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Hylton Ackerman dies in Cape Town

This morning Hylton Ackerman passed away in a Cape Town hospital at the age of 62.

Hylton Michael Ackerman, born April 28, 1947 in Springs, Transvaal was VRAs first South African professional cricketer in the years 1979 and 1980. Hylton was blessed with impressive cricketing skills. Also off the field Hylton was admired by many for his forthrightness, kindness and sense of humor. Hylton was an inspirator to everyone at VRA.
We wish Dawn, HD and Michelle and Gavin all the best in coping with this tragic loss.

Major teams: Border, Natal, North Eastern Transvaal, Northamptonshire, Western Province, World XI and VRA Amsterdam.

Hylton Ackerman, cricket coaching icon, television commentator and one of the best batsmen not to play for South Africa.

Ackerman had wrestled a diabetic condition for decades which gave him severe circulation problems and was also having regular dialysis treatment.

The left-handed batsman never played for his country as apartheid-caused isolation took hold at a critical time in his playing career, but he was a popular, Currie Cup-winning captain of Western Province in 1977/78 and turned out for the Rest of the World against Australia (opening the batting with Sunil Gavaskar) in 1971/72.

He is the father of HD Ackerman, who boasts four Tests for the Proteas and has been a prolific scorer for Leicestershire in the County Championship, including a spell as their captain.

Capped for SA Schools at the age of 14, Ackerman senior was then the youngest player to achieve that accolade, and he scored his maiden first-class century for Border against MCC as a 17-year-old, while still at school.

After his playing career ended, Ackerman became one of the foremost coaching gurus in South Africa, taking charge of WP and Boland, and also having stints as mastermind to the SA 'A' and U19 sides.

He was a mentor to Hashim Amla in his formative cricketing years, and delighted in his ascension to regular, heavy-scoring No 3 in the Proteas’ Test side.

Ackerman also featured fairly regularly behind the SuperSport television microphone.