Cricketer of the Week

It's that time of the week where the Straight Bat announces its Cricketer of the Week. And this week's winner is:

South Africa's star all-rounder Jacques Kallis

Born October 16th, 1975 in Cape Town, Jacques Kallis has been the most prolific South African player since the legendary Graeme Pollock. A tough, grinding batsman and a useful swing bowler, he has been a key part of strengthening the South African cricket team in test and one day cricket.

He made his test debut against England in late 1995, but he gave no indication of what was to come, making 1 and not bowling in a drawn match. He played only one more test before being discarded until he was called upon to fight the mighty Australian team for the first time.

He did not start well, but in Pakistan he made he first half century, and making his maiden tour of Australia he cracked his first century, 101, guiding South Africa to a hard-fought draw.

Since then he has gone from strength to strength, amassing a record that would make any cricket fan impressed. His test average of 57.10, with 27 test tons is mightily impressive, as is his 216 wickets at 31.64. He has more international runs than any other South African, and at 32, he is hot on the heels of 9,000 test runs and beyond.

Throughout this, Kallis isn't as highly regarded in some circles than his record suggests. His record may rival that of Sir Garfield Sobers, but Kallis has gone about his craft in a completely different way.

One of the most unique achievements of Sobers was that no matter what he did, he was always going to have an affect on the game, whether batting, bowling or fielding. He could dominate matches, as he did in England in 1966, where he scored 722 runs at 103.14 and 20 wickets at 27.25.

Kallis has never really achieved this sort of dominance over a series, whilst he achieved good bowling figures and good batting figures in the same match, he has been unable to replicate it consistently. It should be remembered along that vein though, that cricket is not a one man game.

Kallis is more of a wicket accumulator, not a strike bowler, which Sobers was quite capable of doing. As economical as he can be, Kallis is not noted as being a prolific wicket taker. He has taken 44 wickets against the frail West Indies, and although he has taken 35 wickets against Australia, his average is a frustratingly high 37.17.

As a batsman, Kallis is much more impressive. He can look unmovable at times, and has a talent for remaining not out. However, his strike rate per 100 balls is 43.12. Ricky Ponting's by comparison is 58.95, Kevin Pietersen's 65.49.

His average against the West Indies is 77..33, against Zimbabwe 169.75, and he is yet to gain an average against Bangladesh, having scored 214 without being dismissed. Against those nations he has scored 11 of his 27 test centuries.

But against Australia he only average 38.32, with 3 centuries. And against Sri Lanka, a meager 33.63, with no centuries in 12 tests.

This is the blight on Kallis' remarkable achievements, that he has built a record on dominating weak teams but falling short of his talents against teams like Australia. For such a talented player, his record suddenly doesn't hold up to closer inspection. If he could follow he lesson of another great South African, Aubrey Faulkner, and "get on with it", maybe we'll see the best of Jacques Kallis.

He still the best South African cricketer of the modern era, and with still quite a few years left, he could amass a record that leaves any cricketer behind.