The Case for Kallis

[harsh.skm]

Originally Posted by Satyanash89

No one can begrudge kallis anything now, imo. His legend has just grown enormously over the last few years, and this match was pretty much the culmination... an absolute hero

Quite true. In fact, he now may even have a shout out for the 3rd most successful cricketer of all time. Murali, Marshall, McGrath, Hobbs and Tendulkar being the other contenders in my view.

[Xuhaib]

for me just on batting alone he's already overtaken Dravid and Ponting maybe even Lara, Sachin is the only one among his peers I would put ahead of him and if Kallis can sustain this for another 12 months I may even put him above Tendy.

[harsh.skm]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

for me just on batting alone he's already overtaken Dravid and Ponting maybe even Lara, Sachin is the only one among his peers I would put ahead of him and if Kallis can sustain this for another 12 months I may even put him above Tendy.

On batting alone, he doesn't hold a light to any of Sachin, Lara or Ponting. Belittling of Ponting has gone to too great a depth if Kallis is considered a greater batsman. After them, the best of the rest.

[Viscount Tom]

Shoulda let his hair go instead of getting it transplanted, the he could have been almost as good as Brian Close.

[kingkallis]

Originally Posted by rvd619323

I found this on Reddit, not half an hour ago.




I replied with the following:

Kallis vs Sobers is a debate that will never be settled - there's always another stat trotted out by someone to prove Kallis was a better bowler on overcast Wednesdays in England whilst suffering from the flu, and there's always another one to prove the exact opposite. What can be agreed, however, is that they're the two best batting all-rounders in history (I say batting to avoid Imran Khan fans and my personal man-crush on Keith Miller from coming in to things).

Kallis holds his own with the best of the best in this era - however he's underrated because nothing he does stands out. He works hard, makes runs, takes wickets and fields well, however he never had the extreme beauty of a Lara, the sheer following and weight of runs of a Tendulkar, the devastation of a Ponting or the gentlemanly exterior of a Dravid. He doesn't need the reputation; he gets the job done.

When he bowls, he was always overshadowed by a Donald, Pollock or Steyn - three quicks with every right to claim a starting XI place in any all-time XI. He doesn't have the prodigious swing of a Steyn, the raw pace of Donald, or the accuracy of a Pollock. He doesn't need the reputation; he just gets the job done.

In the field, he never had the figure to be a Gibbs, de Villiers or Rhodes. But in the slips he had a safe pair of hands. He didn't need a reputation; he gets the job done.

He never played the big innings until recently - he was head-and-shoulders above Mark Waugh as the bets batsman never to make a double ton (until he did, of course). He made the runs he needed to in tough situations. He wasn't exciting or fashionable, but whenever he came up against Australia, he was the batsman I feared most.

The only thing that tarnishes his legacy is his perceived selfishness - and I'm not convinced on that. Even if there is an element there, it has been blown way out of proportion. And he wouldn't be anywhere as selfish as a Kevin Pietersen, who fans wax lyrical about due to his excitement. Sure, Kallis doesn't bat like AB de Villiers, playing reverse sweeps, scoops and belting sixes for fun. But he took to Twenty/20 cricket perfectly - he is every bit as good, if not as exciting.

If anything, Kallis is too good to be remembered as good. His legacy is driven by raw numbers, not his look, his personality or landmark innings. He flies under the radar in an unfashionable team of showmen and personality (you see comparatively few South African fans on the internet, in my experience, and RSA has been shafted in the amount of Tests they've played in the last few years).

He is the Garfield Sobers of this era.

They don't call it Kallisball for nothing.


Fantastic read; great article.

Great reply! Loved these lines cause its so damn true --> He didn't need a reputation; he gets the job done.

[Monk]

He is a tremendous cricketer. To do what he's done over a long period of time shows how tough he is as well.

[kyear2]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

for me just on batting alone he's already overtaken Dravid and Ponting maybe even Lara, Sachin is the only one among his peers I would put ahead of him and if Kallis can sustain this for another 12 months I may even put him above Tendy.

For me, Kallis is the second greatest ever all rounder just ahead of Imran and Miller and he has surpassed Dravid as a batsman but I would have no reservations in saying that he is not as good a batsman as any of the afore mentioned gentlemen.
Lara and Ponting were dominating batsmen who won matches for their teams and no one has ever matched the sheer weight of runs of Tendulkar. For all of the numbers it still comes down to the eye ball test and Kallis has never matched the creative genius and sheer beauty of Lara, the technical brilliance and consistency of Tendulkar or the brutality and match winning ability of Ponting.

[howardj]

Sooner or later the stats become so overwhelming, that every argument against a player, just melts away

[centurymaker]

sports are for entertainment. for a large majority of his career he didn't provide that whether it be ODIs or tests, so it will strongly go against him.

[Days of Grace]

Sports are also about winning, and Kallis has contributed a lot of innings that have lead to South African wins in his career.

I have calculated the number of times a batsman has played an innings that has contributed to a team win and Kallis is no.3 on the list:

1. Ponting 66
2. Waugh 49
3. Kallis 48
4. Tendulkar 44
5. Dravid 42
5. Gilchrist 42

[Daemon]

'Matchwinning' knocks as a stat just aren't reliable imo. Chanderpaul would get severely ****ed over if you compared using that basis for example.

[Spikey]

further evaluation Gilchrist's 42 could make for interesting reading

[Days of Grace]

Originally Posted by Daemon

'Matchwinning' knocks as a stat just aren't reliable imo. Chanderpaul would get severely ****ed over if you compared using that basis for example.

Also looking to add on innings that contributed to a team drawing the match when under pressure, tbh. Should help Border and Chanderpaul, who only have 27 and 25, respectively.

[Cabinet96]

Originally Posted by howardj

Sooner or later the stats become so overwhelming, that every argument against a player, just melts away

Over the last couple of years he's gone a long way towards dealing with pretty much all of his criticisms. A faster scoring rate, two double centuries, and two courages knocks while injured. A true cricketing hero.

[Satyanash89]

Originally Posted by Cabinet96

Over the last couple of years he's gone a long way towards dealing with pretty much all of his criticisms. A faster scoring rate, two double centuries, and two courages knocks while injured. A true cricketing hero.

Its almost as if Kallis lurks on CW and specifically tries to prove his online critics wrong
Imo, as a batsmen i put him below Sachin and Lara, equal to Ponting and above Dravid, Sanga, Waugh.