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Who was a better Test batsman, Ricky Ponting or Jacques Kallis?

GLORY OF '92

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Both giants of modern day batting but who would you say was the superior Test player?

Thoughts?
 
Ponting by a long way. Could dominate attacks, unlike Kallis who could only grind attacks.
 
Ponting by a long way. Could dominate attacks, unlike Kallis who could only grind attacks.

Aus had tracks most suited to be exploited by any home teams during Ponting's career when he made lots of runs. Aus, SA and Ind had the three best batting line up in 00s. Let's examine how they did at home and away.

Outside of Home in 00s:

  • Aus scored 39 runs per wicket
  • SA scored 38 runs per wicket
  • Indians scored 37 runs per wicket

Aus, SA and Ind batting line up scored in same range when playing outside of home.

-----

At home in 00s:

  • Aus 48 run per wicket
  • SA 38 runs per wicket
  • Ind 40 runs per wicket

Aus batsmen boosted their average in 00s by scoring a lot higher than other teams at home. They couldn't outscore other top batting sides by any reasonable margin when playing away.


Ponting 50+ average is built on same home domination, otherwise he averages 45 outside of Aus against non-minnows. Kallis averages 50+ even away and boots were not filled by simply scoring a lot at home like Ponting.

Ponting can sure dominate and there is no denying that fact. But imagine him playing for SA and averaging 45 in career. Now can we still say that he was way better than kallis?

Just arguing other side here. I will take Ponting as well, but just slightly.
 
Ponting had few issues -

Couldn't carry the weaker Australian team after retirement of Gilly, Mcgrath and Warne..

Failed in India poorly averaging a mere 26 there (lots of thanks to last series)..

Wasn't that good vs strongest bowling attacks. His peak phase came since early 2000s..

Anyways, I will take Ponting over Kallis but Ponting is still a bit overrated given the fact that he played for that ATG Australian side.

He might not be rated as high if played in a weaker team.

I would take Sachin in all the formats and Lara in tests over Ponting.
 
Most non-SA fans will pick Ponting.

Ponting for me too.
 
Ponting. He is not only as effective as Kallis in terms of scoring runs, but also scores them fast. he can destroy bowling attacks when he scores big.

Overall, I would choose Kallis as he can bowl and be the 3rd seamer in the team.
 
Ponting because he was more dominant.
 
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Ponting, more gears and used them more often. Kallis was good enough to be compared to Ponting though.
 
Ponting was the best player of fast bowling in the last 30 years. He was better than Lara,Sachin,Kallis,Gilchrist,Hayden, Dravid etc. when it came to playing pace. He was decent against spin too except in India where he was clueless for most of his career. Kallis was a top player against both pace and spin but not quite the best in either.

Ponting the superior batsman but Kallis the superior cricketer (there were very few better cricketers than Kallis in the history of the game)
 
Ponting hands down....Kallis never looked half devastating as ponting eventhough he has got that legendary stats

Punter is the only player of modern era (after Brian Lara) who could challenge Sachin with his abilities

Once i really thought that he would end up wth 20,000 test runs.it wasn't crazy given ponting's form back then
 
Kallis ,can't say Ponting who had so many matches in India and failed to do much,the only series they won he wasn't in the team.
 
Ponting, easy. But I fully expect cricinfo nerds to bring up statistics and numbers with no idea of context.
 
Kallis ,can't say Ponting who had so many matches in India and failed to do much,the only series they won he wasn't in the team.

Performing in India isn't the be all and end all, Ponting was superb everywhere else in Asia.
 
Ponting because he was a much better matchwinner.
 
Ponting instilled more fear in the opposition team than Kallis.

Kallis was pretty effective in his own quiet way.

Will go with Punter though
 
I think Kallis was a bigger match winner. Kallis' quiet, slow tons often stabalized things and put South Africa in a match winning position.

But cricket is about more than wins. It's also about sheer batsmanship, entertainment, flair, shot ability and shot quality. Ponting was a more skilled batsman, and could do things Kallis couldn't (except play the cut shot).
 
Here are their averages in different countries (only include those where there is sufficient sample size)

Australia: Ponting=57, Kallis=48
SA: Ponting=47, Kallis=57
England: Ponting=42, Kallis=35
NZ: Ponting=60, Kallis=59
WI: Ponting=61, Kallis=55
India: Ponting=26, Kallis=58
SL: Ponting=48, Kallis=35

So, Ponting averaged better than Kallis everywhere except South Africa and India.

Ponting in SA was about the same as Kallis in Australia. However, at home Ponting was better than Kallis at his home. So, Ponting wins it for me.
 
Here is the link for their career ratings:

http://www.relianceiccrankings.com/...ted=2122&name_selected2=0&name_selected2=2125

Interestingly, Kallis seems to have spent more time above 750 cut-off mark. So, it looks like he was more consistent than Ponting. This is especially true after 2008. Kallis still had respectable numbers from 2008 until he retired as compared to Ponting.

From 2008 to retirement:
Ponting = 55 matches, averaged 40, 8 100s
Kallis = 54 matches, averaged 50, 16 100s

Kallis scored twice the number of hundreds despite playing one less test. Ponting had an unmatched peak but Kallis is criminally underrated on this forum.
[MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION], any thoughts?
 
