Happy Birthday Shaun Pollock
With his Father and Uncle representing the national squad, Shaun Pollock had it in his blood to play for South Africa. Born on 16th July 1973, Shaun followed their footsteps and became one of the greatest to ever play the sport.
Shaun Pollock, the former captain of South Africa, is considered one of the all-time best medium-pace bowlers. Pollock had many game-defining performances with the willow throughout his illustrious international career, which lasted from 1995 to 2008, guiding South Africa to victory. Pollock was not just a true fast bowler, but also one of his era’s top all-rounders. The legend frequently wreaked havoc on the pitch with the ball and the willow to confound the opposition.
His batting wasn’t any worse only because he was more of a bowling all-rounder. He was a big, well-built bowler who wasn’t particularly something that opposition be scared of, but his pinpoint accuracy and off-pitch seam movement made him a difficult bowler to face.
In November 1995 in Centurion, Pollock made his Test debut for South Africa against England. He has 108 tests and a 421. The numbers 7-87 were his greatest. His economy rate in tests was 2.39. He has one ten-wicket haul in addition to 16 five-wicket hauls. He has taken 393 wickets for South Africa in 303 ODI games. His 6/35 score was his best.
Pollock has 3,781 runs at batted in 108 games for an average of 32.31. In Tests, he has amassed 16 fifties and 2 hundreds, with a top score of 111. 3519 runs, at an average of 26.45, were scored in 303 One-Day International games. In ODIs, he has hit 114 50-plus scores.
In 2003, he was also selected as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year. In both ODIs and Tests, he leads South Africa in wickets taken.
Shaun’s time as captain was not very remarkable. He computed the D/L score incorrectly, causing South Africa to lose their opening World Cup match versus West Indies. It was his last match as captain. In 2007, he competed in his fourth World Cup, but his performance was substantially slower, and the following year, he gave up playing.
After playing in his 303rd One Day International on February 3rd, he declared on January 11th, 2008, that he was quitting all international cricket. In his present role, Pollock provides commentary for SuperSport’s coverage of South African cricket.
He was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in November 2021.
The saga of Shaun Pollock and his great achievements can go on forever but that is the story for some other day. We wish the legend a Very Happy 49th Birthday!
