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Interesting article about Kallis

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/231837.html



The enigma called Jacques Kallis

S Rajesh

January 6, 2006



A few more strokes like this one, and Jacques Kallis will be a much more feared batsman for the opposition © Getty Images



He has played almost 100 Tests, averages nearly 57, has scored runs against allcomers in all conditions, and was recently named the ICC's Player of the Year, but Jacques Kallis has hardly got the kind of acclaim you'd expect a batsman to receive after all these achievements. Since 1999, the lowest he has averaged in a calendar year is 48.75, and in these seven years only twice has his annual average slipped below 50, yet more attention has been targetted at what he hasn't achieved than what he has. His batting has been described as soulless, lacking in intent, and selfish - the latest example being his unbeaten 14 off 47 balls on the fourth day against Australia, when quick runs were the need of the hour. Unjustified criticism, or just comments made against a player who bats for himself more than for his team? The Numbers Game looks at two aspects of Kallis's record which have drawn flak, and checks out what the stats have to say about them.



A fair-weather player?


In eight Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, Kallis has scored 893 runs and has been dismissed just four times, giving him an incredible average of 223.25. In 14 Tests against Australia (before the current Sydney Test), on the other hand, Kallis's returns were a far more modest 800 runs at 33.33 before the last Test of the 2005-06 series against Australia at Sydney. Against Pakistan, another side with a strong bowling attack, he has only managed 38 runs per innings in eight matches. Against Muttiah Muralitharan's Sri Lanka, the average is a dismal 33.63.

While these are damning numbers, they don't necessarily tell the entire story. In the first half of his career, Kallis did struggle against the top teams, as the table below shows. In the second half of his career, though, he has consistently proved that he can score runs off the best bowlers - he has scored hundreds in each of his last two series against Australia, and he averaged 68 against an excellent England attack in 2004-05.

Kallis - till April 2, 2001, and after Versus Before Apr '01-Tests/ runs Average After Apr '01-Tests/ runs Average
Australia 6/ 256 23.27 9/ 705 50.36
England 12/ 599 39.93 8/ 183 54.20
India 2/ 136 68.00 4/ 443 88.60
New Zealand 6/ 463 66.14 3/ 354 70.80
Pakistan 4/ 220 66.14 4/ 236 39.33
Sri Lanka 8/ 347 26.69 4/ 292 48.67
West Indies 8/ 649 49.92 10/ 1207 109.73
Zimbabwe 2/ 179 89.50 4/ 500 250.00
Bangladesh - - 2/ 214 -



Self before team?



It's an allegation that has much more merit, but one that is tougher to either prove or disprove through numbers alone. It's difficult to look at the scorecards and say, for instance, if an 83 off 165 balls was just the innings for the occasion, or if it spoilt the team's chances of gunning for victory. For people who have watched him over the years, though, his approach has often been baffling: despite having almost every stroke at his command - to go with a watertight defensive technique - Kallis seldom dominates bowling attacks the way he should. The innings at Sydney was only the latest example of how he seems to bat in a bubble, oblivious to the team cause - less than a couple of months earlier, Kallis plodded his way to 91 off 146 balls in an ODI against India at Mumbai, as South Africa only managed 221 and ended up losing the match.

The stat that best illustrates Kallis's tendency to cruise in second or third gear instead of imposing himself on the game - something that all great batsmen tend to do - is his scoring rate in innings when he gets to hundreds. In his 23 Test centuries, he has only scored at 48 runs per 100 balls, nowhere near the rates of Sachin Tendulkar (59.5), Inzamam-ul-Haq (61.5), Ricky Ponting (63) or Brian Lara (70). Among today's top players, Kallis's rate is closest to Rahul Dravid's (49.75), but in a line-up filled with extravagant strokeplayers, Dravid plays a specific, and much-needed, anchoring role. In a South African line-up loaded with grafters, Kallis, as the best batsman of the side, has often failed to impose himself - and thus his team - upon the opposition. Here's another damning stat: in the 15 centuries he has scored since September 2001, even after he's got a hundred against his name, Kallis only cruises along at a scoring rate of 57.54, that's less than the career strike rates of Ponting and Lara.

