JACQUES KALLIS

'Jacques Henry Kallis' (born 16 October 1975 in Cape Town) is a South African cricketer. He is a talented right-handed batsman and effective fast-medium bowler who can swing the ball both ways off a good line and length. As of September 2006 he became the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 8,000 runs and 200 wickets in both Test and One Day International cricket. Sanath Jayasuriya has achieved that feat in ODIs but not Tests, and Garfield Sobers achieved it in Tests only. Often criticised for his apparent unwillingness to dominate the opposition, and for a perceived inclination to play for himself rather than the team, Kallis is otherwise a consummate cricketer.
Kallis made his first-class debut in 1993/94 as an 18-year-old, playing for Western Province. His first Test appearance was in December 1995 against England at Durban, but he struggled with the bat in his first few matches. His breakthrough came in 1997 with 61 against Pakistan, but more notably two matches later when he salvaged a draw for South Africa with a fighting century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
In 2005 Kallis was selected for the World XI team to play an Asian XI in a benefit match for those affected by the tsunami of 2004, along with countryman Shaun Pollock. In the same year he was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC player of the year. The award was shared with Andrew Flintoff of England, his only serious competitor as the world's leading all-rounder, after the votes of the academy were tied. Kallis also won the ICC Test Player of the Year award.
Kallis was awarded the captaincy of South Africa for the third and final Test match against Australia in 2006 when Graeme Smith stood down with an injury. This was Kallis' 99th Test match. To that point in the season, Kallis had scored two Test centuries against Australia, both in losing efforts; taking his career tally to a South African record of 24 Test centuries.
In the 2007 World Cup Kallis was South Africa's leading run scorer with 485 runs at 80.83. In August 2007 he was omitted from the 15 man South Africa squad for 2007 Twenty20 World Championship, and consequentely quit as the Proteas' vice captain .
Kallis is only the third player in Test history (after Sir Donald Bradman and Mohammad Yousuf) to make a century in five consecutive matches. In 2005 he set the record for the fastest half-century, as measured by balls faced, in Test cricket history, scoring 50 against Zimbabwe off only 24 balls. That Kallis holds this record belies his reputation as a defensive, unadventurous batsman of the old-fashioned type. Regardless of style, Kallis has a very impressive batting average of over 55, and is rated as one of the best batsmen in the world. Although still a very capable bowler with over 200 Test wickets, he has impressed mostly with the bat in recent years.

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Rankings

Rankings

Jacques Kallis' current positions in the Cricket ratings as determined by the International Cricket Council are as follows:

★ Test Batting 7th (career best 1st - career high points 898).

★ Test Bowling 25th (career best 4th - career high points 742).

★ Test All-rounders 1st (career best 1st).

★ ODI Batting 9th (career best 1st - career high points 817).

★ ODI Bowling 42nd (career best 11th - career high points 641).

★ ODI All-rounders 2nd (career best 1st).