Rupert William Hanley (born 29 January 1952) is a former South African first class cricketer. Due to his long blond hair, Hanley was known as Spook,

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

for ghost. Hanley was a fast medium bowler whose career coincided with South Africa's ban on international cricket. In 1974 he played for the Derek Robins XI (along with fellow South Africans

Barry Richards Barry Anderson Richards (born 21 July 1945) is a former South African first-class cricketer. A right-handed "talent of such enormous stature", Richards is considered one of South Africa's most successful batsmen. He was able to play only four ...

, Tich Smith,

Peter Swart Peter Swart (July 5, 1752 – November 3, 1829) was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Schoharie, he attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar in New York and commenced the practice of law in Schoharie. ...

and

Clive Rice Clive Edward Butler Rice (23 July 1949 – 28 July 2015) was a South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his First Class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49. He captained Nott ...

) in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, taking 5/52 in the first innings. In South Africa, Hanley played for various

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

teams from 1971 to 1986, including the dominant Transvaal "Mean Machine" of the 1980s. He played for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in two unofficial "Tests" and 6 limited overs matches against the touring West Indian side in 1984, taking a hat-trick at the

Wanderers Stadium The Wanderers Stadium (Imperial Wanderers due to sponsorship reasons and affectionately known as the Bullring due to its intimidating atmosphere) is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South ...

and 14 wickets in total. In England he played for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

during the 1984 season, representing the county against the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and taking 3/27 in the first innings. David Doyle, a peer of

Graeme Pollock Robert Graeme Pollock (born 27 February 1944) is a former cricketer for South Africa, Transvaal and Eastern Province. A member of a famous cricketing family, Pollock is widely regarded as one of South Africa's greatest ever cricketers, and as o ...

and one of South Africa's premier batsmen of the era rated Hanley one of the greatest bowlers he faced. Hanley has the unusual distinction of having taken more wickets than he scored runs (in both first class and List A) over his career. Hanley is also an accomplished artist.

References

External links

* 1952 births Living people Gauteng cricketers Free State cricketers South African cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Eastern Province cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers {{SouthAfrica-cricket-bio-1950s-stub