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RSSKirsten: A Player Who Tried Both Cricket and Rugby
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Peter Noel Kirsten is a former South African cricketer who played 12 Tests and 40 One Day Internationals in hi career that lasted 34 years. Born on 14 May 1955 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, and Kirsten attended Selborne College in East London. He was active in his college days in cricket. In the year 1966 Kirsten scored his first century at the age of ten. Kirsten represented Western Province at schools level in both rugby and cricket and made his debut for Western Province in first class cricket while still at school.
Peter Kirsten
represented South Africa in all 19 unofficial Rebel Test matches in the period of 1982 to 1989, where he scored 1,192 runs at an average of 41.10. Kirsten also led the South African side in 6 of these matches, winning 4 times, losing 1 and drawing 1. In his first class career, he scored centuries in both innings of a match on three occasions. He also hit double tons, as well as eight double centuries, which is the highest by any South Africa batsmen. Kirsten moved to East London in 1990 and became captain of the newly promoted Border Cricket Union team.Kisten joined South African team to visit India in 1991. Kirsten made his Test debut in 1992 against the West Indies, at the age of 36 years and 340 days.
Kirsten married Tuffy in 1983. Kirsten is an offspring of a sporting family. His father Noël Kirsten, and younger brother Andrew Kirsten and youngest half-brother Paul Kirsten were involved in sports. His other half-brother, Gary Kirsten, was the part of South Africa in in 101 cricket Tests for South Africa.
Apart from cricket, he was also intersted in rugby, where he had tried his hand successfully. But a knee injury that hurt him badly made him to stay out of rugby since then.
