Seeing John Reid pass away recently & only 2 players remain playing test cricket from the 1940s & 1 being South Africa's John Watkins (currently the oldest living test player & I can think of SA's Norman Gordon & Lindsay Tuckett also holding that most recently before their passing) & the other Australia's Neil Harvey. I thought it interesting to see how many players pre-isolation from South Africa are still alive.
235 players played test cricket for SA before isolation. 21 are still alive. By cap number , year of birth + year of test debut.
174. John Watkins (born 1923) (debut 1949)
175. Ronald Draper (born 1926) (debut 1950)
198. Peter Carlstein (born 1938) (debut 1958)
202. Colin Wesley (born 1937) (debut 1960)
207. Harry Bromfield (born 1932) (debut 1961)
208. Kim Elgie (born 1933) (debut 1961)
209. Goofy Lawrence (born 1932) (debut 1961)
210. Peter Pollock (born 1941) (debut 1961)
212. Sydney Burke (born 1934) (debut 1962)
213. Buster Farrer (born 1936) (debut 1962)
218. Graeme Pollock (born 1944) (debut 1963)
222. Derek Varnals (born 1935) (debut 1964)
224. Mike Macaulay (born 1939) (debut 1965)
225. Ali Bacher (born 1942) (debut 1965)
227. Richard Dumbrill (born 1938) (debut 1965)
228. Mike Procter (born 1946) (debut 1967)
229. Pat Trimborn (born 1940) (debut 1967)
232. Dennis Gamsy (born 1940) (debut 1970)
233. Lee Irvine (born 1944) (debut 1970)
234. Barry Richards (born 1945) (debut 1970)
235. John Traicos (born 1947) (debut 1970)
* My dad knows Ron Draper quite well from club cricket at Kimberley CC when. He was the club captain when my dad came into the team. Ex EP rugby/cricket player Gavin Cowley's uncle.
Although Ronald Draper played in only two Tests, both against Australia in 1949-50, he hit a hundred before lunch four times in first-class cricket and occupies an important place in South African cricket as the first to score two centuries in a Currie Cup match, for Griqualand West v Border at Kimberley in 1952-53. He also made a hundred - 114 against Orange Free State - on his first-class debut in 1945-46.
** Some other interesting things. Kim Elgie was a dual international. Played international rugby for Scotland. Harry Bromfield was the last SA spinner to get a 5-for in SA until Paul Harris did it in 2009 v Australia at Newlands.
*** Buster Farrer was known to be roy of the rovers in East London. Played internationally in cricket and hockey plus represented Border in tennis, bowls, golf & squash.