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Here is the link for their career ratings:

http://www.relianceiccrankings.com/...ted=2122&name_selected2=0&name_selected2=2125

Interestingly, Kallis seems to have spent more time above 750 cut-off mark. So, it looks like he was more consistent than Ponting. This is especially true after 2008. Kallis still had respectable numbers from 2008 until he retired as compared to Ponting.

From 2008 to retirement:
Ponting = 55 matches, averaged 40, 8 100s
Kallis = 54 matches, averaged 50, 16 100s

Kallis scored twice the number of hundreds despite playing one less test. Ponting had an unmatched peak but Kallis is criminally underrated on this forum.
[MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION], any thoughts?



Kallis is surely underrated by a huge margin in PP. When posters put comment like he had no impact they don't even realize how much SA was dependent on Kallis for very long time. So many wins and draws were due to Kallis.

Karachi 2007 - SA won because Kallis scored 155 and 100* in first and second inning.

Cape Town 2005 against Eng - Kallis scored 149 and 66 in first and second inning to win the test.

Durban 2013 - India had put 330-340 runs, In response Sa had to out a big score. kallis lead the responce by putting 115 runs

Durban 2002 against Pakistan - Kallis scored 105 to win math when second highest score from either side was 56.

2000 in Kandy - SA was behind by 50 odd runs when starting 2nd inning. SA got a lead of 170 odd runs and won the test. Kallis made 87 to stretch the lead to 170 odd runs.

2011 in Capetown against India - SRT had petty much won the test and series for India in SA. Kallis stood between India win and draw. Kallis scored 161 & 109 to draw the test to save series for SA. Only one more batsman from SA crossed 50 with 59 runs in either inning.

2012 in Brisbane -Match was saved by pretty much Kallis scoring highest from SA in both innings( 147 & 49).

...

I don't want to keep listing, but you get he gist. Kallis not having impact is absolutely wrong statement. Kallis had a huge impact. Kallis appear with consistent high rating point because he was far more consistent than Ponting.
 
Kallis is getting underrated because he isn't from the legendary Aussie team. Yes ponting had more skills with the bat but it doesn't matter as long as u perform. Ponting had the better peak but Kallis was consistent. It is very close comparison, and people who r saying it's not close clearly dont know what they are talking about or are just biased from watching ponting play some amazing innings
 
Kallis is getting underrated because he isn't from the legendary Aussie team. Yes ponting had more skills with the bat but it doesn't matter as long as u perform. Ponting had the better peak but Kallis was consistent. It is very close comparison, and people who r saying it's not close clearly dont know what they are talking about or are just biased from watching ponting play some amazing innings

You are Right.
 
Kallis is surely underrated by a huge margin in PP. When posters put comment like he had no impact they don't even realize how much SA was dependent on Kallis for very long time. So many wins and draws were due to Kallis.

Karachi 2007 - SA won because Kallis scored 155 and 100* in first and second inning.

Cape Town 2005 against Eng - Kallis scored 149 and 66 in first and second inning to win the test.

Durban 2013 - India had put 330-340 runs, In response Sa had to out a big score. kallis lead the responce by putting 115 runs

Durban 2002 against Pakistan - Kallis scored 105 to win math when second highest score from either side was 56.

2000 in Kandy - SA was behind by 50 odd runs when starting 2nd inning. SA got a lead of 170 odd runs and won the test. Kallis made 87 to stretch the lead to 170 odd runs.

2011 in Capetown against India - SRT had petty much won the test and series for India in SA. Kallis stood between India win and draw. Kallis scored 161 & 109 to draw the test to save series for SA. Only one more batsman from SA crossed 50 with 59 runs in either inning.

2012 in Brisbane -Match was saved by pretty much Kallis scoring highest from SA in both innings( 147 & 49).

...

I don't want to keep listing, but you get he gist. Kallis not having impact is absolutely wrong statement. Kallis had a huge impact. Kallis appear with consistent high rating point because he was far more consistent than Ponting.

no, Kallis is highly rated here. We can not play the "SA players are underrated" card every time a foreign player is rated above ours.
Attacking players are always rated highly rightly or wrongly.
I have no qualms who is regarded as better, however there's no way Ponting was "far and away better" i refute that.
 
Kallis is surely underrated by a huge margin in PP. When posters put comment like he had no impact they don't even realize how much SA was dependent on Kallis for very long time. So many wins and draws were due to Kallis.

Karachi 2007 - SA won because Kallis scored 155 and 100* in first and second inning.

Cape Town 2005 against Eng - Kallis scored 149 and 66 in first and second inning to win the test.

Durban 2013 - India had put 330-340 runs, In response Sa had to out a big score. kallis lead the responce by putting 115 runs

Durban 2002 against Pakistan - Kallis scored 105 to win math when second highest score from either side was 56.

2000 in Kandy - SA was behind by 50 odd runs when starting 2nd inning. SA got a lead of 170 odd runs and won the test. Kallis made 87 to stretch the lead to 170 odd runs.

