Shaun Pollock - a world cricket legend

Following moving scenes at cricket stadiums around the country where spectators bid farewell to Shaun Pollock playing in his last ODIs, cricket personalities themselves paid tribute at the Wanderers on Sunday to one of the greatest cricketers to grace South African fields.

On Pollock’s playing ability, former national team captain Kepler Wessels said "clearly Shaun is one of the greatest players to ever play for South Africa. He has made a major contribution over a 12-year period not only on the field of play but also off it with the example that he set. It is sad to see him retire but he has gone out at the right time -- he has gone out while he is still at the top.”

Former Zimbabwean bowler and now SuperSport commentator Mpumelelo ‘Pommy’ Mbangwa said Pollock had left a legacy. “To be in the business for as long as he has and to maintain those standards for that long, there will be a lot for South African young cricketers to try to emulate and if anyone else reaches those heights then South African cricket would have done well.

“He is, without doubt in my mind, one of world cricket’s legends. To play in about 100 tests, taking about 400 wickets, just under 400 as well in 300-odd ODIs, and the fact that he could bat and he captained the side is incredible. He played in a good team and he was a major part of why the team was good.”

Mbangwa admitted that it was a daunting proposition to play against the man.

One quality that was common in all the tributes was his humble personality. “What stands out about Shaun when you meet him and talk to him and that has also been confirmed in the way that spectators have turned out to watch him in his last five games is that he has been cricket’s good guy,” added Mbangwa.

Pollock’s former Dolphins teammate and Zimbabwe batsman Neil Johnson concurred. “Shaun is comfortably the greatest person and cricketer I ever played with. As a human being he never altered on his standards, never dipped himself and never got above his station. He is just an incredible man”.

'AN INSPIRATION TO ALL'

Johnson emphasised Pollock’s humility. “From the youngest to the oldest everyone looks up to him, but he’d never let you look up at him because he’d be on your level anyway. He’s an inspiration to all. The impact he’s had has been phenomenal and being such a great player he didn’t allow himself to be a great player -- he didn’t strut around and he always kept a level head,” said Johnson with a look of nostalgic admiration.

“What he was also able to do to was to hand over a lot of knowledge that he’d gained through his career. The impact that Shaun had on someone like Makhaya Ntini was unbelievable because Makhaya could just be himself and run in to bowl while Shaun kept control from the other end.”

Renowned cricket fundi, writer and commentator Neil Manthorp also heaped praise on Pollock’s ability to analyse the game. “As a cricketer from an early age he had this curiosity to know how things worked. He wasn’t just happy with the fact that he was very good, he wanted to know the technicalities.”

The influence on Ntini emerged again. “He became his own coach, but he also became a coach and mentor to many other players and Makhaya Ntini for example will be the first to admit that Shaun learnt everything like pitch and match conditions, the right length to bowl, a batsman’s strengths and weaknesses - all that, Makhaya was always willing to do but he didn’t need to because Shaun would have done that already and done it so well,” said Manthorp.

Manthorp also had volumes to say about Pollock as a quality human being. “As a person, Shaun was one of the few cricketers who took an interest in those around him. It is not a player’s job to worry about people outside the team, but if there was a journalist or even supporters who had made the trip to Sri Lanka, India, the West Indies or wherever it was, he made sure he always said hello. I’m just one of thousands who will miss him.”

Veteran journalist Rodney Hartman also reflected with fondness: “The statistics tell the story about Shaun Pollock. The incredible consistency that he has shown in the 12 years that he played, but what the stats don’t show is the attitude that he had and for me he has been the ultimate professional. He has been the senior pro in the team for so long but still there was nothing that he was not prepared to take on, from taking the new ball, accepting the captaincy, whatever. It is as a consummate professional that I will miss Shaun Pollock.”

“There is no question that in the world of cricket, he is truly one of the world greats. One only needs to look at where he is positioned and it is only when he has gone that the impact will be felt, and people will look back and put him up there with the great allrounders, not only in this country but in the world.”

Former West Indian batsman Jimmy Adams also thought “Pollock is one of the greatest allrounders to ever play the game. The way in which he went about executing his skills over the years and the way in which he carried himself have ensured that he has been a credit not only to the game but to his country. He has been an inspiration to a generation of young people worldwide.

“If he continues to maintain these standards in whatever else he does, the country of South Africa will have had a model citizen in Shaun Pollock,” concluded Adams.

