Shaun Pollock: 12 stats that speaks volumes about the fine all-rounder

Shaun Pollock, born on July 16, 1973, was a fine all-rounder who represented South Africa in 108 Tests, 294 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 12 T20 Internationals (T20Is). Nishad Pai Vaidya picks 12 stats that stand testament to Pollock’s greatness. 

1.  Announcing arrival in style

In 1995-96, South Africa invested faith in two youngsters — Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis — when England toured the Rainbow Nation. Both went on to become greats of the game. On One-Day International (ODI) debut against England at Cape Town, Pollock scored 66 not out batting at No. 8. This remains the highest score by a batsman on ODI debut at that position. He then went on to take four for 34. He is one of the few players to have scored a fifty and taken four wickets on ODI debut.

2.  Economical bowler par excellence

Pollock finished his ODI career with 393 wickets in 303 matches. His career economy rate of 3.67 is the best for any bowler who has taken over 300 wickets in the format. Glenn McGrath is the next best with his economy rate of 3.88 for his 381 wickets. In Tests, he his economy rate of 2.39, second to only Curtly Ambrose for those with more than 400 wickets.

3.  Under-rated captain

Pollock’s captaincy is unfortunately remembered for South Africa’s first-round exit from the 2003 World Cup. However, his track record as skipper is quite good. In his 26 Tests as skipper, South Africa won 14, which puts his win-percentage at 53.84 percent. That is a better success rate than Hansie Cronje and Graeme Smith. In 92 ODIs as skipper, South Africa won 59 matches. His win-percentage of 66.48, which is the second best for South Africa for anyone who has captained them in over 20 ODIs.

4.  Only man with 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Test and ODIs

Pollock was a true all-rounder in modern cricket. With the ball, he would deliver incisive spells upfront. Lower down the order, he was a useful batsman who could chip in with useful runs. In Tests, he has 3781 runs and 421 wickets. In ODIs, he has 3519 runs and 393 wickets. Thus, he is the only player with 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests and ODIs.

5.  Only man with two Test tons at No. 9

Pollock has batted at all positions from No. 4 to No. 9 in Test cricket. Interestingly, both his Test tons came at No. 9 in the year 2001. He is the only man with two Test tons at that position.

6.  Four wickets in four balls on debut for Warwickshire

Having made an impressive beginning in international cricket, young Pollock was awarded a stint with Warwickshire in county cricket. On his debut for the county in a Benson and Hedges Cup encounter against Leicestershire, Pollock took four wickets in four balls. He finished with six for 21 in his 10 overs in the game. Independent quoted him after the game, “I’m very pleased. If someone had told me I would take six wickets with a hat-trick in my first game for Warwickshire I would have laughed at them.”

7.  Playing as a batsman and getting a world record

In 2007, Pollock represented Africa XI in the Afro-Asia Cup. He was playing the tournament as a batsman and went on to score 130 in the first ODI, which was his maiden ton in the format. At the time, it was the highest score by a batsman at No. 7 in the format. Pollock did not have that record for long as MS Dhoni smashed 139 not out for Asia XI in the third ODI. Today, the record rests with Luke Ronchi, who hit 170 not out for New Zealand against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

8.  First bowler from Africa to take 400 Test wickets

Pollock is the only bowler from Africa to have taken 400 Test wickets. Pollock achieved the milestone during series against India in 2006-07. With 396 wickets in his bag at the time of writing, Dale Steyn is approaching Pollock’s mark.

9.  Miserly spells

In ODIs, Pollock went for less than a run an over on three separate occasions. In 2000, he took three for seven in eight overs against Zimbabwe at Port Elizabeth. Against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2003, Pollock recorded a spell of nine for one in 10 overs with four maidens. His most economical spell came against Netherlands during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. He took four for one in six overs. In his final days as an active cricket, Pollock also made a mark in the IPL. Playing for the Mumbai Indians, he delivered a parsimonious spell of one for nine in four overs against Chennai Super Kings. A few days later, he followed it up with a spell of three for 12 in his four overs against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

10.  Over 500 Test wickets between father and son

Pollock stepped in his father Peter’s footsteps when he made his international debut in 1995. Amongst them, they have 537 Test wickets and 1152 victims in First-Class cricket.

11.  Getting the better of the best

Pollock had a good record against Sachin Tendulkar in international cricket. He dismissed the great Indian 13 times in 40 matches across formats. Adam Gilchrist (12 dismissals in 52 matches), Sanath Jayasuriya (12 dismissals in 48 matches) and Sourav Ganguly (12 dismissals in 36 matches) are amongst Pollock’s top victims in international cricket. He is the second most successful bowler against Tendulkar across formats, behind Brett Lee, who bagged the prized wicket 14 times. Muttiah Muralitharan and McGrath have also dismissed Tendulkar 13 times in international cricket.

12.  Representative sides

Pollock played ODIs for teams apart from South Africa. He represented ICC World XI in the Super Series against Australia in 2005 and played for Africa XI in two Afro-Asia Cups. He has played nine matches for such combined units in ODIs. Only Virender Sehwag (Playing for ICC World XI and Asia XI), with 10 matches, has played more ODIs for such combined representative units.