20 Staggering Stats about Jacques Kallis: Ambidextrous people inhibit the sporadic quality of writing equally well with both hands. And even though, such a feature is deemed versatile as per a general consensus of opinion, you belong to that bracket of 1% people if you exhibit such a trait.
In the game of cricket, an all-rounder is entrusted with the task of performing a dual role with both bat and ball. While, his assignment in a cricket team may not be as herculean as that of an ambidextrous, it requires him to be at the top of his game more often than not. And, when it comes to the case of a certain 6 feet 2 inches tall gentleman from Cape Town, the term ‘all-rounder’ gets a new dimension altogether. A list of 20 spectacular stats that underline the sheer influence this man has had on World Cricket in general and South African cricket in particular.
1. Kallis is an alumnus of Wynberg Boys’ High School and in 2009, the school named their main cricket oval after their prolific ex-student. He also represented the Netherfield CC in England where he established himself but was later released by the club. He has always admitted that his dad, Henry was the principal motivation behind him choosing cricket as a profession.
2. He made his First Class debut for Western Province B of South Africa in 1993/94 as an 18 year old seam bowling all-rounder.
3. He blossomed in the inaugural edition of the ICC Knockout Tournament in 2009 (which is now called the ICC Champions Trophy) where he led the Proteas to the title with 2 ‘Man-of-the-Match’ awards and his ‘Player-of-the-Series’ performance.
4. In the 2007 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, he was South Africa’s leading run-getter with 485 runs at a startling average of 80.83.
5. The productive all-rounder on the field also made the headlines in the South African media frequently owing to his numerous ‘maiden’ overs. He shared an intimate relationship with former Miss South Africa 2002 Cindy Nell, a relationship which did not last for more than 9 months. Following that affair, he dated Miss South Africa 2003 1st runner up Marisa Eggli for a short period in 2004. He is currently believed to be in an affair with South African Model Shamone Jardim.
6. A player who is renowned for his placid appetite for runs and rock solid defensive technique averaged less than 31 after his first 22 Tests. Scores of 1, 7, 6, 39, 0, 2, and 2 from his first 7 innings bear testimony to the fact. Over the next 9 years, he averaged well over 65 with 27 centuries.
7. In 2010, Kallis scored the 129th ODI six of his career against Pakistan in the UAE- the most by a South African batsman in the 50 overs format and in the process; he overtook his erstwhile teammate Herschelle Gibbs, who previously held the record.
8. He is the fourth player and first South African batsman to score 13,000 Test runs in the history of Test cricket.
9. Kallis scored his 45th Test century in his last Test match which made him one of the few international players to have achieved the milestone in their final Test match.
10. He is the only cricketer in the IPL to score more than 2,000 runs and scalp more than 50 wickets with 2,276 runs and 61 wickets to his name. He has represented 2 franchises in the billion dollar league (RCB from 2008 to 2010 and KKR from 2011 to 2014). He played an instrumental part in guiding the Kolkata Knight Riders to their maiden IPL title in 2012; a tournament in which he amassed 407 runs and claimed 15 wickets. He is currently associated with the Kolkata based franchise as their chief mentor.
11. The right handed batsman from Cape Town has hit 97 sixes in his glittering Test career; a parameter where he is second only to Australia’s Adam Gilchrist who hit 107 sixes in the longest format of the game.
12. Kallis is one of four all-rounders to score a ton and take a five wicket haul in a Test match more than once. While Sir Ian Botham managed to achieve the feat on five occasions, Garry Sobers, Mushtaq Mohammad and Kallis have accomplished the deed twice each.
13. Kallis’ average in the 2nd innings of Tests accounts for 56.25. Only Sir Donald Bradman averages better than him in the 2nd innings among batsmen who have scored 2000 runs or more in Tests.
14. He held the record for the fastest ever Test fifty until 2014 when Misbah-ul-Haq broke his record and slammed a fifty off just 21 balls against Australia in the UAE. Kallis had done so in 24 deliveries against Zimbabwe at Newlands in 2005.
15. Kallis averaged 56.73 in South Africa and scored more than 7000 runs in the Rainbow nation. No other batsman has gone past 4000 runs or scored more than 10 Test tons.
The stat exemplifies his compact batting technique which barely exposed any gap between his bat and pad.
16. He was famed for his ability to tackle spin bowling effusively and this piece of stat should not surprise you. He is the only non-Asian batsman to score more than 2000 runs in Asia. He amassed 2058 runs at an average of 55.62.
17. The graceful seam bowling all-rounder also holds the distinction of winning maximum number of Man-of-the-Match awards. He won the award 23 times; one of them arguably being an intermittent incident when the entire South African team was conferred the award by Dennis Lindsay, the adjudicator in 1999.
18. In 2003-04, Kallis scored centuries in 5 consecutive Test matches. While he surpassed Sir Donald Bradman’s record on his way to achieve the milestone, Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan and Gautam Gambhir of India have also laid their hands on this record.
19. It took him 143 Tests to reach his maiden double ton in Test cricket. The much awaited moment came against a visiting Indian side at the Centurion in 2010 when he scored a crafty 201*.
In January 2012, he recorded his highest Test score (224) against Sri Lanka at Newlands.
20. He was named the Leading Cricketer of the Year in the World by Wisden in 2008 for his outstanding contribution to the Gentleman’s Game. He is also the 2nd player and 1st South African to take 200 Test catches as non-wicket keeper, second to only Rahul Dravid, who grabbed 210 Test catches.
Incidentally, Kallis was awarded with the Garfield Sobers Award for the ICC Player of the Year award in 2005. The award is named after former West Indian captain Sir Garfield Sobers, who is compared with the former when it comes to picking the best all-rounder to have ever stepped on to the cricket field. That said, it is next to impossible to compare players belonging to 2 different eras and who’ve played in different conditions. Nonetheless, Jacques Kallis is bound to be remembered in the minds of the subsequent generations as one of the finest ambassadors of the Gentleman’s Game.
KALLIS’ COLOSSAL INTERNATIONAL RECORD:-
Tests: Batting-166 matches, 13,289 runs, Avg.- 55.37, forty five 100s, fifty eight 100s, HS 224.
Bowling- 292 wickets, Bowl Avg.- 32.65, five 5 wicket hauls, Eco.- 2.83, BBI- 6/54.
ODIs: Batting- 325 matches, 11,574 runs, Avg.- 45.13, seventeen 100s, eighty six 50s, HS 139.
Bowling- 273 wickets, Bowl. Avg.- 31.79, two 5 wicket hauls, Eco.- 4.85, BBI- 5/30.
T20Is: Batting- 25 matches, 666 runs, Avg.- 35.05, fives 50s, HS 73.
Bowling- 12 wickets, Bowl. Avg.- 27.75, Eco.- 7.24, BBI- 4/15