From the reaction of the public alone in Pollock’s last five ODIs, his name has to be enshrined on the list of world cricket legends

South African cricket legend: Graeme Pollock

It would take spectators a matter of minutes to seize on the fact that Robert Graeme Pollock, South Africa's Cricketer of the Century, oozed genius. Graeme, as he was known, was voted South Africa's Cricketer of the Century in 1999, to no-one's surprise but his own. Through a career cut short by the apartheid-induced sports boycott of South Africa, Pollock had played in a mere 23 test matches, but had already amassed seven test centuries along the way, including South Africa's highest ever test score of 274.


When he finally retired, Graeme Pollock had racked up a test average of over 60, second only to Sir Donald Bradman and far exceeding that of any other post-war player. His first-class average was similarly impressive and he had been chosen as South Africa's Cricketer of the Year on countless occassions and as Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1966.



Born in Durban on the 27th of February 1944 in the province now known as Kwazulu-Natal, Graeme Pollock was earmarked as a prodigious talent from the time he first appeared on a cricket field.


As a youngster, Graeme and his brother Peter used to stage 'mock' test matches in the garden outside their parent's house. Although he once took all ten wickets in a schools match with his leg-break spin bowling when he was ten-years old, it was his batting that captured the imagination.


At the age of sixteen, Pollock was chosen to appear for Eastern Province and soon made his mark by breaking the record for the youngest player to score a first class century while still at school.


At the age of nineteen, he broke the record for the youngest South African to score a double-century as well.


He was chosen for the 1963 tour to Australia but failures in the first two tests led some commentators to suggest that it would be a surprise if Pollock passed double figures during the entire series.


These doubts were firmly dispelled during the third-test, however, when he sscored 175, sharing a 341-run third-wicket partnership with opener Eddie Barlow, a record for a South African team.


Subsequent centuries followed against England and New Zealand.


During the 1965 tour to England, Graeme made 125 in gloomy conditions at Trent Bridge while all around him floundered, an innings described as sublime by no less an authority than Sir Donald Bradman.


In the second innings, Pollock scored 59 and with brother Peter taking 10 wickets in the match, the Trent Bridge test acquired the tag of 'Pollock's Match'.


Bradman, incidentally, described Pollock, along with Gary Sobers, as the best left-handed batsman he had ever seen play cricket.


In the last test series South Africa were destined to play before expulsion from the world stage due to apartheid in 1970, Graeme broke Jackie McGlew's South African record highest score of 255 not out, ending on 274.


He held this record for nearly thirty years until Darryl Cullinan exceeded this mark against New Zealand in 1999.


Graeme Pollock continued to play cricket until the 1986/87 season, ending his international career with a century, 144 against the rebel Australian team that toured South Africa during that year.


Both his sons, Anthony and Andrew, subsequently played cricket for Transvaal and Gauteng and his nephew Shaun was chosen to captain South Africa during the year 2000.



Test Statistics


M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct

23 41 4 2256 274 60.97 7 11 17

Little Master : Sunil Gavaskar

“It was Gavaskar, the real master just like a wall, we couldn't out Gavaskar at all, not at all; you know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all” Lord Relator - in the famous calypso composed on Sunny

For a man of his height and stature to stand up brave against the fearsome four and pile up runs after runs is a feat in itself. The number of centuries he hit off the best pace quartet is proof of the man’s caliber. There was a time when international teams did not want to tour India as they thought the matches were one sided. They had scoreboards to prove that. 0 for 4, 58 all out, India all out twice in a single day? All a fast bowler had to do was take a long run up and Indian batsmen would start inching towards square leg umpire. These were the opinions of others about Indian cricketers. Critics didn't want India to be given 5 days Test matches. So much so that Mr. Godfrey Evans, ex England wicket keeper wanted spectators to be charged fewer amounts for the matches against India. Sunil Gavaskar single handedly changed all that. He was gutsy, brave and a master in his own right and he was a player who was ready to take on the world and try to match and even outperform their best.

He was the first cricketer to make 10, 000 runs and his record of 34 test centuries still stands untouched. The fact that Sunny went on to score 10,000 runs is a tribute to the man’s enormous talent. His amazing concentration was the key to his success. The zest in him to succeed against any opposition was commendable. The belief in his ability, that he was better than any opposition, was what got him to create records, which Indians at one stage only dreamt of. His record is such that he must remain one of the all-time greats.

