Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Nico Boje
Born March 20, 1973, Bloemfontein, Orange Free State
Current age 35 years 128 days
Major teams South Africa, Africa XI, Eagles, Free State, Hyderabad Heroes, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Orange Free State
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Education Grey College
Relations Brother - EHL Boje

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

1312

25.23

2715

48.32

184

ODIs

115

1414

129

26.67

1594

88.70

135

T20Is

First-class

184

273

7590

226*

33.88

113

List A

254

179

3489

129

26.03

Twenty20

382

58*

29.38

322

118.63

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

8620

4265

100

5/62

8/134

42.65

2.96

86.2

ODIs

115

108

4541

3415

5/21

35.57

4.51

47.3

T20Is

1/27

27.00

6.75

24.0

First-class

184

38409

16775

525

8/93

31.95

2.62

73.1

List A

254

10866

7760

243

5/21

31.93

4.28

44.7

Twenty20

544

660

3/31

27.50

7.27

22.6

Career statistics

Test debut

India v South Africa at Mumbai, Feb 24-26, 2000 scorecard

Last Test

Sri Lanka v South Africa at Colombo (PSS), Aug 4-8, 2006 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

Zimbabwe v South Africa at Harare, Oct 21, 1995 scorecard

Last ODI

South Africa v New Zealand at Port Elizabeth, Oct 30, 2005 scorecard

ODI statistics

Only T20I

South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg, Oct 21, 2005 scorecard

T20I statistics

First-class debut

1990/91

Last First-class

Northamptonshire v Leicestershire at Northampton, Jul 22-24, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

1993/94

Last List A

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire at Northampton, Jul 20, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Dolphins v Eagles at Durban, Apr 11, 2004 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Essex v Northamptonshire at Chelmsford, Jul 7, 2008 scorecard

Such is the sporting gene-pool in the Boje family that mother, father and all three children have played at least one sport at provincial or international level. Nicky Boje captained South Africa Schools and was selected for three successive years as a middle-order batsman. After fighting his way back into the squad to face India in 2006 he surprisingly announced his retirement from international cricket to concentrate on his domestic career with the Eagles. From an early he showed his all-round skills, opening the bowling for his own school, and then switched to left-arm spin on the coach's command - because nobody else could turn the ball. He was equally pivotal on the rugby field and tennis court. Boje spent four long years after his initial squad selection quietly desperate to be regarded by the national selectors as a middle-order batsman who bowled usefully, but a spinner he remained. He worked furiously on his bowling as a result, and match-winning analyses in both India and Sri Lanka finally established him as the Test No. 1 in 2000-01, a position he briefly surrendered to Claude Henderson in Australia in 2001-02, and then to Robin Peterson and Paul Adams in 2003. However, he had a big role to play in the final Test of the New Zealand tour of 2003-04, when his eight-wicket haul helped South Africa to a series-levelling win. But after being implicated in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal in 2000, Boje refused to tour India in subsequent years. However, his batting ability remains untarnished, as a pair of one-day hundreds and a Test-match 85 testify. He was one of the bright, inquisitive breed of internationals who preferred a cameraman's long lens to a boring dressing-room and a craft market or temple to a hotel room.
Cricinfo staff

Apr 2, 2008

Nicky Boje prepares to play a shot during his 38-ball 47 © ICL

Dec 15, 2007

Nicky Boje is bowled for 15 by Ranjit Khirid © Cricinfo Ltd

Dec 11, 2007

Nicky Boje is escorted by Delhi police officials © AFP

View the full list of 106 related images