Devon Malcolm destroyed the South African batting line up and South Africa was bowled out for 175. In such circumstances, Cullinan batted magnificently and made 94 and was the sole South African batsman who wicket Malcolm could not take.
Cullinan was part of South Africa’s 1996 World Cup squad that fell in the quarter-finals, while he helped his nation win the short-lived ICC KnockOut Trophy in 1998. He was also in South Africa’s 1999 World Cup squad, when they choked in the semi-finals.
He scored a career-best Test score of 275 not out in March 1999 against New Zealand in Auckland. At the time the score was the largest ever by a South African in Test cricket, usurping Graeme Pollock’s record. It sits fourth overall as of 2023, having been matched by team-mate Gary Kirsten later that year.
In 2002, he announced his international retirement after falling out with the South African cricket board. He was recalled and then withdrawn, amid ongoing disputes.
He has since held some coaching roles, including with Namibia in 2012 and the Kolkata Tigers in the short-lived Indian Cricket League. He has also dabbled in commentary.
Career Highlights
Daryll Cullinan appeared in 138 ODIs and amassed 3,860 innings at a batting average of 32.99 and batting strike rate of 70.28. His highest score was 124.
In Test cricket, Cullinan played 70 matches, scoring 4,554 runs at 44.21 with 14 centuries and 20 half-centuries. He is ninth overall on South Africa’s all-time Test runs list.
