End of an era

Friday, August 01, 2014

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After enduring the rigours of international cricket for almost 19 years, Jacques Kallis must have
known that his time was up. But the most influential all-rounder of our generation or perhaps, as
many of his fans and admirers believe, the most influential all-rounder of all time, still fancied
his chances of playing in next years World Cup. Last Wednesday, however, the South African
cricket legend opted to end what has been a much-celebrated international career. In a statement,
the 38-year-old Kallis admitted that his dream of playing in World Cup 2015 was a bridge too
far.

Having acknowledged the rise of bright young things in the South African side in recent times,
the ageing Kallis had already retired from Test cricket last December and his announcement to
quit international cricket altogether marks the end of a glorious era. A classical batsman blessed
with great technique and temperament, Kallis amassed 13,289 runs including 45 centuries from
166 Tests at a superb average of 55.37 apart from hauling 292 wickets. His One-day
International stats are equally impressive with 11,579 runs and 273 wickets from 328
appearances. In addition he also proved, time and again, to be a terrific fielder and accumulated
200 Test catches, most of them in the slips. But his excellent figures with both the bat and ball
are just a part of his greatness. The broad-shouldered Kallis was in many ways the backbone of
the high-flying South African squad for the best part of the last two decades a match-winner on
the field and a calming influence in the dressing room. It is hardly surprising that Kallis is
counted among the greats of the modern game like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Wasim
Akram. They say no one is bigger than the game. But occasionally great sportsmen like Jacques
Kallis do come close. Adios Kallis, international cricket will be poorer without you.



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