In case anyone hasn't noticed the number of genuine all rounders have been diminishing. From the heydays of Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham in the 80s the question now beckons: Where are the all rounders? Well, you don't have to look too far. After all there's always Jacques Kallis. But where are the others? I mean the cricketers who could command a place in the playing eleven either on their batting or either on their bowling. I am not really surprised. With the demands of international cricket being what it is the player who can bat and bowl - and I don't mean a bits and pieces cricketer like in Twenty20 or Fifty50 - is a vanishing breed. However fit a player is the body can take only so much and no more - unless of course you are Kallis.
Gary Sobers? Remember him. The greatest all round cricketer who ever graced the game. He could bat (8032 runs in 93 Tests, 26 centuries, top score of 365 not out, average 57.78), he could bowl (235 wickets, average 34, six five-wicket hauls) and he could field just about anywhere (109 catches, mostly blinders in the slips or short leg). There would never be anyone like him, they said. Little wonder he finished second with 90 votes to Don Bradman's 100 votes in the Wisden Cricketer of the 20th Century.
As someone who belongs to the Sobers generation - I grew up in the sixties when he was at his peak - I marveled at his ability to turn the match around, to hit big centuries, to bowl both fast medium and slow chinamen and pick up catches effortlessly. I knew that like there could be only one Bradman, there could be only one Sobers. And yet here I am marveling at the feats of Kallis, gaping wide eyed at his achievements.
Yes, eye rubbing and mind boggling would be the best way to describe Kallis' record in both Tests and ODIs - and somehow even that seems inadequate. But it is the similarity to Sobers' figures that catches the eye. Considering the fact that Kallis has played around 50 percent more Tests than Sobers the similarity is uncanny - 11,947 runs from 145 matches, 40 hundreds, top score of 201 not out, average 57.43, 270 wickets, average 32, five five-wicket hauls, 166 catches. Kallis is the Sobers of this generation and in the eyes of many the greatest South African cricketer ever - just as Sobers is the greatest West Indian cricketer ever.
But all these amazing figures are only half the story for Kallis has run up a similarly successful career in ODIs. Sobers played just one ODI in his career so one can't really compare in the manner their Test careers can be compared but the burly South African stands alone among all those who have played limited overs cricket. Kallis' achievement is unparalleled. Just over 11,000 runs at a very impressive average of almost 46 and a par strike rate of nearly 73 with 17 hundreds and 80 half centuries alone would testify to his greatness. But when this is allied to 259 wickets at an average of 31.90, an economy rate of 4.82 and a strike rate of 39.6 it can be seen why Kallis' figures are of the eye rubbing and mind boggling variety. And to think that he is still carrying on with his sturdy figure standing up admirably to the growing demands of today’s international game.
But then Kallis is as doughty as he is sturdy, his second innings century in the recently concluded Cape Town Test against India being a case in point. He is the crisis man who has come to his team's rescue time and again. Determination is but one of the many qualities that Kallis possesses and this has seen the strong shouldered 35-year-old emerge as the thorn in the South African side that most bowlers would want to remove. He also possesses dedication and concentration, technique and temperament - indeed all the qualities that go into the making of a world class batsman. Rahul Dravid is known as The Wall but the sobriquet would fit Kallis too. Indeed he could well be world cricket’s most immovable object.
The great thing about Kallis is his consistency. The law of averages does not catch up with him. Not only has he been averaging more than 50 almost since the start of the new millennium the figure keeps going up every year. The century ratio which was one in six Tests first improved to one in five, then one in four and now it is virtually one in three and a half.
Of course Kallis has faced the charge more than once that he bats for his average, that he is unable to force the pace, that he puts his interests above his teams. He has met this accusation head on for a Geoff Boycott he is not. Besides immaculate defence, Kallis has a wide range of strokes on both sides of the wicket; he is also not afraid to loft the ball. Yes, it is true that his batting is not for the romantic for a Kallis century tends to be a soulless affair with ruthless efficiency taking precedence over derring-do. But his value to the side is quite immeasurable.
To the casual observer it would be easy to dismiss Kallis' bowling as run of the mill, up and down stuff, military medium and in other such cliched terms. The figures however prove otherwise and to the keen cricket follower it is obvious that Kallis is a clever bowler who makes the ball swing late or brings it in sharply. He remains a batting all rounder but it must not be forgotten that he is the only South African to score a century and take five wickets in an innings twice in Test matches. Add to this his peerless slip catching and one has a picture of the complete cricketer.
Even after being around for 15 years Kallis retains the burning desire to play and perform. As I said it is not easy being an all rounder these days because of the excessive amount of cricket being played. But there is little doubt that Kallis is enjoying his double role. He is currently at the peak of his cricketing powers and his team members will be pleased to know that this ubiquitous player will still be around for some more time. And by the time he leaves the scene Kallis will leave an all rounder's legacy that will be quite unsurpassable.