The theory of Kallis being concerned only with his average gains further credence due to the high number of not-outs in his career stats, especially in the second innings. He has remained unbeaten 21 times in 65 second innings; only two batsmen - Allan Border (31 not-outs in 111 second innings) and Graham Thorpe (24 out of 86) - have a higher number among middle-order batsmen (No.3 to No.6), while Steve Waugh has the same number (21 out of 94), but all three have a lower not-out percentage than Kallis, whose tally of 2277 runs in not-out innings is next only to Border's 2989 and Waugh's 3337. And if you look at second-innings not-outs only, another batsman who was accused of putting self before team - Geoffrey Boycott - comes in at second place, a slot above Kallis.

Most runs in not-outs Not-out innings Runs
Steve Waugh 46 3337
Allan Border 44 2989
Jacques Kallis 28 2227
Sachin Tendulkar 21 1957
Garry Sobers 21 1908


Most runs in 2nd innings not-outs Not-outs in 2nd innings Runs
Allan Border 31 1842
Jacques Kallis 21 1310
Geoff Boycott 20 1270
Graham Thorpe 23 1188
David Gower 15 1087


But just as the Kallis baiters will point to Boycott to prove their point, there's another name a further down in the list who could never be accused of playing for his average - David Gower ended up with 1087 from 15 unbeaten knocks.




.........................................................................................................................................


A very interesting article.
 

Craig

World Traveller
Very interesting indeed.

It has always baffled me why Kallis is more concerned about himself then the team, and it is something that needs to get told to him by management of the South African team. I'm not advocating sacking him as he is too good of a player to do so, but he needs to understand that needs to be a lot more positive and look for more singles. They help, it keeps the runs flowing and lets the danger man (ie Gibbs) to play his natural game without being given the strike.

He can play the hook and the pull pretty well yet he was content to let Brett Lee play bumpers at him all day, and when he gets his ton then he starts to play them?
 

Slats4ever

International Vice-Captain
honestbharani said:
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/231837.html






He has played almost 100 Tests, averages nearly 57, has scored runs against allcomers in all conditions, and was recently named the ICC's Player of the Year,

A fair-weather player?


In eight Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, Kallis has scored 893 runs and has been dismissed just four times, giving him an incredible average of 223.25. In 14 Tests against Australia (before the current Sydney Test), on the other hand, Kallis's returns were a far more modest 800 runs at 33.33 before the last Test of the 2005-06 series against Australia at Sydney. Against Pakistan, another side with a strong bowling attack, he has only managed 38 runs per innings in eight matches. Against Muttiah Muralitharan's Sri Lanka, the average is a dismal 33.63.
Man this S Rajesh has produced yet another strange article. In his article he opens by saying he's scored runs against all comers. Yet then Rajesh comes out and takes a dig against his inability against Pakistan and Australia.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
I just like the way that yet again Cricinfo write an article on something we've been discussing on here for the last week or more.

Where do they get their ideas?!
 

Deja moo

International Captain
marc71178 said:
I just like the way that yet again Cricinfo write an article on something we've been discussing on here for the last week or more.

Where do they get their ideas?!
Where all armchair journalists do nowadays (google, forums etc) :ph34r:
 

Scaly piscine

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
marc71178 said:
I just like the way that yet again Cricinfo write an article on something we've been discussing on here for the last week or more.

Where do they get their ideas?!
Hopefully they'll look at Kallis' contributions in declared innings next time... far better way of seeing how selfish he is. Plenty of evidence for the prosecution in his latest effort and the one against England in the 5th Test.

The recent editions in these articles on Cricinfo also seem to have a habit of giving you some stats and then showing an example that demeans them... like here:


Most runs in 2nd innings not-outs Not-outs in 2nd innings Runs
Allan Border 31 1842
Jacques Kallis 21 1310
Geoff Boycott 20 1270
Graham Thorpe 23 1188
David Gower 15 1087


But just as the Kallis baiters will point to Boycott to prove their point, there's another name a further down in the list who could never be accused of playing for his average - David Gower ended up with 1087 from 15 unbeaten knocks.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
^ The article generally tries (whether they are really trying is up for debate I guess) to be reasonably objective. I mean putting Gower's name on the list, its obvious to anyone who watched or read about him that he didn't play for himself.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
like Jono said, I think the writer was just trying to be objective, letting the numbers speak for themselves and allowing the readers' to make their own conclusions about what they mean.
 

LongHopCassidy

International Captain
Slats4ever said:
Man this S Rajesh has produced yet another strange article. In his article he opens by saying he's scored runs against all comers. Yet then Rajesh comes out and takes a dig against his inability against Pakistan and Australia.
Oh, he's scored runs against Pakistan and Australia.

