tStrange as it sounds in the age of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, there was a time when South Africa didnt produce fast bowlers. There were spinners - and bosie bowlers, who graduated from matting wickets - and what Rod Marsh might have called pie chuckers, but quick men were as rare as winter flowers in the veld.So when Lindsay Tuckett, who died on Monday in Bloemfontein aged 97, came on the scene, great hope followed in his wake. He caught the eye before the Second World War while still a schoolboy at St Andrews College in Bloem, with his strong physique, efficient run-up and easy action, but it wasnt until the 1947 South Africa tour of England that he became someone little boys would seek out for an autograph.He only took 2 for 51 in the traditional tour opener in Worcester but took nine wickets (5 for 27, and 4 for 32) against Leicestershire before being rested against Cambridge University. Big hauls followed against Surrey and Glamorgan as the English press corps, ever eager for a story, began to peck out approving notices on their typewriters.His finest moments came early. He was one of seven South African debuts in the Test opener at Trent Bridge, taking 5 for 68 in 37 overs of toil as England responded to the visitors 533. He only managed a single peg in Englands follow-on innings, but as Drew Forrest recounts in his painstakingly researched book on South African fast bowlers, The Pacemen, it might have been rather different. Fielding in the slips, Bruce Mitchell dropped Norman Yardley off Tucketts bowling at a crucial juncture in the England second innings - doing so unaccountably, according to Wisden. Tuckett always maintained that Mitchell was distracted by his wife entering the ground and wasnt concentrating. The match was drawn.As he had done in the first innings in Nottingham, Tuckett accounted for Denis Compton at Lords in taking 5 for 115 as England won by ten wickets. By now a pattern had emerged. Tuckett bowled 84 overs at Trent Bridge and 50 at Lords. All in all he bowled 252 overs in the five Tests, becoming progressively more and more blunted the deeper the season eased into an exceptionally hot summer.He ended up using a knee brace around his niggly groin, recounts Forrest, and although Tuckett took four England wickets in the third Test, in Manchester, he went wicketless at Leeds and The Oval. In all, he bowled 724 overs on tour, his captain, Alan Melville, literally bowling him into the ground.In a sense, Tuckett was doubly unlucky. Not only did he have to spearhead the South Africans bowling vanguard with little support, he also lost the best years of his cricketing life to the war, turning 28 on the mail ship journey to Southampton ahead of the 47 tour. He was a taciturn man, not given to self-promotion or sentimentality, and he didnt discuss his war years with anyone, describing them as five years of my life best forgotten.The war darkened many a life among those in the 47 team. Tufty Mann, the spinner, survived only because he lived in a pigsty with a false wall. He was befriended by a family of Italian peasants in the land north of Venice and lived for years in a state of feral high alert. He had lost so much weight hiding from German patrols that his sweetheart didnt recognise him when he was finally shipped home. For years afterwards she would find apples secreted underneath pillows and half-eaten sandwiches under the bed.The 1947 tourists were issued with ration cards when they arrived in England. With slightly neurotic attention to detail, the South African newspaperman Louis Duffus, recorded that red meat and butter were so scarce that he ate no fewer than 131 kippers while on tour. Athol Rowan, the offspinner with big hands, frequently used to eat second dinners after dining at the team hotel. Ossie Dawson, another team-mate, mentioned the post-war scarcity of soap.Tuckett played in four Tests in the 1948-49 home series against England, but there is an argument to be made for the fact that he was crippled by the 1947 tour. Despite also being overshadowed by the rise of Cuan McCarthy, Tuckett ended up bowling the final - infamous - over of the fifth Test, in Port Elizabeth, with John Arlott in the commentary box reporting: …and heaven knows who dare bowl it [the last over]. Lindsay Tuckett looks to me like a man who doesnt want to.In the event, he conceded six runs in the over, as England won via a leg-bye off the last ball. Tuckett believed his captain, Dudley Nourse, never forgave him. And so died his Test career. Clearance Curry Shoes .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Wholesale Curry Shoes . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.curryshoescheap.com/ . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Curry Shoes Outlet . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Cheap Under Armour Curry Shoes . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- After almost an entire game of scoreless soccer, Mississippi State (1-1) and No. 17 Virginia Tech (2-0) combined for three goals in the final nine minutes of play as the Hokies edged out the Bulldogs, 2-1 to cap the weekend in Charleston.MSU broke into the scoring column first on Sunday, after freshman MaKayla Waldner earned her first career goal to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead in the 81st minute. VT would respond however in the 88th and 89th minute, as the Hokie Candace Cephers connected on a penalty kick followed by a header to seal the comeback win.We played a great game, but give Virginia Tech credit because they finished today, head coach Aaron Gordon said. Theyre one of the top teams in the nation and they showed why this afternoon. Were going to take this as a great lesson and use it as motivation going forward. Im proud of how we performed and that we were able to split the weekend. Weve going to take great positives away from the games here in Charleston.The Maroon and White now returns to Starkville following the weekend split in Charleston, as the Bulldogs prepare for their home opener against Lipscomb on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.Battling the heat and the 17th ranked team in the nation, the Bulldogs stood toe-to-toe with the Hokies, but ran out of time to land their last attack as VT earned the win in the final two minutes.MSUs first goal was chipped in by freshman Waldner who cleaned up a sprinting Mallory Eubanks shot that was deflected by VTs goalie. With time winding down, a foul inside the box gave Cephers a chance to tie the game, which she connected on to bring the score to 1-1. The senior then snuck a header in a minute later, to liift the Hokies to the comeback win.ddddddddddddGoal Scoring Rundown: MSU - MaKayla Waldner (81:52) The freshmen earned her first career goal as a Bulldog, after cleaning up a deflected Mallory Eubanks shot in the 81st minute to put the Bulldogs up, 1-0.VT - Candace Cephers (88:18) Following a foul inside the box, senior Candace Cephers connected on a penalty kick to tie the game for the Hokies at 1-1.VT - Candace Cephers (89:05) A free kick from outside of the 18 was sent Candace Cephers way, who headed the ball in the corner of the goal for the go-ahead score.Additional Notes: The three goals scored over the weekend are the most to begin a season since 2013s six scoresMSU used 19 players in the gameCourtney Robicheaux, Khalyn Harmon and Tanya de Souza all played the full 90 minutes?Freshmen MaKayla Waldner and Johanna Hamblett have started in back-to-back games for the Bulldogs.Head Coach Aaron Gordon Quotes: We played a great game, but give Virginia Tech credit because they finished today, head coach Aaron Gordon said. Theyre one of the top teams in the nation and they showed why this afternoon. Were going to take this as a great lesson and use it as motivation going forward. Im proud of how we performed and that we were able to split the weekend. Weve going to take great positives away from the games here in Charleston.Up Next: Following the weekend split, the Bulldogs return to Starkville for their home opener against Lipscomb on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be a rematch of last years game in Nashville that MSU won 2-0.? ' ' '