Many cricketers have come and gone over the years. Some players make a huge impact before hanging up the boots, others don’t leave much of an impact on the game.
Then there are those players who go about their business and finish their careers without much hype but ultimately leave the game with exceptional statistics. One such player is former South African captain Shaun Pollock.
Born on 16 July 1973, Pollock represented South Africa in Tests, ODIs and T20s. He’s part of a dynasty that has represented South Africa – his father, Peter, and uncle, Graeme, both played for the Proteas before South Africa was banned from cricket in the 1970s due to the apartheid regime. His father was a quality bowling all-rounder and uncle Graeme is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played the game.
Shaun Pollock maintained a calm, humble demeanour and gained a lot of respect from the cricketing fraternity over the course of his career. He made his Test and ODI debuts against England in 1995 and 1996 respectively and is one of a few players to have scored a 50 and pick up four wickets on ODI debut.
Pollock gained attention when he became only the second bowler in List A cricket history to pick up four wickets in four balls playing for Warwickshire in county cricket. He achieved this feat while on county debut, which is just amazing.
His bowling performances in 1998, when he got 69 wickets in 14 Tests, also helped Shaun gain some attention from cricket fans all over the world.
Pollock relied on the strategy of bowling a tight line and length. In addition to bowling tight, he could move the ball both ways. When he started he was quite sharp in terms of pace, but a knee injury in 2000 resulted in Pollock reducing his pace and adopting a line-and-length bowling strategy, which helped him reap plenty of success with the ball. It was a similar strategy that was used by Aussie fast bowling great, Glenn McGrath.
Two question do arise, though: Is Shaun Pollock one of the most underrated cricketers of all time? Is he up there with some of the all-time greats? In order to understand the greatness of Shaun Pollock one must analyse his career based on the stats of his Test and ODI career.
When Shaun Pollock retired from international cricket in 2008 he was South Africa’s greatest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs. He is now South Africa’s greatest wicket-taker in ODIs and is second in Tests to Dale Steyn, whose record is phenomenal. Steyn recently overtook Pollock in a Test match against Pakistan.
Pollock’s Test record with the ball reads 108 Tests, 421 wickets, 16 five-wicket hauls, one ten-wicket haul, an average of 23.11 at a strike rate of 57.48 with an economy rate of 2.40.
In ODIs, his bowling record reads 303 ODIs, 393 wickets, five five-wicket hauls, an average of 24.51 at a strike rate of 39.98 with an economy rate of 3.68. These are quite impressive bowling statistics.
In regards to his ODI career, Pollock is considered to be one of the greatest bowlers of all time. On the all-time ODI wickets list Pollock is currently sixth behind Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Muttiah Muralitharan. It’s not a bad list to be a part of at all.
Further proof of Pollock’s ODI greatness lies in the fact that he has dismissed one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time, Sachin Tendulkar, nine times.
The ICC ranked him sixth on the list of all-time great all-rounders, with 3000 career runs and 300 career wickets. Pollock is the only player to have more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets in both ODIs and Tests. During his tenure as captain he won more than 50 per cent and 60 per cent of the Test and ODI matches he captained respectively. He also won the Wisden cricketer of the year award in 2003, which was coincidentally the final year of his captaincy.
When Shaun Pollock arrived on the scene in 1995 South African great Allan Donald led the Proteas bowling attack aided by Fanie de Villiers, who was a solid bowler. South Africa at the time had a left-arm fast bowler by the name of Brett Schultz waiting as well. Unfortunately Brett was injury prone and had to retire early due to an excessive number of injuries.
South Africa’s Shaun Pollock (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
Pollock carved a name for himself and was instrumental in South Africa’s only major ICC tournament victory to date, the ICC Knockout Trophy in 1998, where the Proteas defeated the West Indies in the final. In the year before the 1999 World Cup Pollock also troubled the Australians in the 1998 Commonwealth Games final, picking up three wickets and helping South Africa win the Gold medal.
In the 1999 ICC World Cup in England Pollock bowled well in tandem with the great Allan Donald, picking up a five-wicket haul in the semi-final against Australia. That particular game is considered to be one of the greatest ODIs of all time. Although it resulted in the Proteas being knocked out of the tournament, Pollock shined with the ball, picking up the Waugh brothers, Michael Bevan, Shane Warne and Tom Moody for just 36 runs.
Pollock averaged below 24 with the ball against every Test-playing nation except Australia, who were easily the best team during his career, and that particular Australian team is considered to be the greatest cricket team of all time along with the great West Indies teams of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
His home-and-away record is also impressive. Away from home Pollock averaged 25.69 with 186 wickets, seven five-wicket hauls, a strike rate of 64.52 and an economy rate of 2.39. He also averaged below 30 against every nation away from home except when he averaged in the mid-30s.
