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Jacques Kallis: all-rounder supreme

When the great all-rounders in the history of cricket are discussed, the name of Jacques Kallis is seldom heard outside of South Africa. Yet a case could be made that, based on his career achievements and statistics, including being the only man in history to score over 10 000 runs and capture more than 250 wickets in both tests and one-day internationals, Kallis is the best ever.

Kallis has set new standards for all-rounders in test cricket, and the chances of them being surpassed are slim.

Over 10 000 runs, in tests and one-dayers

Only five players have scored more test centuries than he has; three of these have retired, so he could make further inroads on that list.

He is one of only eight batsmen to have scored over 10 000 runs in test cricket, and one of only five – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara being the others – to have scored more than 10 000 runs in both forms of the game.

Of these five, only Ponting has a higher test average than Kallis. As a batsman alone, therefore, Jacques Kallis has earned his place in the conversation about the best all-rounder ever.

Wickets, catches

No doubt, batting has been his forte, but his record as a bowler cannot be slighted.

After Kallis, the highest wicket-taker among those who have scored 10 000 test runs is Steve Waugh, whose 92 wickets pale by comparison to the 250 captured by Kallis. Waugh's career is over; Kallis will continue to add to his figures. He holds 30th place for most all-time test dismissals.

When it comes to fielding, he is again near the top of the all-time list, ranking ninth with 147 test catches.

And he hasn't only excelled in test cricket. Kallis is also one of only eight men to have passed 10 000 runs in one-day internationals. Of those players, his one-day average is the highest. On the all-time one-day wicket-takers list, he ranks 19th.

The flamboyance factor

There is no gainsaying the weight of Kallis' statistics. The problem, perhaps, is that when one thinks of great all-rounders, it is the more flamboyant players that first come to mind.

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, for example, is highly regarded – yet his 3 000 runs in tests and one-dayers, and 226 test and 169 ODI wickets, fall far short of the marks set by Kallis. He is not even in the same ball park.

'Not fast enough'

A related criticism often made of Kallis is that he doesn't score fast enough in limited overs cricket. Yet Sourav Ganguly, widely regarded as an attacking opening batsman, averages only two runs more than Kallis per 100 balls faced. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq also averaged only two more runs than the South African all-rounder.

Interestingly, in test cricket, Kallis holds the record for the fastest fifty in terms of balls faced. He needed only 24 balls to post his half-century against Zimbabwe in Cape Town in March 2005.

Successive hundreds

Kallis trails only Sir Donald Bradman on the list for hundreds in successive matches. Bradman did it in six tests in a row. Only Kallis and Mohammed Yousuf have managed the feat five times in succession. Kallis has also made hundreds in four consecutive tests.

For the record, this run was made up of 158 and 44, 177, 73 and 130 not out, and 130 not out against the West Indies, followed by 92 and 150 not out against New Zealand.

Kallis has managed the difficult milestone of 1 000 test runs in a calendar year four times. His lowest average in those years was 70.

Caps

Another measure of his ability is that he has played at this level for so long. His test career began in December 1995; not surprisingly, he is the most capped South African in test history, with 131 caps to date.

Overall, he is the 10th most capped player in test history, and will move up that list shortly as the three men above him, Courtney Walsh, Anil Kumble and Alex Stewart, have all retired.

Rankings, awards

During the course of his career, Kallis has topped the ICC rankings for test batting, test all-rounders, ODI batting, and ODI all-rounders. He has ranked as high as sixth among test bowlers and 11th among ODI bowlers.

He has also won some significant awards during his career. These include ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2005, as well as Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World in 2008 for his performances in 2007.

Respected cricket writer Peter Roebuck, commenting in Wisden on Kallis' being named Cricketer of the Year, said: "Kallis has emerged as the first indisputably great African cricketer of the post-apartheid era".

Mental strength

If one were to liken Kallis to another South African sportsman, Retief Goosen would be a good comparison. Both men like to stay out of the public spotlight, revealing little of themselves away from the games they play.

Another attribute common to both is their mental fortitude. If Kallis had lacked this quality, his career would probably have stalled on the runway.

He made his test debut in December 1995 against England, managing only one. His next seven test innings produced only 57 runs, leaving him with an average of 7.13. In his next test a knock of 61 against Pakistan saw his average "rocket" to 13.11.

Turning point

Kallis was then selected for South Africa's tour of Australia; hardly the place to tour if you're looking to improve on your record.

Playing in front of a massive Melbourne Cricket Ground Boxing Day crowd, Kallis made 15 in the first innings of the first test against the Australians. Then, in the second innings, with the Proteas set an improbable 381 for victory, he occupied the crease for three minutes shy of six hours, making 101.

That effort saved the test for South Africa, and was the turning point in Kallis' career.

Highlight

Another highlight of his career occurred in a series against the West Indies in 1998. Playing in the fourth test at his home ground, Newlands in Cape Town, Kallis delivered one of the greatest all-round performances in test history.

In South Africa's first innings he made 110, then followed that up with 2 for 34 as the Proteas took a first innings lead of 194. Batting a second time, he finished unbeaten on 88 as South Africa declared on 226 for 7, leaving the West Indies requiring an unlikely 421 for victory.

With Allan Donald injured, Kallis, despite spending almost eleven-and-a-half hours at the crease while batting, opened the bowling with Shaun Pollock. He sent down 27.4 overs and captured 5 for 90. There was no doubt who the man of the match was; Kallis went on to be named man of the series.

'We've tried everything against this guy'

Kallis also played a leading role when South Africa won their only major ICC trophy to date, the Champions Trophy, in 1998. Kallis won two man of the match awards and was again named player of the series.

Kallis' performances in 2001 firmly established him among the elite of world cricket. He managed the rarely achieved mark of 1 000 test runs in a calendar year, compiling 1 120 runs at an average of 70.

Australian captain Steve Waugh, a man who seldom praised opponents, said of the South African all-rounder: "We've tried simply everything against this guy, but we can't find a weakness in his game."

The typical Kallis response

That Kallis has remained one of the world's leading players for so long is due partly to his technical brilliance, partly to his mental strength.

An example of this was when he was left out of the South African squad for the first ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. Recalled to the side when the Proteas toured Pakistan immediately after this tournament, Kallis was simply unstoppable.

In the two-test series, he scored 155 and 100 not out to win the man of the match award in the first test. He then scored 59 and 107 not out in the second test, again winning the man of the match award, making him the obvious choice for player of the series.

He finished the series with 421 runs in four innings, was dismissed only twice, and averaged 210.50. It was a typical Kallis response; actions spoke louder than words.

On top of this, he has since proved his ability in the shortest form of the game, finishing the 2009 Indian Premier League tournament as the 11th highest runs scorer. Not surprisingly, he was included in the South African team for the 2009 Twenty 20 World Cup.

The best ever?

Kallis' mental focus and application, together with a defensive technique rated among the best in the game, make him a difficult man to dislodge.

Add to this his capacity for constructing an innings one ball at a time, and majestic shot-making ability, and you have one of the most prized wickets in cricket.

As a fast-medium bowler, Kallis often surprises batsmen with his pace. His stock ball is the outswinger, but he can also bowl a bouncer vicious enough to unsettle the best of players.

And in the slips, he has one of the safest pairs of hands in the game.

Sir Garfield Sobers is generally regarded as the greatest all-rounder in the history of cricket. This may be justified; but it has to take account of Jacques Kallis. In any conversation about the best ever, the South African all-rounder has to feature.

Article last updated: March 2010