Kingsmead has a well-stocked museum and library full of interesting pieces of South African cricket history. During the Test it's where the press conferences are held. One of the exhibits that stands out is a pair of huge bowling boots.
They belonged to Vince van der Bijl, the fast bowler widely regarded as one of the best not to have played Test cricket as his career overlapped with South Africa's sporting isolation.
Van der Bijl had an extraordinary first-class record, finishing his career with 767 wickets at 16.54 from 156 matches. In List A matches he claimed 132 wickets at 18.06 with an economy rate of 2.73.
Twenty years ago, Gideon Haigh wrote: "At a zenith of fast bowling, van der Bijl lost nothing by comparison with Roberts, Holding, Garner, Croft, Marshall, Lillee, Thomson, Kapil Dev, Hadlee, Imran: for at least a couple of years he was probably the most penetrative new ball bowler in the world, and certainly the most reliable, being apparently impervious to injury and a glutton for overs."
Those boots have seen some service.