Jacques Kallis is tops

Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricket legend, reaching meteoric heights in the sport known as the “gentleman’s game”.

The thirty-six-year-old cricker, aka “King Kallis”, boasts a test century against all nine Test-playing nations and scored a career best (224) in the third and final |Test against Sri Lanka, which sparked much debate among cricket supporters. Is Kallis the greatest cricketer ever? 

Many feel the former Wynberg Boys High scholar is certainly the best cricketer SA has ever produced – with over 12 000 Test runs at an average of 56, plus over 270 Test wickets, you can’t really argue with those Test stats. And then come the one day international figures – over 11 000 runs at an average of over 45 with over 267 wickets, Kallis is by far the most successful cricketer of the modern era.

However, others will argue that the likes of Barry Richards, Graham Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Jimmy Cook and Clive Rice are all up there and, if granted the opportunity to play more International cricket, would have similar impressive records to that of the Cobras’ stalwart.

The man who has been ranked as the number-one all-rounder in Test cricket for many weeks has undoubtedly the best technique in the game, not only from a batting perspective, but also from a bowling action point of view. Regularly reaching the 135km/h mark and getting the ball to swing, Kallis has become known as a partnership breaker. He’s also as safe as houses when it comes to his catching technique.

So it’s no wonder that Kallis has been picked for the ICC Test team on a number of occasions. The debate around the greatest South African player of all time will go on, but even in 20 years’ time, the name of Jacques Kallis will be bandied about as one of the best ever to have played the game, most likely as the greatest of all time.