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Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis 6
Jacques Kallis 6 Image: Wikimedia Commons. Kolkata Knight Riders - Official / CC BY 3.0

Jacques Henry Kallis OIS (born 16 October 1975) is a South African cricket coach and former professional cricketer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers and all-rounders in the history of the game, he played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium swing bowler for the South African national team. He is the only cricketer to have scored more than 10,000 runs and taken over 250 wickets in both One Day International (ODI) and Test match cricket.

Key facts

Full name Jacques Henry Kallis
Date of birth 16 October 1975
Nationality South African
Honours Order of Ikhamanga in Silver (OIS)
Batting Right-handed
Bowling Right-arm fast-medium (swing)
Role All-rounder
Tests played 166
Test runs 13,289
Test wickets 292
Test catches 200
Test centuries 45
ODI catches 131
Test retirement December 2013 (vs India, Durban)
International retirement 30 July 2014
ICC Hall of Fame August 2020

Career overview

Kallis represented South Africa across all three formats and built a reputation as one of the most complete cricketers of his era. His Test batting average was over 55, and he is the fourth-highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket. He won 23 Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests, the most by any player in the format's history.

Along with Wally Hammond and Sir Garry Sobers, Kallis is one of the few Test all-rounders whose Test batting average exceeds 50 and is more than 20 runs higher than his Test bowling average. Former players including Kevin Pietersen, Ricky Ponting and Daryll Cullinan have described him as the greatest cricketer to play the game.

Career timeline

  • 1998: Named Player of the Tournament in South Africa's victorious campaign at the ICC KnockOut Trophy (now the ICC Champions Trophy), the country's first ICC tournament win. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer and the leading wicket-taker, with Man-of-the-Match performances in both the semi-final and final. In the final, he took 5 wickets for 30 runs.
  • 2005: Named ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year.
  • October–December 2007: Scored five centuries in four Test matches.
  • 2008: Named the Leading Cricketer in the World by Wisden for his performances in 2007.
  • January 2011: With his 40th Test century, made in the second innings of the third Test against India, he moved past Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest scorer of Test centuries, behind only Sachin Tendulkar's 51 at that time.
  • 2 January 2013: Became the fourth player, and first South African, to score 13,000 Test runs, on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand.
  • 2013: Named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
  • December 2013: Retired from Test and first-class cricket after the second Test against India at Durban, scoring his 45th Test century in the match, making him one of the few batsmen to score a century in his final Test.
  • 30 July 2014: Retired from all forms of international cricket.
  • December 2019: Announced as batting consultant for the South African national cricket team for the summer.
  • August 2020: Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Significance

Kallis's longevity and consistency in both batting and bowling, combined with his fielding record, place him in a small group of all-format all-rounders in cricket history. His statistical achievements—particularly the dual milestone of 10,000-plus runs and 250-plus wickets in both Tests and ODIs—remain unique in the sport. His role in South Africa's 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy victory marked a defining moment for South African cricket, which had returned to international competition only in the early 1990s.

References