Unlike other Indian batsmen, he played pace with relative ease: he could hook if he wanted to, but more often he would leave the bouncer alone and watch it sail by. His defense was well organized, and he was a very intelligent batsman who performed well under pressure. Indeed he has played some of his best innings under intense pressure.

Gavaskar's 221 at the Oval in 1979 were one of the best innings ever played by any batsman, particularly bearing in mind the important fact that India started their second innings in the seemingly impossible position of needing 438 runs in 500 minutes to win. Gavaskar was by far the best batsman of either side in the series - and England had Boycott, Gooch and Gower. His technique was infallible and his concentration level was unbelievably high. He was a great back-foot player. A perfectionist, very correct and compact, typically in the English mould.

Sunny is a very proud Indian. He wore the Indian colors on his chest with pride and aplomb -- a man who was unruffled in testing times. Gavaskar, like Bradman, was very much a public figure, winning the highest of national and state awards. But for all that, he is easily accessible, though he doesn't suffer fools gladly. He has the charm and the ability to disarm his critics and win friends with witticism and on tours abroad, one had to watch out for the practical jokes played or inspired by him.

As a captain, Gavaskar looked a born leader, even during his apprenticeship under Wadekar when, from the slips, he showed his understanding and appreciation of good bowling and fielding. He himself was an outstanding performer in the slips, where he finished up with 108 catches. In his early years as captain he was often faulted for his tactics and for his virtual neglect of spin bowlers Shivlal Yadav and Dilip Doshi. But he graduated with honors in the home series of 1981-82 when he made Keith Fletcher, the most professional of captains, look like an amateur.

Gavaskar's batting records are amazing by any standards. Apart from being the first to score 10,000 runs in Tests, he had set the record of 774 runs at an average of 154.8, the highest for any batsman in his debut series. And when comparisons are made with other run-getters, it must be remembered that Gavaskar never had an easy series in his career.

All his runs were made against the quick bowlers of Australia, England, West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand. They were made in the opening position, against "pace like fire". It was only when Chetan Chauhan, and then Kris Srikkanth, came on the scene that he had someone to share "the burden and the heat of the day".

Wisden, while nominating him in its top five for 1980, summed up his batting as follows: He sets his sights high as he builds his innings with meticulous care, limiting himself to the strokes he knows best -- drive through the covers, past the bowlers and between mid on and midwicket. But when he lets his hair down, his range of shots and the power behind them are astonishing.

The shrewdest analysis came from Ted Dexter ascribed Gavaskar's success to his playing the game with the broadest bat in the world. He wrote that Gavaskar had the broadest bat in the game, and defined this metaphysical concept as "the ability of a great batsman to make more use of the width of his bat than the others."

That "broad bat" was very much in evidence when he played what he claims was his best innings -- 54 in the gloom of Old Trafford in 1971. There were two more remarkable innings, his 71 in the second innings of the Christchurch Test of 1976, which contained three hours of disciplined batsmanship which was ended by Howarth's superb catch in the gully; an innings played on a pitch of unpredictable pace and bounce and it saved the day for India. The second knock of 107 in the December Test of 1978 in Calcutta against the West Indies; in the humid bowl of Eden Gardens. Phillip, Clarke and Marshall made the ball swing in the air and seam off the pitch, and Gavaskar played it all with the assurance of a master who knows where his off stump is. There was a time when critics noticed a "corridor of uncertainty" in this area whenever he played bowlers like Lillie and Hadlee, but he had the power and ability to steer himself out of harm's way.

And finally there was the masterly innings of 96 on a turning track against Pakistan in the Bangalore Test of 1987, which dispelled any doubts about his ability to deal with spin on a receptive wicket.
Gavaskar arrived at the highest level just when India needed someone of caliber to sustain the batting. He said farewell to the game with a century in the Biennial Test of August 1987 at that holy of holies, Lord's, to secure the only distinction that had thus far eluded him.

A Genius with a difference: Sir Garry Sobers

Garfield St. Aubrun Sobers was born on July 28, 1936 in Bay Land, St. Michael Parish, Barbados. Undoubtedly the greatest cricket player of his era (1952 to 1974), he was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to international cricket. In 1998, Barbados declared him a National Hero. Many adjectives have been used to describe him; the great Barbadian cricketer, the greatest all rounder, the cricketer's cricketer, etc. Certainly, there will be no other like him.

