Shaun Pollock: One of The Finest Bowling All-rounders

Shaun Pollock was one of the finest and most contributing all-rounders for South Africa in ODIs and Test cricket. He was born and raised in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1973, and grew up playing cricket in his family’s backyard.

His father, Peter Pollock, was a first-class cricketer, and both of Shaun’s grandfathers were South African Test cricketers. From a young age, Shaun was encouraged to pursue cricket, and this fueled his determination and passion for the sport.

By the age of 12, he had already made his debut for the South Africa Schools XI side. This would eventually set him on the path to becoming one of South Africa’s most successful cricketers.

In his teenage years, he represented South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup in 1992. At the age of 19, in 1994, he was selected to play for the senior side, and went on to play 108 Test matches and over 300 One Day Internationals (ODIs).

Journey from Port Elizabeth to Proteas national team was well guided for Shaun Pollock. Born in an almost aristocratic cricketing family, Pollock had the perfect physical ability and environment to make him a driving force in the South African cricket team.

Playing alongside Proteas greats like Allan Donald and Brett Schultz, Pollock made his debut in November 1998 against England ay Centurion. He picked three wickets on debut, however, the match was abandoned due to rain.

In his second test match just 15 days later, the 22 years old Pollock had 38 runs to his name as well as 3 wickets.

Bowling all-rounder, Pollock was more than that

Pollock played 108 test matches in his 12 years long career in which he also saw transitional phase. There is no doubt he was phenomenal bowler, especially in suiting conditions but his batting standard was equally extraordinary and these numbers do prove in effectively.

The year 2001 was was most prolific for Shaun Pollock. He was at his best in all aspects of the game even some of the battles didn’t have that much average with their bats as much Pollock had in that year. He averaged 52 with the bat, scoring 573 runs in 18 innings with a high score of 111.

2 years later in 2003, he looked in a similar kind of form, smashing 452 runs in 15 innings. Now talking about his bowling in those years, it becomes crystal clear that he was a certified legend in brewing. The year 2001 with the ball, Pollock bagged 55 wickets in just 13 matches at an astonishing average of 21.38.

Similary in year 2003, Pollock averaged 20.97 with the ball, picking up 45 wickets in just 11 matches. Now, South Africa had an all-rounder who picked 100 wickets and scored more than 1000 runs in those years. No wonder why, the period he played in was best ever for South African cricket, often recalled the “golden generation of Proteas.”

Innings That Made The Difference 

There are many memorable innings that came from Pollock’s bat. The most beautiful innings was against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2002 was one of the best all-rounder innings but also an unfortunate one for the batter because he missed the triple figure milestone by just 1 runs.

Shaun Pollock came to bat at 264/6 for South Africa. It sounds so funny to read now but no South African batter in that innings scored a century yet the team posted 449 runs on board. He scored 99* off 170 balls and remained only batter to hit a six in that match. No suprise that South Africa won that match by 3 wickets and the winning runs came from Pollock’s bat.

In 1998, Shaun Pollock bowled one of the most dominating spells in Australia by a South African bowler. It was his career best figures as finished off 7 Aussie batters in his 41 overs spell with 11 maiden overs. The spell was ridiculous because he was just getting that extra bounce on chest height which batters hate most.

Another trivia about his test career was that he picked a six wickets haul against all three top Asian sides: India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

With 7200 runs in both test and ODI career, and 813 wickets to his name, Shaun Pollock undoubtedly remains one of the most impactful all-rounders cricketing world has ever seen. The consistency, longevity and such innings that could turn the game in South Africa’s favour, Shaun Pollock played that way.

Now, the great South African all-rounder spends his doing commentry which is also an absolute treat for hearers. He was inducted into ICC Hall of Fame in 2011.