What makes Kallis a great Test cricketer?

What makes a great Test cricketer? It is a question which cannot be answered by mere statistical analysis alone since numbers fail to explain the importance of circumstance and context. Often, a gritty 67 is more valuable then a double century, a single wicket in a session is so important it puts a five-wicket haul in the background.

This sort of uncertainty, the uncertainty of what makes a great player, is also one of the fascinating aspects of following the game of cricket. Not many sports can be said to be open to the influences of the conditions, time, and temperament where only a slight difference between two opposing sides might as well be equated to a chasm of inequality.

Another pointer towards greatness is the context of an individual’s career in conjunction with the fortunes of the team that player represents. Brian Lara was often the only real threat the West Indies posed in the batting department when their decline from Test juggernauts to brittle opponents bottomed out in the early 2000s. Andy Flower often carried Zimbabwe alone, which either means one of two things: either that player’s isolated success was down to a certain degree of selfishness or, Flower for example, rose above the mediocrity that surrounded him to push himself to another level.

The saying that 80% of cricket is played in the mind is an often used cliche, but it is a cliche because it is so true. Anybody who has played cricket can tell you that no amount of talent is a reliable substitute for having the required mental toughness to execute those talents to full effect.

I’ve been reading Steve Waugh, the great Australian captain who led his team to 16 straight Test victories and one of my favourite players, and it has proved a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a Test side and more importantly a tour of one of cricket’s toughest minds. Waugh, who along with his twin brother Mark (one of my favourite batsman to watch as he made batting look effortless through his insane grace at the crease, an aura Daryll Cullinan exuded when in top form), formed the bedrock of the Australian middle order for more then a decade.

While Mark was the more talented batsmen, his Test average was only a respectable 42, which if weighed against his talent was a travesty of the highest order. Steve on the other hand, who stopped playing the short ball at the end of the 1980s, had so much mental strength that, combined it with his simple technique and quick hands, averaged 51.06 over 168 Test matches, still the world record (which Sachin Tendulkar, another great player, will pass next year).

Often through sheer bloody-mindedness, Steve Waugh would strangle his opponents until they had no energy left to attack him, at which point he ground them into dust. When facing Curtley Ambrose (another favourite and the bowler Waugh appears to have respected the most) in the West Indies towards the end of the 1990s, Waugh said to him after Ambrose was following up another scorcher of a bouncer, “What the fuck are you looking at?” Ambrose wasn’t pleased with this response, replying “Don’t cuss me man”. Waugh, who in his book revealed he didn’t really have much of a response, replied back “Well, go fuck yourself then”. Telling Curtley Ambrose to go shove it guaranteed that Waugh’s ribs would face a barrage similar to the one Dresden faced from the Allies in World War II. Though no innocent people were killed in this instance, Waugh’s ribs must have been moaning like a punctured tyre.

With South Africa’s Test side undergoing slow change, which begun with the retiring of the superb and under-appreciated Shaun Pollock, three other figures in the current SA team are approaching the point in their careers where the question of their greatness will bubble to the surface of conversation between most cricket minds.

Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini have given selflessly to the Proteas cause, with these two guiding SA to that 438 victory over Australia proving that it isn’t often the way a dog fights but rather the fight in the dog, to use a crude metaphor, that counts the most on the cricket field.

Both players will be remembered for their profound effect on South African cricket, for their determination, their never-say-die attitude and for excelling at their chosen arts. Ntini has the chance to become South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Tests though that appears less likely, and Boucher is the world-record holder for dismissals (Kumar Sangakkara, as dangerous a batsman as they come, could be the man to challenge that record if he plays long enough, and let’s not discount Mahendra Singh Dhoni).

The third person from the Pollock-era side would be one Jacques Kallis. Of the current players in international cricket, only Ricky Ponting has scored more Test runs since the beginning of 2000 than Kallis. Kallis has scored 8 428 runs at an average of 58.93 in 170 innings versus Ponting’s 9 253 runs at 59.31 in 177 digs.

