Former South Africa captains AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and soon-to-be-retired New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner attended the same school Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool (Afrikaans Boys' High School) in Pretoria, South Africa.
During their school days, the trio of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Neil Wagner were teammates for their school team Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool. Two former South Africa captains were 2002 pass out while veteran New Zealand pacer completed his schooling in 2004. Interestingly, Former U19 South Africa player Dewald Brevis studied at the same school and passed out in 2021.
In the picture that went viral on social media, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Neil Wagner were posing for their school cricket team. du Plessis can be seen standing at the extreme right in the top row while his future South Africa teammate AB de Villiers, is standing at the extreme left in the second row. Wagner is positioned second from the left on the same row as AB de Villiers."
AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Neil Wagner went on to represent their national teams. de Villiers retired from international cricket in 2017 while du Plessi retired from Tests 2021 but hasn't played white-ball format since then.
Neil Wagner is set to retire from international cricket following his conclusion of the upcoming Test series against Australia, starting on Febraury 29. The New Zealand pacer made emotional announcement about pulling theMu curtains down on his international career at a press conference in Wellington on Febraury 27.
Neil Wagner's Test Career in numbers
Neil Wagner made his Test debut for New Zealand in a match against West Indies in July 2012. Since then, Wagner cemented his place in the team as one of the fast bowling specialists.
Wagner's breakthrough Test series came against England, where he emerged as highest wicket-taker in three Tests. Thereafter, he began to produced consistent performances over the next two years, including a eight-wicket haul against India at Eden Park in Auckland in 2015.
During the New Zealand Test series against Sri Lanka, Neil Wagner produced strong performances and former captain Brendon McCullum called him 'workhorse'.
In 2017, Neil Wagner created a record for New Zealand by taking seven wickets across two sessions in a day. In 2020, the veteran pacer achieved his highest rank of No.2 in ICC Test Rankings.
Neil Wagner was part of New Zealand that won the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, defeating India in the final in 2021.
In 64 Tests, Neil Wagner has scalped 260 wickets, including 9 fifers and 13 five-wicket hauls, at an average of 27.57 and 3.13 in 122 innings.