At home Pollock averaged 21.09, with 235 wickets, nine five-wicket hauls, one ten-wicket haul, a strike rate of 52.57 and an economy rate of 2.41. He also averaged below 30 against every nation at home except for Australia, against whom he averaged above 40.
Despite his struggles against the best team of his era, Pollock’s stats are quite remarkable, especially when you take into account that he bowled with the likes of Allan Donald for the first part of his career as well as with Dale Steyn, who got better during the latter years of Pollock’s career.
Despite the one country he struggled against, Pollock faired very well against every other opposition nation during his career. One particularly intriguing record was his form on the Subcontinent. He is in the top ten for best bowling averages on the Subcontinent by a foreign bowler. Pollock played a total of 17 Tests on the Subcontinent, averaging an outstanding 23.18 and picking up 60 wickets.
His best performances in Asia came against Pakistan in 1997 and 2003 at Faisalabad, where he got figures of 5-37 and 6-78 respectively. The Subcontinent is considered to be a very difficult place for overseas bowlers, especially fast bowlers. Pollock has fantastic overall figures on the Subcontinent, which indicates how good he really was.
His batting record is also intriguing because he averaged 36.45 away from home with nine 50s and one ton, while at home he averaged 29.12, with seven 50s and one ton. Interestingly, his two Test tons came while batting at No. 9 in 2001, and he is the only batsman at No. 9 to have scored two tons.
Shaun Pollock has a few batting records, batting at No. 8 and No. 9. He was known as a solid fielder as well, and he has 72 catches throughout his Test match career.
Shaun Pollock is arguably one of the greatest to have ever graced the game of cricket. He never had such a hype machine like many of the game’s greats, but he is respected by many among the cricketing fraternity. His record and accomplishments speak for itself.
Right now he is plying his trade commentating for SuperSport in South Africa and doing a fine job, just like he did when he represented the Proteas over his 13-year playing career.
He is a true great of the game and an underrated figure in world cricket.
Neel
Roar Guru
True. Mid 90s to late 90s Steve Waugh was brilliant.
Neel
Roar Guru
Interesting perspective on Sobers. I might write one on him. He is one a kind. Thanks once again Paul.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Neel, it was a very different era when Sobers was king. Tours were often months long as I'm sure you know, but were there to be enjoyed and the 5 day games included rest days. I remember talking with a childhood hero, Doug Walters over quite a few beers a while ago and we talked about the need to practice. Walters confirmed that he often skipped net practice, or maybe had a dozen deliveries at most, throughout a lot of his career. He reasoned that because he was in form, he didn't see the need to confirm that by hitting dozens of balls in the middle of the bat. Ditto for Sobers, who had such a great eye, he seemed dialed from ball one. I hope you do put together some more stories, especially about guys or games most Aussies only have a passing knowledge. I'm sure I won't be the only one who enjoys your future writing.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
You could make a very strong case for Steve Waugh the batsman as the best batsman in the world during the mid to late 90s. Steve Waugh the all rounder (80’s and early 90’s) was decidedly second tier. That was the era of Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram etc. He was just never in that class.
Neel
Roar Guru
In regards to Steve Waugh, I don’t know. He got better with age and his captaincy was really brilliant. He had that tough attitude and the incident with him and Curtly Ambrose in 1995 shows how tough he was. I would select him in maybe the 1990s team of the decade, but yeah that’s a tough question to answer. Maybe Steve Waugh the batsman. I am not sure, what do you think Gray Hand?
Neel
Roar Guru
Hmmm, I swear what you mean Paul. Gee, so Sobers was very laid back and sometimes didn’t put any effort? Hmmm, that’s a bit interesting. Pollock was definitely underrated as a captain and he is a really nice person judging by his mannerisms and demeanour. Thank you though for the kind words. Comments like your make me want to write more about the game and the wonderful players to have played it.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Neel, got it, see what you pointing out thanks.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Neel, many thanks for your earlier kind comments. I too enjoy our exchanges and your articles are both terrific to read but also make a person think, which is a really good thing. I was perhaps not clear enough when I made my remarks that Pollock was a the best all round role model for a young person. I should have stressed his leadership qualities as being superior to Sobers, IMO. Sobers on the cricket filed was to the game as an all-rounder what Bradman was to batting. There's no doubt plenty of guys will make more runs at a better average and take more wickets at a better average, but to be able to bowl genuinely fast, then bring the pace down a few notches and bowl swingers then drop down further and bowl spinners, all at Test quality is nigh on impossible to bet. Through in his brilliant batting & fielding and he is the complete cricket package. Sobers captaincy was throw back to a much earlier era. He cost his team both a Test & series victory when he made what was termed a sporting declaration that allowed England to win a Test in 1967/68. There's no way Pollock would have done that. He came to Australia to captain a Rest of the World XI team in a 5 Test series and for large chunks of it, seemed completely disinterested. There was lots of speculation at the time Sobers spent more time on the golf course than he did practicising, again not a great example for kids. In fairness, he made that brilliant 254 in Melbourne, but that was almost an innings of retaliation for all the negative press he had copped. He was and still is streets ahead of any all round cricketer but as a captain, he would have been perfect at the turn of the 20th century.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Yes. I think that is a better way to judge the great players. Career averages can obscure quite a lot. Steve Waugh is a good example of a player whose career averages in batting and bowling don’t paint a proper picture of the player he was at different points of his career. In his first couple of years, Waugh was a pretty poor batsman, but a pretty decent bowler. In his middle years he was repeatedly ranked the best batsman in the world and useful enough to bowl a few overs every innings. In his final 3 or 4 years he went from being a great batsman to average at best, and his bowling was (I think) pretty much non existent. If you were to talk about selecting Steve Waugh in a team of the decade type discussions, it would be important to be specific about which Steve Waugh you were talking about - all rounder or great batsman?
