Peter Heine, born in Winterton, Natal, formed a fine pace bowling partnership with Neil Adcock. Adcock, had more weapons up his sleeve, but Heine gave him good support. As Peter Pollock once said: "Adcock was quicker but Heine put the heat into the combination."

The aggressive fast bowler, who started to play cricket at the age of 19, came through the system quickly. The spell that caught the eye was the 7 for 29 he took for Orange Free State against the touring New Zealand team in 1953-54. He then made his Test debut against England at Lord's in 1955. He straightaway made an impact by taking a five-for in his first Test. In the Test at Old Trafford, he and Adcock bowled well in tandem to pilot the tourists to a superb win.

Heine also made his presence felt when England toured South Africa by snaring 18 wickets. He was also among the wickets in Australia in 1957-58. Heine played his last Test against New Zealand in 1961-62.

Heine was undoubtedly an aggressive pacer, who liked to hurl bouncers at the batsmen. In Jim Laker's biography, Over to me, the famed offspinner had said: "He [Heine] was a fearsome figure, his black hair straggling over his eyes and a great red streak across the front of his shirt, on which he viciously polished the ball. [His] attitude to his job was simple. He bowled at the batsman as often as he bowled at the wicket."

By Bharath Ramaraj