Harsh Thakor
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- Oct 1, 2012
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On mere figures Jacques Kallis is the greatest all-rounder ever and amongst the top 5 cricketers of all. His figures are simply stupendous or staggering and surpass even those of Imran ,Sobers and Tendulkar as a cricketer.
However what went against him is that he lacked the 'x ' factor of stalwart like Sobers ,Lara ,Imran,Botham or even Kapil and often did not step the gas sufficiently to win games.Kallis also was not at his best with both bat and ball for most of his career and for major part was great batsmen who bowled.Also not at his best in tests in England and Australia.Eclipsed greatly by Sobers as a match-winner as well as Imran and Miller or Botham in his peak.Kallis was not as explosive as Sobers with the bat or Imran ,Botham,Hadlee or even Kapil with the ball.Kallis also capitalized greatly on the minnow sin test cricket.
Neverthless he was the best of all all-rounders to bat for your life and in that regard in the Tendulkar-Lara class.Kallis also took 5 wickets and scored a century twice which Imran .Miller or Kapil have never done.He also was outstanding with the ball in some series like against West Indies at home and England in 1998.Significantly he even opened the great South African attack with the new ball which is remarkable.Considering his era it would have been very difficult for Kallis to carry such a heavy load with the ball.Kallis made a major contribution in South Africa reaching the top of the pedestal in test cricket unlike Tendulkar,Lara,Botham or Hadlee even if he averaged more in draws than wins.If not the executioner he was the architect of many victories for his side.South Africa with Kallis retained top sport in test cricket for a greater duration than Pakistan with Imran but ofcourse Imran played when West Indies were at their best.Had he played in the 1980's with tracks much more helpful he may well have been the leading all-rounder even if overshadowed by the ball by Imran ,Hadlee,Botham and Kapil.His figures in ODI's were marvellous.Phenomenal performance averaging 44 as a batsmen and 31 with the ball.
Arguably he has been grossly under rated like at 52nd place in Cristopher Martin Jenkins best 100 list and 80th place in Geoff Armstrong's 100 best.Both rank him below Sobers,Imran ,Miller,Botham,Hadlee and Kapil .I wonder what their criteria was.Only David Gower does him true justice placing him in the top 15 just below Imran and Botham.Kallis in my evaluation overall as a cricketer may be a notch below Bradman,Hobbs,Sobers,Imran,Viv,Tendulkar,Warne,Hammond ,Lara etc and in the category of Wasim Akram,Sunil Gavaskar,Ian Botham,Adam Gilchrist ,Richard Hadlee etc.
Kallis could not define an era like Botham,Sobers or Imran or entertain crowds like Kapil Dev but was morally right up there.If I had to guess he may be 2nd to Sobers as an all-rounder and amongst the top 15 cricketers of all.However with a gun on my head on another day he would by a whisker be below the likes of Miller,Imran,Botham .I have unanimity that Sobers was no1 but often feel in no man's land where Jacques would actually rank.
However what went against him is that he lacked the 'x ' factor of stalwart like Sobers ,Lara ,Imran,Botham or even Kapil and often did not step the gas sufficiently to win games.Kallis also was not at his best with both bat and ball for most of his career and for major part was great batsmen who bowled.Also not at his best in tests in England and Australia.Eclipsed greatly by Sobers as a match-winner as well as Imran and Miller or Botham in his peak.Kallis was not as explosive as Sobers with the bat or Imran ,Botham,Hadlee or even Kapil with the ball.Kallis also capitalized greatly on the minnow sin test cricket.
Neverthless he was the best of all all-rounders to bat for your life and in that regard in the Tendulkar-Lara class.Kallis also took 5 wickets and scored a century twice which Imran .Miller or Kapil have never done.He also was outstanding with the ball in some series like against West Indies at home and England in 1998.Significantly he even opened the great South African attack with the new ball which is remarkable.Considering his era it would have been very difficult for Kallis to carry such a heavy load with the ball.Kallis made a major contribution in South Africa reaching the top of the pedestal in test cricket unlike Tendulkar,Lara,Botham or Hadlee even if he averaged more in draws than wins.If not the executioner he was the architect of many victories for his side.South Africa with Kallis retained top sport in test cricket for a greater duration than Pakistan with Imran but ofcourse Imran played when West Indies were at their best.Had he played in the 1980's with tracks much more helpful he may well have been the leading all-rounder even if overshadowed by the ball by Imran ,Hadlee,Botham and Kapil.His figures in ODI's were marvellous.Phenomenal performance averaging 44 as a batsmen and 31 with the ball.
Arguably he has been grossly under rated like at 52nd place in Cristopher Martin Jenkins best 100 list and 80th place in Geoff Armstrong's 100 best.Both rank him below Sobers,Imran ,Miller,Botham,Hadlee and Kapil .I wonder what their criteria was.Only David Gower does him true justice placing him in the top 15 just below Imran and Botham.Kallis in my evaluation overall as a cricketer may be a notch below Bradman,Hobbs,Sobers,Imran,Viv,Tendulkar,Warne,Hammond ,Lara etc and in the category of Wasim Akram,Sunil Gavaskar,Ian Botham,Adam Gilchrist ,Richard Hadlee etc.
Kallis could not define an era like Botham,Sobers or Imran or entertain crowds like Kapil Dev but was morally right up there.If I had to guess he may be 2nd to Sobers as an all-rounder and amongst the top 15 cricketers of all.However with a gun on my head on another day he would by a whisker be below the likes of Miller,Imran,Botham .I have unanimity that Sobers was no1 but often feel in no man's land where Jacques would actually rank.
of the game.
