Cricket lovers today are very fortunate to have watched most of the best batsmen Cricket has ever produced. From Sachin Tendulkar to Ricky Ponting, from Rahul Dravid to Brian Lara, from VVS Laxman to Kevin Pietersen, the era of the best batsmen, I fear, is coming to a close. Jacques Kallis, one among them, holds a truly unique place in the Cricketing world, and has announced his retirement from Test Cricket after the Durban match starting today. For he is the best All-rounder we have ever seen.
Just imagine: the 38-year-old has scored 13,174 runs and taken 292 wickets in 165 Tests (before today’s Boxing day match at Durban). What people do not realise is that Kallis is South Africa's highest Test run scorer and the 4th highest in Test history, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Dravid. While he has a modest 292 Test wickets which puts him 29th highest among Test bowlers, his tally of 199 catches ranks him second only behind Rahul Dravid in the Test list.
A look at the statistics for the highest scorers in Test cricket is interesting. Jacques Kallis rounds up the list of 13ers - batsmen who have scored more than 13,000 runs in Test Cricket. 13ers has been an exclusive club of 4, with Tendulkar, Ponting, Dravid and Kallis, and it appears that the club will remain so for many years to come.
The nearest batsman is Chanderpaul who is almost 1,800 runs adrift with 11,219 Test runs. With his batting average of 50, he would have to play around 30 more Tests to enter the exclusive 13ers club. The West Indies will play around 10 Test matches a year, and it will be interesting to see whether the 40 year old has the stamina to go on for another 4 years!
For the present, let us Cheer the best all-rounder we have been fortunate to watch.
Just imagine: the 38-year-old has scored 13,174 runs and taken 292 wickets in 165 Tests (before today’s Boxing day match at Durban). What people do not realise is that Kallis is South Africa's highest Test run scorer and the 4th highest in Test history, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Dravid. While he has a modest 292 Test wickets which puts him 29th highest among Test bowlers, his tally of 199 catches ranks him second only behind Rahul Dravid in the Test list.
A look at the statistics for the highest scorers in Test cricket is interesting. Jacques Kallis rounds up the list of 13ers - batsmen who have scored more than 13,000 runs in Test Cricket. 13ers has been an exclusive club of 4, with Tendulkar, Ponting, Dravid and Kallis, and it appears that the club will remain so for many years to come.
The nearest batsman is Chanderpaul who is almost 1,800 runs adrift with 11,219 Test runs. With his batting average of 50, he would have to play around 30 more Tests to enter the exclusive 13ers club. The West Indies will play around 10 Test matches a year, and it will be interesting to see whether the 40 year old has the stamina to go on for another 4 years!
For the present, let us Cheer the best all-rounder we have been fortunate to watch.
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