from Official Test Program 1997/98 by Neil Manthorp (thanks Caite)
There are many ways in which cricketers are measured - potential, commercial
value, temperament and reliability are among the most popular. But statistics,
of course, head the list, so before looking at Shaun Pollock's gene pool and
long list of other attributes, look at his numbers.
In 13 Tests he has scored 500 runs at 33.3 and taken 40 wickets at 23.9 apiece.
So often statistics cry out for embellishment or explanation through words. So
often we need to say 'yes, but they don't tell us the full story, he's a better
player than that'. With Shaun Pollock, though, the numbers pretty much tell it
like it is.
There are half a dozen young players in South Africa good enough to get
seriously excited about - Paul Adams, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Adam
Bacher among them - but Pollock is top of the list. He has the ability to become
the finest all-rounder of his generation - and several others.
Kallis will always be a batting all-rounder, while Klusener still regards
batting as a hobby. Pollock, though, is as pure, thoroughbred all-rounder as if
his father and uncle had actually been combined into the same person.
The only previous time that South African cricket enjoyed the kind of profile
and success that it currently boasts, the team was built undeniably around the
Pollock brothers, Peter and Graeme.
Peter has only just been eclipsed by Allan Donald in terms of reputation while
Graeme still features on every 'all-time' list ever written.
"It hasn't always been easy, you know," Shaun says of trying to build
a cricket career with Pollock as a surname. "People would just naturally
look at you out of the corner of their eye - sometimes you couldn't pull on a
pair of whites as yourself."
He wasn't alone in battling to establish his credentials. Cousins Anthony and
Andrew, Graeme's sons, are still struggling to emerge from the shadows and,
after five or six years, have yet to become regulars in a first-class side.
"I always had to be better than my rivals to have a chance, not just equal.
There were definitely people who resented the inclusion of a Pollock and claimed
that it was just because of the name," he said.
As Shaun progressed from Natal junior to match-winning regular, his career
seemed destined for international honors; the nation watched in fascination as
Peter, now the national selection convener, faced a tricky problem.
"...Allan Donald...and Shaun Pollock," said Peter before the first
Test against England at Centurion Park in 1995. So Shaun had done it. Selected
by his own father to play for his country.
"Of course I'm proud," said Peter. "Proud as a selector and proud
as a father. He has earned his selection...I'll be watching his progress with
great interest."
The progress has been steady. Steadily up. And up.
In Pakistan, before the current trip to Australia, South Africa needed to play
two spinners and nobody blinked an eyelid when Shaun was selected in the top six
for the first time. He responded with a career-best 82.
In the third and decisive Test, with Pakistan requiring just 146 for victory,
Pollock bowled one of the best spells by a South African since international
re-admission in 1991. It was easily as good as Fannie de Villiers' match-winning
spell against Australia in Sydney in 1994.
Moving the ball both ways, in the air and off the wicket, and varying his pace
like a seasoned pro, he shattered the local top order and returned after lunch
to complete his five-wicket haul. Final figures 11-1-37-5. Pakistan 92 all out.
South Africa's series.
Pollock scored 156 runs at an average of 52 and took 10 wickets in the series at
24 each. Once again, the numbers really do tell the story.
Although he lives up to the reputation of fiery redheads on the field, he does
not have a single enemy off it. Widely admired and like by his peers, he is
almost always on the last bus home after a night out. And yet he does not drink.
Not even a token beer or swig of champagne to celebrate victory. But the
practical jokes, dressing room yarns, boisterous wrestling and general 'night
out' demeanor flow freely. At times you'd swear he was even slurring his speech
in sympathy of celebrating team-mates.
What about those other measurement criteria? Potential, commercial value,
temperament and reliability. Potentially he is the best all-rounder in the
world. Surely nobody can argue with his start in Test cricket.
Commercial value is enormous. A clean-living, good-looking boy with a naughty
'one-of-the-lads' reputation is an agent's dream. And that red hair has already
earned him a lucrative sportswear deal with the catch-phrase "on
fire!".
His temperament live can, and does, act as a model for players 10 years his
senior. "It's a stupid game, I don't know why we play it," has been
heard several times from his corner of the dressing room. He loves the game, of
course, and he loves its vagaries, but he won't let them get him down. He thinks
before he speaks but he thinks very, very quickly so you'd never notice!
There are hundreds of players who can make an opponent angry with their chirps,
but there are very few who can make some think, or laugh. Pollock can.
Reliability is almost a Pollock watchword. He has only had one serious injury
(so far) and although there are bound to be other niggles he is blessed with a
natural suppleness that keeps most things moving. Loyalty, too, is his middle
name.
Having played in all three Tests and four one-dayers in Pakistan, he had only
nine days in South Africa before the team left for Australia. But while his
great friend (and tour roomie) Klusener went fishing in the rivers of KwaZulu-Natal,
Pollock turned out in a four-day game for Natal.
"I hadn't seen my friends...I wanted to play for them," he offers.
If it all seems a little too good to be true then...it is. But no-one has found
the catch yet. Oh yes, he's very good at that, too. Catching.
Shaun Pollock, the future of South African cricket.