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 - Karthik Narayan

Everyone has a dream. The Coach dreams that the team wins every game and tournament they play in, and he gets to stick around for a longer period of time. The Captain dreams of a fit team, with potential match winners and to become World Beaters! A Cricketer’s all time dream would naturally be good at everything in the game, contribute to all parts of the game. One such Dreamer was Jacques Henry Kallis.

Kallis made his test debut aganst the English in December 1995, and he did not make any sort of impact on the scoresheets… in fact, his first few test scores all sounded more like an overseas calling number, 1-7-6-39-0-2-2. At the end of those 6 innings, he averaged 9.50, an average one-sixth of his impressive near 54 average in tests.

Dreams do come true, so it did for our Dreamer…  in the series against the undisputed World Champions Aussies at MCG, in 1997-98, he scored his first test 100, coming in at his favorite Number 3 slot.  Since then, he has never looked back. He took every opposition to task in every match he played thereafter. As every SA cricketer is, Kallis is a fine batsman with a perfect technique, much like India’s Rahul Dravid.

Kallis is no shirker for hard work. In fact, one would find that the strength of all South African is the HARD WORK in their every aspect of cricket. Just look at his record in tests and ODIs, nearly an average of 54 in tests and a 45 plus in ODIs, and that too laced with the best of strokes, and scores of 12 tons in ODIs and 16 in tests… magnificent would be an understatement.

It’s worth every penny if you want to invest in watching his videos and matches. Nothing short of world class has this fine all rounder given all of us. In the beginning, Kallis was just a young player in the team with a good technique, and nothing more than that. He was suspect against the spin wizardry of Shane Warne, for that matter, he was not as good against the slow bowlers. He did all the backyard work with plenty of practice in the nets. Hours of rigorous work, all has contributed to his success at the highest level.

A tall, gentle “Giant”, with a killer attitude, that’s what is this guy all about.. He belts the cricket ball to every corner of the cricket field. Having started as a technique player who could not accelerate enough in the ODIs, he has adapted to the shorter version of the game. Now he comes across as a batsman who can play any role as a batsman, be it sheet anchor, or go all out and score quick. Add to that the role of a fine fielder! He fields in the outfield as good as any other South African, and a regular slip fielder in the tests.

The icing on the cake is his bowling. For any other team, okay, he can bat, and he fields anywhere for you. A real asset indeed for the team. But he is much more than that! He comes in as second change bowler, sometimes first change, and he has this uncanny knack of getting wickets with his predominantly “BANANA” out-swingers. He has then again, worked on bowling a deceptive slower delivery, and the fastish off cutter.

The English wouldn’t for their lives forget his bowling at Headingley, with his best bowling in tests of 6-54. He has over 150 wickets in both forms of the game. Well, that just makes him the Diamond of Kimberley, and don’t search any further, he fits the bill perfectly! Cricketers may come and go, but dreamers and dreams are there forever… every wink of sleep has a dream and then, there are day dreams.

Jacques Kallis is no mere dreamer, though, he is the dream of every captain! He has shown the PATH to every dream is Hard work, which he has made come true with his hard work… Its no small wonder to take the life of this leader of an all-new youth brigade as a striking example to dream, and dream big!

Well, Oxford Dictionary, here we come! (For those who came in late, Sachin Tendulkar’s name was put up on the OED recently)

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