Top 5 South African all-rounders of all-time

South Africa might not have won a Cricket World Cup but it’s sure regarded to be one of the elite powers in World Cricket. After returning from more than a two-decade ban in 1991, South Africa have entertained spectators with their mesmerizing performances in all three formats of the game.

The country has produced a number of great cricketers over the years which includes the likes of Allan Donald, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten and many more. South Africa has also produced a considerable number of all-rounders in cricket with a number of their players shining in the game with both the bat and ball.

Let’s take a look at the top five all-rounders produced by South Africa in cricket.

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#5 Brian McMillan

Considered by many to be the best all-rounder in the world during the mid-90s, Brian McMillan could have had a more successful international career had it not been for South Africa’s ban from international cricket as by the time he made his national team debut in 1991, he was already 28.

Nevertheless, McMillan played for the Proteas for seven years before retiring in 1998. McMillan was a right-arm pacer who had the capability to score quick runs as a middle-order batsman. For a player of his build, McMillan was surprisingly an agile fielder at slip.A part of the South African team that played their first match since their reinstation in world cricket, McMillan scored 1968 runs in 38 Tests at an average of 39.35 and a strike rate of 42.85, scoring 13 half-centuries and three centuries with his highest score being 113 against Pakistan at Johannesburg in 1995.

He took 78 Test wickets at an average of 33.82 and at an economy rate of 2.51 with his best bowling performance being 65/4 against New Zealand at Cape Town in 1995. In the 78 ODIs he played, McMillan scored 841 runs at an average of 23.36 and a strike rate of 73.32, with a 127 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1995 being his highest ODI score.

He also took 70 wickets at an average of 36.98 and an economy rate of 4.28 with his best bowling figures in ODIs being 32/4 against India at Port Elizabeth in 1992.

#4 Hansie Cronje

Cronje will remain a South African great despite his involvement in a match-fixing scandal

Despite his involvement in the infamous match-fixing scandal in 2000, Hansie Cronje is one of the best cricketers to have come out of South Africa. Having made his international debut in 1992, Cronje went on to become one of the pillars of the South African team of the 1990s and led the team in all three formats from 1993 till 2000.

He led South Africa to their only silverware, winning the 1998 Champions Trophy where he scored an unbeaten 61 against West Indies in the final. Predominantly, a middle-order batsman, Cronje was also pretty handy as a right-arm medium bowler.In 68 Tests, Cronje scored 3714 runs at an average of 36.41 and a strike rate of 44.63, hitting 23 fifties and 6 hundreds with his highest Test score being 135 against India in 1992 which was also his maiden century in international cricket. He took 43 wickets with the ball at an average of 29.95 and at an economy rate of 2.03 with his best bowling figures being 14/3 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1999.

In 188 ODIs, Cronje scored 5565 runs at an average of 38.64 and a strike rate of 76.47, hitting 39 fifties and 2 hundreds with both of them coming against Australia. His highest ODI score is 112 against Australia at Johannesburg in 1994.

Cronje’s bowling records in ODIs is much better than his Test records, having taken 114 wickets with the ball at an average of 34.78 and an economy rate of 4.44 with his best bowling figures in ODIs being 32/5 against India at Cape Town in 1992. Cronje was handed a life ban from cricket in 2000 owing to his involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2000 and was later killed in a plane crash in 2002.

Nevertheless, given his numbers, Hansie Cronje is definitely one of the greatest all-rounders South Africa have produced.

#3 Lance Klusener

Klusener was the Player of the Tournament at the 1999 Cricket World Cup

On hearing the name Lance Klusener, the very first thing that comes to our mind is the 1999 Cricket World Cup where he produced a string of mesmerizing performances with both bat and ball and was later adjudged the Player of the Tournament, having scored 250 runs and taking 17 wickets throughout the course of the tournament.