He was born with an extra finger on each hand, as though the good Lord had already decided that he would excel in a sport where the hands played a major role. The presence of extra digits is also supposed to be a sign of luck.

Gary sobers was one of its kind as he could not do anything wrong. He was a complete cricketer as he could come in and hit a century when his team needed it the most or open the bowling and take some crucial wickets. If there is a word called genius it has to be him for no one else could play the way he did. He was absolutely marvelous.

His persona was enough to set the opposition thinking. The familiar toothless grin, two or three buttons undone, his sleeves rolled up, Sobers would stroll in, leaning over to the left ever so slightly as though the good Lord had gone on pouring the goodies down that side. To him a good cricketer was one who could bat according to the needs of the team and the situation in which it found itself. He believed in playing an attacking game, entertaining people and never thinking of avoiding defeat first. His watchword was to attack and win. Yet, when the situation demanded, Sobers could be the most obdurate of customers, playing carefully and using all his considerable skills to occupy the crease as long as he could. Despite this, he was never unattractive to watch, never a boring batsman, never a defensive bowler.

Which other captain, coming to the crease with his team at 102 for five and chasing 735 for a win, would put paid to the attacking field placed for him by dispatching the first five balls he faced to the fence? It required tremendous ability to do that, but it came naturally to Sobers. He could hit the ball with tremendous power, but he could also use his wrists so beautifully that the most indiscernible of flicks would see the ball speeding to the fence, a category of strokes that people took to calling not-a-man-move-shots. They simply raced away so fast, timed to perfection, that they were hitting the pickets before a man had moved.

Sobers was built like a perfect athlete, tall and lithe, and he had a perfect technique. Rarely did he hit across the line. He played with a straight bat and his range of strokes was amazing; a bowler would often bowl the same ball to him six times in a day and find him playing a different stroke each time. There lay the touch of genius. He took three years before he made his first hundred but that knock will be remembered by everyone who has anything to do with the game; the record he set stood for 37 years.

Figures alone do not tell the whole story. It was not just the runs he made; it was the way he made them. Had he been conscious of records, mindful of keeping his own average higher or thinking of himself, his tally would have been much higher. To him, such considerations were anathema. The ball was there to be hit. He respected good bowlers but always let them know who was the master out in the center. He enjoyed the mental tussle in the middle and if he came out second best, he would be the first person to congratulate the man who had got his wicket.

His method of captaincy is open to debate. His critics feel that he depended too much on having others follow his example; given his abilities, his act was extremely difficult to emulate. He captained teams, which had some of the most talented cricketers of all time, yet he ended up losing a good many series. He took chances often to make the game interesting and try and prevent a stalemate; the one for which he is known best is the fourth Test of the 1968 series against England when he called his side in after they had reached 92 for two in the second innings; the West Indies had a first innings lead of 122. England had a sporting target and they reached it. Sobers was hanged in effigy and had he not been the player he was, he would have lost the captaincy. He tried his level best to redeem things by scoring 152 and 95 not out in the next Test, the last of the series, and taking three wickets in each innings, but England hung on for a draw.

Sobers played 86 Tests on the trot from 1954 onwards and would probably have continued playing without interruption but for being left out of the team in 1973 due to the whims of selectors who felt he had to prove his fitness. Arguably, he should have been willing to listen, but this was being said to a man who had time and again played for his country despite his body desperately crying out for rest. That series was against Australia and Ian Chappell, the Australian captain, was moved to comment that a series win against a West Indies team, which did not include Sobers, could not really be counted as a victory.

Sobers played his last Test the next year, leaving the arena at a time when he was still scoring runs. From 1966 onwards, a damaged shoulder had ensured that he would have to give up his Chinaman and googly. Yet he was no mean bowler even at this stage; his Test best of six for 73 came in 1968-69 at Brisbane after 15 years of top-level cricket. That series, his last in Australia, was played against a team, which was captained by one of the meanest captains of all time, Bill Lowry. The West Indies often had the upper hand in the five-match series but ended up losing 3-1 having dropped as many as 34 catches.

