Former South African skipper Shaun Pollock turns 51 on Tuesday. The legendary star was one of the best all-rounders of his era. Shaun Pollock the son of former legendary batter Peter Pollock caused quite a stir when he made his debut as a strapping youngster who could bowl with good speed.
As his career went on, Shaun Pollock became one of the best new ball bowlers. The South African star sacrificed his pace and became known for his impeccable line and length. During his peak, Shaun Pollock was known to rival Glenn McGrath as one of the best bowlers across formats.
Not just with the ball, Shaun Pollock was also more than capable with the bat. Shaun Pollock scored two Test centuries and one century in the ODI format. By the time he ended his career, Shaun Pollock was one of the best-ever players in the world.
Shaun Pollock: South Africa’s best-ever player
South Africa found a gem when they saw a very young Shaun Pollock walk into the team as a young tearaway pacer. The son of Peter Pollock had been creating quite a stir in the English domestic circuit. It wasn’t a surprise when he made his debut against England in a rain-affected match and got 3 wickets with Graeme Thorpe as his maiden scalp.
His ODI debut came a few months later and soon he became a force to be reckoned with. Shaun Pollock formed a great partnership with Allan Donald as the pair terrorized some of the best batting units across the world.
Shaun Pollock then was given the captaincy after the entire debacle with the match-fixing saga of 2000 which also saw Hansie Cronje get banned. As a skipper, Shaun Pollock was effective but couldn’t help his side win the World Cup in front of his home fans.
As his career went into its twilight, Pollock relied more on accuracy and was one of the most feared bowlers. His talents and hard work paid off as he became the first-ever South African bowler to get to 400 Test wickets. By the time he ended his career, Pollock had picked 421 Test wickets from 108 tests and a further 393 wickets from 303 ODI matches. When he called time on his career not only South Africa even the cricketing world was feeling the void of a cricketer who excelled across formats and in every department.
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