2011 in Capetown against India - SRT had petty much won the test and series for India in SA. Kallis stood between India win and draw. Kallis scored 161 & 109 to draw the test to save series for SA. Only one more batsman from SA crossed 50 with 59 runs in either inning.

2012 in Brisbane -Match was saved by pretty much Kallis scoring highest from SA in both innings( 147 & 49).

...

I don't want to keep listing, but you get he gist. Kallis not having impact is absolutely wrong statement. Kallis had a huge impact. Kallis appear with consistent high rating point because he was far more consistent than Ponting.

Ponting also played in a much better batting line-up as compared to Kallis. Before Smith, SA was completely dependent on Kallis.
 
Ponting had few issues -

Couldn't carry the weaker Australian team after retirement of Gilly, Mcgrath and Warne..

Failed in India poorly averaging a mere 26 there (lots of thanks to last series)..

Wasn't that good vs strongest bowling attacks. His peak phase came since early 2000s..

Anyways, I will take Ponting over Kallis but Ponting is still a bit overrated given the fact that he played for that ATG Australian side.

He might not be rated as high if played in a weaker team.

I would take Sachin in all the formats and Lara in tests over Ponting.

Ponting shouldn't be blamed for playing in an ATG great side. He was just as much of an ATG as any of his teammates.

Plus, he was past his prime by the time those three left. A prime Punter could have carried a weaker Australian side in my opinion.

Besides India, he did well in every other country. Lara only averaged 33 in India plus he was middling in NZ (36 avg.).
 
Ponting > Kallis

But if we dig in, I wouldn't be surprised if Kallis turns out to be the biggest impact batsman of all time (or the top 3). Please note impact does NOT mean flawless record.

Ponting's impact post his 2003-2007 period was minimal. What he was in that period was stuff of legends.

Kallis's impact post 2000 was incredible.

This is coming from a guy who didn't rate Kallis big time in the past. With a better understandig of the game, my views are changing.
 
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Ponting shouldn't be blamed for playing in an ATG great side. He was just as much of an ATG as any of his teammates.

Plus, he was past his prime by the time those three left. A prime Punter could have carried a weaker Australian side in my opinion.

Besides India, he did well in every other country. Lara only averaged 33 in India plus he was middling in NZ (36 avg.).

In his last 55 tests when Australia was declining, Ponting failed to carry the burden of his team's batting. He averaged just 40. Kallis on the other hand averaged 50 even in his twilight years. Heck, even the last test that he played, he was the highest scorer against a very strong Indian team and prevented a 2-0 series loss.
 
no, Kallis is highly rated here. We can not play the "SA players are underrated" card every time a foreign player is rated above ours.
Attacking players are always rated highly rightly or wrongly.
I have no qualms who is regarded as better, however there's no way Ponting was "far and away better" i refute that.

I myself picked Ponting over Kallis so that's not the issue. Issue comes with comments like Kallis and low impact. Kallis was anything, but low impact.
 
[MENTION=133315]Hitman[/MENTION] see for yourself some rate Kallis higher than Punter not many though.
 
When will people see that at the level of the top 5 batsmen since the mid90s, Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar, Sanga & Kallis, it comes down the personal preference. They all have similar records.

They also all have their pros. Sanga the best average, Tendulkar the longevity & runs, Ponting & Lara, the domination & Kallis the best conversion & toughest to dislodge.

I think Ponting over Kallis myself, but I could see a reasonable argument for Kallis.
 
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[MENTION=133315]Hitman[/MENTION] see for yourself some rate Kallis higher than Punter not many though.

Yea, I've read this thread before. I think a lot of fans (which includes a lot of Indian fans) don't particularly have a high opinion on Ponting simply because of the way he conducted himself on the field, which was disgraceful at times to be honest. Kallis on the other hand was a cool customer who barely lost his cool.
 
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Ponting shouldn't be blamed for playing in an ATG great side. He was just as much of an ATG as any of his teammates.

Plus, he was past his prime by the time those three left. A prime Punter could have carried a weaker Australian side in my opinion.

Besides India, he did well in every other country. Lara only averaged 33 in India plus he was middling in NZ (36 avg.).

Of course not taking his due but Ponting for most part of his career got the cushion of playing in a strong team which had ATGs like McGrath, Warne ,Gilly and great players like Hayden, Martin and Gillispie.Sachin and Lara didn't had such luxury.

Ponting record in India was poor because he struggled badly vs Harbhajan. The records are poor after a good sample.Lara played few games and being one of the finest player of spin, he would have done better had he played more games.

Of course, Ponting ability to turn the game on his head and to dominate opposition can't be taken away and hence I consider him at par with Kallis, Dravid and Sangakkara among modern ATGs.
 
kallis. he was the best batsman from 2000- 2012.
ponting's peak was phenomenal but kallis consistency was even greater.
 
Ponting vs Kallis currently speaking would be like Steven Smith vs Rahane in terms of batsmanship.
 
Ponting was a number three batsman, Kallis didn't play enough at three to make a genuine comparison.

Kallis was a gun at number 4, probably the best in the last thirty years.
 
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