Sobers succeeded Worrell as captain and managed to hold the team together to some extent. The West Indies played attractive cricket under him but ended up losing quite often. Sobers was skipper for 39 Tests and he won nine of those and lost 10. Kanhai, who took over from him, did not stay long and the most famous of the West Indies skippers after Worrell, Clive Lloyd, took over in 1974 for the tour of India. Sobers played the last few Tests of his career under Kanhai.
It is 26 years since he retired from the game, yet few who saw him in action will never forget the genius of the man who has been by far the best all-rounder, which the game has produced. There was motion, grace and fluidity in his approach to the wicket, the reflexes of a panther, and a range of shots, which few have displayed. He was the cricketer's cricketer. There will be no other like him

Salute to the Legend- Sir Don Bradman

Lets go to the memory lane lane and remember one of the Cricket’s greats whose contribution to this game has become indispensable. Without him, the game of cricket would not have been the same. No one came closer to sporting perfection over a sustained period than Sir Donald Bradman. A century is the ultimate for any batsman and Sir Donald's lifetime Test cricket average of 99.94 still stands as testament to his impact on the game.

Childhood: Bradman was born on 27th August 1908, Adam Street, Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. He was the youngest of five children. After his first few years in Cootamundra in country NSW, his parents moved the family to Bowral, around 1910, in the Southern Highlands of NSW. He later became known the 'Boy from Bowral' even though he wasn't born there. His schooling was at Bowral intermediate high school.

Family and the beginning: Born in the family of keen cricketers Bradman took instant liking to this game and Young Donald honed his cricketing skills by throwing a golf ball against a small brick wall and hitting it on the rebound with a cricket stump. If anyone has tried this they will realize it is no easy feat. Such was the determination in this young lad, which made him the greatest batsman in the world. He played his first match at age 11 and made 55 and the Oval on which he played is now known as the Bradman Oval. Making his first century at the age of 12 Bradman never looked back.

Debut: After moving to Sydney he quickly got into the New South Wales Team and very soon was picked for the National Side and made his debut against England in 1928-29. His first match was not that good where he made only 18 and 1 and was consequently dropped for the second test. He was taken for the third match and that turned out to be the beginning of a remarkable career. He made 79 and 112 runs in that match and was never dropped from the Australian Team again.

Achievements: Bradman took the cricket world by storm as he kept breaking one record after the other. In 1930 on the tour to England he made 334 the highest test score at that time. Already, therefore, he had in a very short space of time accomplished wonders, but his triumphs were far from being at an end, for in England he left further records behind. In the second innings of his First Test Match in this county, at Trent Bridge, he made 131, following that with 254 at Lord's, 334 at Leeds and, after failing at Manchester, putting together 232 at the Oval. With his big innings at Leeds he beat the record individual score in Test Matches between England and Australia, which had stood since 1903-04 to the credit of R. E. Foster, with 287 at Sydney. Without a not out average of over 139 for the five Test Matches, and in the course of the summer he altogether played eleven three – figure innings for his side, six of these being over 200.

He scored 452 for New South Wales against Queensland setting the highest first class score and so shaken were the English Team by this champion that they started resorting to unfair means and there started the Bodyline War. That slowed him down a bit but did not stop him from breaking more records. Following his success on his first tour of England, in 1930, Don Donald Bradman was chosen as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year in the 1931 Almanack. In this magnificent career of his he made a total of 211 centuries, played 80 tests for Australia most of them as captain, made 6996 test runs and had an excellent average of 99.94 which could have been 100 had he made just 4 runs in his last test but unfortunately got out on a duck.

Retirement: He captained Australia in 1948 against England at the age of 40. The Australian Team was invincible at that time and till date is regarded as the Best Australian Team of all times. He finished his career in 1948 and settled in his home in South Australia and became a national selector and cricket administrator and excelled in that role of his as well. He wrote his autobiography titled “ Farewell to Cricket”. On 15th March 1949 Don Bradman became Sir Donald Bradman after the Governor General of Australia knighted him.

Tribute: Sir Donald died peacefully in his sleep at his Adelaide home on the 25th of February, 2001 at the age of 92. He had been in poor health and was trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia. He was a national treasure, adored by millions all over the world. The passing of Sir Donald Bradman marked not only the death of a cricketing legend but a spiritual moment in the history of Australia. As a cricketer, the world has known no equal. He was the true symbol of fine sportsmanship, the benchmark that all young cricketers aspired to. His innings may have closed but his legacy will forever live on in the hearts of millions of his fans around the globe.