Before proceeding with Kallis was a misunderstood cricketer, please read a tribute to the greatest cricketer.
Kallis had often been accused, rather unfairly, of being a selfish player. He was accused of playing for his average rather than the cause of the team. That too by his own countrymen and women. When aggression was required, he played rather defensively. The compulsion to term Kallis as selfish was not because of the mountains of runs he scored but the manner by it was scored. People wanted to see a dominant Kallis but what they finally got was a subdued Kallis. However, those who accuse Kallis of being a selfish player, failed to realise that the team he was part of never had solid batsmen around him.
Kirsten and a makeshift opener in Gibbs followed by Cronje. All of them were adequate but were found wanting against great bowling sides. Kallis had to shoulder the burden being that one batsman the opposition found difficult to dislodge. Despite that if South Africa had remained a force during that period, it was because of their brilliant bowlers.
Jacques never had the luxury that Ponting had. Ponting had batsmen around him who could decimate the opposition. He did not have the cushion that Tendulkar enjoyed and yet he never complained. He understood his role is that of an accumulator. Thereby, he ensured a par or slightly above par score for the team. That is how he played throughout his career.
The disappointment resulting from Cronje’s departure
Kallis’s career began to blossom around the sametime the match fixing scandal shook the world. Hansie Cronje, the captain who brought steel into the side was right in the centre of the controversy. Cronje sort of demanded absolute loyalty from everyone. Wessels who took over from Rice as captain after readmission lasted only a few years. Cronje took over from him. Cronje represented not only the new generation of players but a complete break from the past. It helped that most of the players on his team were much younger and less experienced the Cronje. Just imagine Border and Australia in the 80s. The entire team looked upto Cronje for guidance. Such a figure, to have confessed to have accepted money to throw away games was something no one in the team would have expected. A jolt from which it was difficult for any team to regroup.
It was down to Kallis to pick the team up because him being the most talented of them all. It was his time to pick the pieces and march towards a better tomorrow. Barely 2 tests into post Cronje period, Kallis played a resolute and sedate 87 against Sri Lanka that proved to be a match winning innings. The series ended in a draw. A series that Sri Lanka was expected to sweep after everything exploded following Cronje’s confession. From the despair of Cronje, South Africa needed something to lift themselves and what better way than to draw a series in a distant land against the likes of Murali. It was perhaps appropriate that the future of South Africa’s greatness was built on that foundation laid down by Kallis through his patient but vital 87.
Kallis the bowler extended certain careers
Kallis’s greatness does not rely only on the runs and wickets he scored. More importantly, the fact that he was an excellent 4th or 5th bowler not only added to the strength of South Africa but it certainly increased the threat of Donald, Pollock and rest of the bowlers. Kallis not only tidily but he also picked up wicket regularly. It essentially means that the main bowlers had less work to do. They had less planning to do. It will not be wrong to state the Kallis actually extended the lifespan of Donald, Pollock and the other bowlers by taking over a significant workload. Donald never used to bowl more than 5 overs in a spell which gave him all the motivation that he needed to bowl quick and Kallis had a huge role to play in that.
Kallis as the captain
I am not sure whether Kallis felt let down by the South African board because he was passed over in the captaincy stakes and it was given to a much younger and inexperienced Graeme Smith. It is another matter that Smith took to captaincy like a fish to water but Kallis extended his wholehearted support to Smith and was there for him whenever Smith required. It clearly showed that he never held any ego which is a given for a player of his ability and only had the team’s cause in mind. No wonder Smith was able to build a team that ruled the cricketing universe for more than 7 years. No wonder Smith became the only captain to win 3 consecutive series in Australia.
Lack of a silverware
One glaring omission from Kallis’s career or for that matter a lot of South African cricketer’s career is the lack of a World Cup win. I am sure Kallis will be willing to trade some of his runs and wickets for that one missing component. He was part of the Kolkatta team that won the IPL but winning an IPL tournament will never substitute winning a world cup.
Conclusion
The greatness of Kallis will only be appreciated now when the South African team is struggling build a decent team. The successive losses against weak teams like Sri Lanka and Pakistan will make atleast the South Africans realise what a diamond they had and how they had always misunderstood him. They will finally appreciate that they had a warrior who stood up to the ferocious fast bowlers and beguiling of spinners and how he gave the team a chance to win.
I have attempted to describe the genius of Kallis in about 2000 words but I know I have only scratched the surface when it comes to such a great player.
What do you think about Kallis the great? Did you think that he was a selfish player? Or was he someone who was forced by bat conservatively because of the circumstances? Please leave your comments.
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