South Africa in focus at the ICC Champions Trophy

As we continue our series of articles focussing on each team participating at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, we turn our attention to South Africa.

The Proteas was the first-ever winner of the ICC Champions Trophy – beating the West Indies in the final in 1998 – when the tournament was known as the ICC Knock-Out Trophy.

That was the only time South Africa has lifted the trophy, and since then, its best performances has been reaching the semi-finals on four separate occasions.

We take a look back at the team's star men from previous ICC Champions Trophy tournaments:

• Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis is the leading run scorer for his country at the ICC Champions Trophy – racking up 653 runs in 17 innings.

• Highlighting his status as a genuine all-rounder is the fact Kallis is also South Africa’s leading wicket-taker at the tournament with 20.

• The highest score by a South African at the ICC Champions Trophy is Graeme Smith’s knock of 141 v England in 2009.

• Top of the hundred makers is former opener Herschelle Gibbs, who made three centuries at the tournament.

• Gibbs passed fifty on four occasions (turning three into centuries), sharing the record for most 50+ scores with Kallis.

• Kallis was the most destructive when it came to big hitting at the tournament for South Africa, hitting nine sixes in total – five of which came in an innings against Sri Lanka in 1998.

• As well as leading the way with centuries, Gibbs also holds the record for most runs in a single edition of the tournament with the 240 runs he scored in three innings back in 2002.

• With the ball, former paceman Makhaya Ntini has the best figures for South Africa at the ICC Champions Trophy with his 5-21 against Pakistan in 2006.

• Dale Benkenstein holds a whole host of records with the ball thanks to his spell of 3-5 against Kenya in 2002. He has the best average (1.66), best strike rate (7.6) and best economy rate (1.30) for South Africa at the ICC Champions Trophy.

• Wayne Parnell took 11 wickets at the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 – the most wickets claimed by a South African bowler in a single edition of the tournament.

• Behind the stumps, Mark Boucher has claimed the most dismissals by a South African wicketkeeper, with 19 in total (17 catches and two stumpings).