South Africa Cricket Players
Shaun Pollock
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2003
He is mainly considered a medium fast bowler but at times he can deliver a faster ball.His main weapons are his unwavering accuracy, reliability and his ability to make the ball swing both ways. He is also in command of a bouncer which rushes on to the batsman. He is also a very useful hard-hitting batsman who boasts more than acceptable (given that he is a #7 or #8 batsman) Test and ODI averages of 32.58 and 24.67 respectively (as of 18 Sep 2004). His fielding, both on the outfield and occasionally in the slip region, makes him all the more potent. When he was captain, no one in international cricket had more on his slate.
Even though rather successful as a captain, he was eventually removed from the captaincy after South Africa's poor performance in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, a tournament that they were amongst the favourites to win, especially considering it was hosted in their own country. He goes about his business quietly and perhaps surprisingly has not reached the cricketing status that Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath or even former South African bowler Allan Donald has, despite being his country's highest wicket taker in both ODIs and Tests.
He is the nephew of legendary South African cricketer Graeme Pollock and the son of former South African fast bowler, Peter Pollock. After a disappointing Test series tour of Australia in 2005/2006, there have been worries that Pollock, who has been South Africa's most prized bowler since the loss of Donald, is losing his sting in his bowling; however, at only 32, he still has a good few years left as a Test cricketer and is soon approaching becoming only the tenth player to take 400 Test wickets. However, minor injuries have hampered his most recent performances against series' facing Australia and New Zealand, both in South Africa.
During the recent test series with New Zealand in which he struggled, the new ball was taken away from Pollock and given to Dale Steyn. Much talk has centered around whether or not Pollock can still contribute to the South African team.
- Full name : Shaun Maclean Pollock
- Born : July 16, 1973, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province
- Batting style : Right-hand bat
- Bowling style : Right-arm fast-medium
- Test debut : South Africa v England at Centurion - Nov 16-20, 1995
- Last Test : South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg - May 5-9, 2006
- ODI debut : South Africa v England at Cape Town - Jan 9, 1996
- Last ODI : South Africa v Australia at Durban - Mar 10, 2006
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