Where is former Proteas opener Boeta Dippenaar now?

Former Proteas opener Boeta Dippenaar might not be a name that instantly comes to mind for many cricket fans.

However, the former right-hand batsman played all game formats between 1995 and 2009. As an ODI opener, Dippenaar played 107 times for the Proteas, scoring almost 3,500 runs. His impressive average of 42 is noteworthy given he never really stood out.

In 1999, with Herschelle Gibbs struggling with form and off-field issues, Boeta Dippenaar made his ODI debut. He formed a solid opening partnership with Gary Kirsten before the former left-hander retired in 2003. Although his career started slowly, he finally found his footing in 2003, scoring his first hundred. He continued his run of form for the next three years, adding three more hundreds.

However, the re-emergence of Herschelle Gibbs and the introduction of AB de Villiers meant his place in the team was threatened. With Australia coming to South Africa for the 2005/06 season, Boeta Dippenaar knew it was ‘do or die’ for him. With the World Cup just a year away, he needed a big score in at least two or three matches against the Aussies. A five-match ODI series began with the Proteas taking a 2-0 lead. Australia hit back to win the third ODI. Boeta Dippenaar underperformed in the first three but arguably produced one of his career’s best innings. He smashed an unbeaten 101 in a losing cause.

Boeta Dippenaar scored four ODI centuries for the Proteas

In the fifth and final match, dubbed as the greatest ODI match ever, Dippenaar had the country on his shoulders. With 434 to chase, he faced seven balls and scored a solitary single before getting bowled out. The Proteas went on to win the match by one wicket.

After the game, Boeta Dippenaar played only a handful of matches before he stopped getting a call-up. He eventually retired from the game in 2009 and went into commentating.

Boeta has since left the cricket field to take flight as a pilot

Boeta Dippenaar is now an airport-transport commercial helicopter pilot. In 2021, the former cricketer was named CEO of Henley Air and Rocket HEM. When he is not commentating on cricket, the 47-year-old is chasing antelopes, rhinos, and buffalos through thick forests.

Boeta Dippenaar was notorious for getting out for a single to allow Herschelle Gibbs to explode in the memorable ‘438 match’. Despite that, he had a solid ODI career for the Proteas.