Neel
Roar Guru
Thanks DaveJ for the feedback. I really appreciate the feedback. Yeah, he definitely does rank high amongst the greatest paceman of all time. To me, he was a great strategist and executed plans quite well. What I meant was that bowling with amazing bowlers like Donald and Steyn would result in Pollock getting less attention and probably not getting the recognition. That sentence wasn’t put right at all. Thanks for pointing that error out.
Neel
Roar Guru
Gray-Hand, thanks for the feedback, and yes you make a valid point about averages and how with how things change for legends when they play past their primes. Do you reckon that breaking down averages over certain phases maybe a better way of indicating the greatness of a player?
Neel
Roar Guru
Punter also, saw a drop in his average in the last few years but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great player like you said. I remember him averaging 56 or 58 at one stage and I thought he was going to overtake Tendulkar in the run-scoring department and then he lost his form and had to battle an injury. Punter’s average dropped down to the low 50s. Same argument can be made for Shaun Pollock. Here’s how a depiction of Shaun’s performance: 50 Tests – 210 wickets, avg. 19.86 75 Tests – 303 wickets, avg. 20.87 100 Test – 391 wickets, avg. 23.25
Neel
Roar Guru
Thank you Sgt Pepperoni. I appreciate the feedback.
Neel
Roar Guru
Paul, I got agree with DaveJ on Sobers. In my opinion, greatest all-rounder. He could captain a team, brilliant batsman, gun fielder, and could bowl two or more bowling variations. That’s something that is very difficult to replicate plus he has an amazing record. If I were to rank my Top 6 all rounders, then it would be Sobers, Kallis, Imran Khan, Keith Miller, Hadlee and then Pollock. DaveJ and Paul, who would you guys have in your top 6 all rounders list?
Neel
Roar Guru
Paul, thanks for your feedback. I always like having conversations with you about the gentleman’s game. The reason why I would say he is a great bowler is because his record is good against every nation bar one. The reason why his strike rate would be higher is because he was more a strategica bowler. I guess when you bowl just line and length most of the time. Plus, Pollock could bowl long sustained spells. He planned to get a wicket. Warnie had a strike rate of 57.49 as he used to plan on getting batsman out. They explain it in some cricket coaching module I read somewhere. After that injury in 2000, he did lose a yard of pace because I don’t think he wanted to put more stress on the knee.
Neel
Roar Guru
Danno, exactly what I wanted to say. Anyways, thanks for the feedback guys.
Neel
Roar Guru
He only had a bad overall record against Australia. However, like danno mentioned, most great bowlers had one team they struggled against. Warne struggled against India both home and away. But overall, Warnie’s record was great against most other nations. Similarly, Shaun Pollock has a great record against every other Test playing nation except just the one team.
Neel
Roar Guru
Yeah, his bouncer just crept onto batsman quicker than they would anticipate. He wasn’t sharp like he was before the knee operation in 2000, but goodness gracious, he had a sharp bouncer. He really was a nice person just like you said. Apparently, he is a devout Christian and stays away from the booze and cigarettes. He hardly carried on whenever he got a wicket and was well composed in his demeanour.
Neel
Roar Guru
The Bush, yeah, I saw a similar comment to yours on another cricket forum. South African players tend to get underrated because they don’t have as much media hype as opposed to India, England and even Australia to an extent. Some of the players like Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock, tend to go under the radar a bit because they aren’t that flamboyant or charismatic. This is despite the fact they have great records.
Neel
Roar Guru
That’s exactly the same thoughts I had on Pollock as well mathh. He was a smart bowler who planned his wickets, hence his strike rate is about 57.48. He just went about his business and was overshadowed by Donald in the bowling departments and Kallis in the All-rounders department for South Africa. He still was a vital player for them during that time.