Top 10 South African batsmen of all time

1 Jacques Kallis

166 Test matches, 45 centuries, an average of 55.37 and 13289 runs. That is the sort of Test record South African great Jacques Kallis retired with and considering the fact that he was an excellent bowler as well, it is safe to say that he wasn’t only his nation’s greatest ever batsman but also its greatest cricketer.

Kallis had the technique to bat for long, grind the opposition to dust and then peel off runs off a demoralised opposition. He did this routine around 18 years in Test cricket and emerged as one of the greatest batsmen to ever play the game.

In 328 ODIs, he scored 17 centuries at an average of 44.36 and played the anchor role in a lineup filled with stroke makers. Kallis’ mastery over his technique often made bowlers feel like they were bowling at a 10 feet wide wall.