A fast-bowling metronome with the new ball, Shaun Pollock led South Africa’s bowling attack alongside the great Allan Donald and later Makhaya Ntini with great flair and distinction throughout his 13-year-long international career. Known for his impeccable consistency, Pollock was an integral part of the South African outfit that challenged the best of teams through the 2000s.
Dynastical, talismanic and special, Shaun Pollock picks out the ten big moments of his playing career in an exclusive chat with Henry Cowen. Introduction by Roshan Gede.
He’s one of the seven bowlers to have accounted for over 800 international scalps, a list that features the giant spin trio of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble, alongside pacemen Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath and James Anderson. Of those wickets, 421 came in Test cricket, a South African record until Dale Steyn surpassed it in 2018. His 393 ODI wickets are the sixth most for anyone in the format. He was a reliable lower-order batsman too, registering a three-digit score in both Tests and ODIs to justify his worth. He’s one of the only five cricketers to have achieved a double of 400 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test cricket.
I got one ODI hundred and it was for Africa XI against Asia XI. I had a bit of a niggle but they asked me to go and play for the team just as a batsman, which I did for all three matches, and I enjoyed that because people always look at all-rounders and ask whether they can hold their place as just a batsman or a bowler if they had only one skill. To be picked as a batsman and then to get a hundred left me quietly proud.
First published in December 2013