Just not that many. :p
 

LongHopCassidy

International Captain
I'm not sure Kallis is being consciously selfish - unless having a low strike rate and a huge average is the same as 'selfish'. He complements his batting partners.

I think most people believe Kallis plays for his average because they believe if he's that good a batsman, he should be able to change his style and push the score along. To me, if he gets a good score, why worry? 100 off 275 is better than 10 off 4.

There's a fine line between 'defensive' and 'selfish'.
 

Scaly piscine

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Unfortunately there's no line between 'Kallis' and 'selfish'

I don't see lots of people calling Richardson or Atherton selfish.
 

Top_Cat

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I don't see lots of people calling Richardson or Atherton selfish.
Both were opening batsmen. Big difference. They were deliberately there to 'take the shine, not the cover' off the ball. And with that in mind as their jobs, they excelled at it.
 

Scaly piscine

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Top_Cat said:
Both were opening batsmen. Big difference. They were deliberately there to 'take the shine, not the cover' off the ball. And with that in mind as their jobs, they excelled at it.
There are still times when they had to try to play differently to help the team. I suppose if you want to compare like with like you could look at Dravid - I don't see many people calling him selfish either.
 

howardj

International Coach
I do think people are going a little overboard using the Sydney Test as absolute proof that Kallis is selfish. I didnt really have a problem with his first innings at all. Kallis's first innings saved South Africa's bacon, it didnt cruel their chances. In treacherous conditions (much more treacherous than what Hayden faced at the Oval, when he produced a similar innings) the occasion called for application. When you think about it, if they didnt freak out during the MacGill innings, South Africa could have been 200 ahead going in to Day four.

Regarding his second innings, he scored I think 38 off 52 on Day five. Not lightning quick, but that he was continually reverse sweeping Warne out of the rough, from around the wicket (into the footmarks), perhaps suggests that preserving his own wicket was not his top priority. Im not saying that, at times, he couldnt bat a little more for the team, but I dont think the Sydney Test provided great proof of his alleged selfishness. I do declare that he is my favourite player, but I dont think that detracts from the above points.
 

Top_Cat

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There are still times when they had to try to play differently to help the team. I suppose if you want to compare like with like you could look at Dravid - I don't see many people calling him selfish either.
The difference between Dravid and Kallis is that Kallis has no 'gears' as a batsman where Dravid can up the tempo if he needs to. Not to a Gilchristian standard but he has plenty of attacking strokes which he brings out as the situation demands. I was there when he scored 200 in Adelaide and he was taking paint off the cover pickets all day as well as bringing up his 100 with a hooked six over fine-leg!

The other thing which might explain the perceptions is that Dravid plays 'the wall' in the midst of some great stroke-makers. If anything he's portrayed as unselfish for doing this because even if his score is moving up slowly, the team score is usually motoring along. Kallis has relatively dour batsmen around him so the team score moves as slow as he does which doesn't help. Kallis reputation as less-than a team man isn't helped when he seems to bowl a lot more against Zim, Bang and SL than he has against Aus and other higher-ranked teams.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Top_Cat said:
The difference between Dravid and Kallis is that Kallis has no 'gears' as a batsman where Dravid can up the tempo if he needs to. Not to a Gilchristian standard but he has plenty of attacking strokes which he brings out as the situation demands. I was there when he scored 200 in Adelaide and he was taking paint off the cover pickets all day as well as bringing up his 100 with a hooked six over fine-leg!

The other thing which might explain the perceptions is that Dravid plays 'the wall' in the midst of some great stroke-makers. If anything he's portrayed as unselfish for doing this because even if his score is moving up slowly, the team score is usually motoring along. Kallis has relatively dour batsmen around him so the team score moves as slow as he does which doesn't help. Kallis reputation as less-than a team man isn't helped when he seems to bowl a lot more against Zim, Bang and SL than he has against Aus and other higher-ranked teams.
I'd dispute that. He has them (he holds the record for the fastest ever test 50, albeit against Zimbabwe) but just seems unwilling to engage them against top notch oppo when a declaration is in the air.
 

Top_Cat

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I'd dispute that. He has them (he holds the record for the fastest ever test 50, albeit against Zimbabwe) but just seems unwilling to engage them against top notch oppo when a declaration is in the air.
You negated your own argument a bit there. :) Guys like Dravid have gears no matter the opposition. Not to mention I can think of a few other situations where Kallis is unwilling to engage his more attacking instincts.
 

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