'Doctor' Khumalo: midfield wizard

Pule "Ace" Ntsoelengoe, who made his mark both in South Africa and the United States, was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003. This came as no surprise: former SA coach Clive Barker puts Ntsoelengoe on a par with Zinedine Zidane, while former Argentinean manager Oscar Martinez once described him as "almost a perfect footballer".

When the great all-rounders in the history of cricket are discussed, the name of Jacques Kallis is seldom heard outside of South Africa. Yet a case could be made that, based on his career achievements and statistics, including being the only man in history to score over 10 000 runs and capture more than 250 wickets in both tests and one-day internationals, Kallis is the best ever.

On Wednesday, Makhaya Ntini – rightly regarded one of the most important players in the history of South African cricket – became only the fifth South African to appear in 100 cricket tests.

Lucas Radebe grew up as one of 11 children in a tough part of Soweto during one of the most violent times under apartheid. That he went on to became one of the English Premier League's most respected players, and South Africa's most-capped footballer, is in many ways a miracle.