That would be a phenomenal record, but throw in Kallis the bowler and his achievements with the bat are even more astounding: his 204 wickets at an average of about 31 since 2000 is the third highest by a South African, with only Ntini and Pollock having taken more (Dale Steyn currently sits on 170 wickets, so will soon pass Kallis by the end of next year). Over the course of his entire career, Kallis has bowled 17 040 balls, conceding 2.82 runs an over. In an era where Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and other all-rounders have fallen by the wayside, Kallis has continued to contribute with bat and ball in all three formats of the game.

Kevin Pietersen, a ubiquitous pain in the arse for most South Africans, recently said (of all people) that Kallis is one of the greatest players ever. As stated before, though Kallis’s statistics are insane to put it mildly, that isn’t enough to guarantee his greatness in cricket’s pantheon of champions.

So how else has Kallis contributed to SA’s cause? For the best part of a decade, he was the wicket opposition teams targeted because he was SA’s Mr Reliable. Thankfully, that burden has been lessoned drastically with the emergence of Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, JP Duminy and Hashim Amla as quality Test batsman (especially De Villiers and Duminy … he has the natural gifts to dominate attacks in the same way Ponting and Tendulkar do when in their pomp).

His first Test hundred came against Australia in 1997 against a rampant Shane Warne, with that knock being described by many cricket “experts” (I use that term carefully) as still one of his better hundreds since it came under extreme pressure, with Waugh in his book describing Kallis as “technically brilliant” when he played against him.

His critics, which there are a few, believe that he doesn’t score fast enough (a perception he is trying to and has come a long way in changing). Rahul Dravid — a batsman who equals Kallis in grittiness which earned him the name of “The Wall” — in the first Tests against Sri Lanka scored his fastest Test century, the most runs in a session and the quickest century in terms of minutes. Old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. He will be opening the batting in the ODIs against England and does so in T20 cricket.

He is admittedly missing the one thing on his batting CV that is a mark of a great player: a double century. He still has time on his side, and I believe he will do it when we least expect it since it surely must only be a matter of time? We have been waiting 12 years or so, so I don’t mind waiting a couple more. He hasn’t taken a 10-for in Tests either, but I imagine most if not all cricket captains would bite your arm off if you offered them the services of Jacques Henry Kallis. His fielding is also outstanding, which often goes unnoticed. It was once said that if Kallis isn’t playing , South Africa loses three players instead of one.

The balance he brings to the South African team is vital. Though he doesn’t swing the ball as much as he used to, he bowls a heavy ball, something his predecessor, Brian McMillan, was renowned for, which batsmen don’t like especially if the ball cannons into their flesh.

Once Kallis calls time on his career, which in Tests might only happen after 2012 if he drops T20s and ODIs (he recently turned 34) after the 2011 World Cup, only then will his profound impact and experience (he has played in 131 Test matches, 295 ODIs and 10 T20Is, making him South Africa’s most capped international cricketer) be noticeably missed. When trawling the web, lists of great players abound but they often leave out Kallis because he has done it all (except win a World Cup, which is more a collective failure than his own) but has done it on the down low. Greatness is a calling best heard by those who understand themselves and their game.

Statistically, Kallis has scored more runs and taken more wickets than Garfield Sobers, who is widely recognised as the greatest all-rounder that ever lived. Granted Kallis has played 40 plus more Test matches then Sobers, so comparing the two, especially since they played in different eras, only takes us so far. However, Kallis should be respected and revered for his longevity while his peers haven’t been able to take the strain or weren’t wisely used (something the brains trust in South African cricket should be credited for).

To say I am a fan of Jacques Kallis is stating the obvious, but the day he walks off the Test arena for good will be a sad one in South African cricket since it will signify the end of an era where all-rounders aren’t as abundant as they used to be (though South Africa seems uniquely blessed in this area). Kallis, in my mind, is one of the greatest players this country has ever produced so having seen him bat live and watched him for countless hours on television has been a privilege and when England come to Cape Town for the New Year’s Test I will be there cheering him on.

While not everyone will agree with me about his greatness, the fact that he is universally respected by the South African cricket public goes to show what a titan of the South African game he has become. Long may he prosper and punish that half-volley through the covers.