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Let the stats speak: Jacques Kallis
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If anything was once again
underlined and promptly highlighted in the recently completed Test
series between New Zealand and South Africa, it's how much Jacques
Kallis means to the South African cricket team.
Kallis' figures for the series certainly make for impressive
reading. He was the top run-scorer with 346 runs at an average of
over 115 and he took five wickets at an average of 15.80. Even New
Zealand's top strike-bowler, Shane Bond, the fourth highest ranked
test bowler in the world. |
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could only
manage five wickets at an average of 26.60. That last stat may be skewed
by just how ineffective the Kiwis were in South Africa, but it
nevertheless emphasises that Kallis, one of the greatest batsmen of his
generation, can take a few wickets as well.
There's certainly no denying his dominance as an all-rounder at Test
level. He sits high atop the ICC Test allrounder ratings with 539
points. His closest rival, Andrew Flintoff, is a full 178 points behind
at 361. It's a massive margin, but a quick glance at Kallis' career
stats in the long format of the game leaves one in little doubt as to
why.
In his 111 Test matches to date Kallis has scored 9197 runs at an
average of 58.20. He needs one more century to take his tally of
hundreds into the thirties, and his batting average, which has done
precious little in the past few years other than steadily rise, is
starting to move into a category reserved for only an elite few in the
game. In the ICC test batting rankings Kallis is firmly in second place,
only a few points behind Ricky Ponting and closing fast.
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He's also taken 221 Test wickets at an average of
31.28 and is the only player in the history of the game to hold more
than 8000 runs and 200 wickets in both Test and One-day
International cricket.
It's as a one-day player that he's often copped some criticism,
though, but has it been deserved? Kallis was left out of South
Africa's squad for the recent Twenty20 World Cup, the general
feeling being that he simply didn't score quickly enough to warrant
a place in the team. |
This was despite leaving the ODI World Cup earlier in the year as South
Africa's highest run-scorer, tallying up an impressive 485 runs at an
average of almost 81 and a strike rate of 83. Kallis also holds one
particular record that even his most ardent supporters might be
surprised to hear about - in 2005 he set the record for the fastest
half-century in Test cricket history, scoring 50 against Zimbabwe off
only 24 balls.
Kallis might just have to accept that he's always going to be a somewhat
misunderstood player. Perhaps there has been one stodgy, pedestrian
innings too many, but critics seem to forget how many times it was just
such an innings required by his team at the time. Kallis has never had
the luxury or the freedom to play like an Australian top-order batsman.
Ponting or Matthew Hayden always know that a failure by either or even
both of them still means there's enough talent around to stave off any
collapse, but Kallis' wicket has always been incredibly precious to his
side's batting hopes. Ask any South African supporter who follows their
games religiously - if the team loses a few early wickets it's not the
end of the world, but if they lose Kallis early too, it probably is.
Consider how a top cricket publication still views Kallis in its
official biography: "His batting is not for the romantic - a Kallis
century tends to be a soulless affair, with ruthless efficiency taking
precedence over derring-do, and he has never quite dispelled the notion
that he is a selfish cricketer, with more interest in his average than
his team's position." It seems an unfairly harsh criticism, not only of
his technique, which is as beautiful and precise as any out there, but
also of his value to the team, which simply cannot be overstated.
Kallis holds a number of South African records, most significantly being
the top scorer in ODIs and Tests, having the highest ODI and second
highest Test batting average and most Test centuries by a South African.
To accuse him of being more of an asset to himself than to the team he
represents seems almost laughable. And if it is true that greatness is
often viewed more accurately with hindsight, Jacques Kallis might just
have to wait for his retirement before his full value and ability as a
cricketer is truly appreciated.
--Cricketline.com
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