Even though Klusener played a number of incredible knocks for South Africa, one of his most memorable performances for South Africa will be his unbeaten cameo of 31 off just 16 deliveries when he almost led South Africa to the World Cup Final.

Chasing a target of 214, South Africa needed nine runs to win off the final over and only had a wicket remaining with Klusener and Allan Donald on the crease. Klusener hit the first two balls for consecutive boundaries which levelled the scores.

However, in the fourth delivery, Klusener mis-hit his shot towards mid-wicket and ran but Donald on the non-striker’s end did not run initially and by the time he left the non-striker’s end of the crease, Mark Waugh had already thrown the ball towards Adam Gilchrist who took the bails off and the match was tied with Australia progressing to the final due to a superior net run-rate.

Known for his aggressive batting and swing bowling, Klusener first made his debut for South Africa in 1996 against England. In the 49 Tests that he played in, Klusener scored 1906 runs at an average of 32.86 and a strike rate of 59.80, hitting 8 half centuries and 4 centuries with his highest Test score being 174 against England at Port Elizabeth in 1999.

The South African took 80 wickets with the ball at an average of 37.91 and an economy rate of 2.64 with his best bowling figures being 64/8 against India on his Test debut. In 171 ODIs, Klusener scored 3576 runs at an impressive average of 41.10 and an equally impressive strike rate of 89.91, hitting 19 half centuries and 2 centuries with his highest ODI score being an unbeaten 103 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1999.

He took 192 wickets at an average of 29.95 and an economy rate of 4.70 with his best bowling figures being 49/6 against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1997.

#2 Shaun Pollock

Pollock is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs

Regarded to be one of the greatest all-rounders of all-time, Shaun Pollock has definitely surpassed all his family members in cricket with his father Peter Pollock and uncle Peter Pollock both being accomplished cricketers. Pollock was predominantly a bowling all-rounder who was recognized for his ability to swing the delivery accurately.

He was also a useful pinch-hitter who played quite a few crucial innings for South Africa with the bat. Following Hansie Cronje’s ban from cricket, Pollock was handed the captaincy of the South African team; something he would be axed from following South Africa’s disappointing first round exit from the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

He represented the national team in a total of four World Cups and in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and retired from international cricket in 2008.

Pollock is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker, having taken 421 Test wickets at an average of 23.11 and an economy rate of 2.39 and 393 ODI wickets at an average of 24.50 and at an impressive economy rate of just 3.67. Pollock also played 12 T20Is in which he took 15 wickets at an average of 20.60 and an economy rate of 7.62.

His best bowling figures are 87/7 against Australia at Adelaide in Tests, 35/6 against West Indies at East London in ODIs, and 28/3 against New Zealand at Johannesburg in T20Is. With the bat, Pollock scored 3781 runs in Tests at an average of 32.31 and a strike rate of 52.52, hitting 16 fifties and 2 hundreds with his highest score being 111 against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2001.

In ODIs, Pollock scored 3519 runs with the bat at an average of 26.45 and a strike rate of 86.69, hitting 14 fifties and a century with his highest score being 130 while playing for Africa XI against Asia XI in 2007. In T20Is, Pollock scored only 86 runs with the bat at an average of 12.28 and a strike rate of 122.85 with his highest score being an unbeaten 36 against West Indies in 2008. Truly, one of the most incredible players South Africa were gifted with.

#1 Jacques Kallis

Kallis is South Africa’s greatest cricketer of all-time

Arguably the greatest all-rounder cricket has ever seen, Jacques Kallis is the only cricketer to have scored more than 10000 runs and have taken more than 250 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. Known for his orthodox batting technique and solid defence, Kallis had every shot in the book at his disposal and executed them perfectly.

An equally efficient bowler, Kallis was a complete all-rounder. However, despite his talents, the only silverware Kallis could win with South Africa was the 1998 Champions Trophy in which he was adjudged Player of the Tournament. Having made his debut in 1995, Kallis represented South Africa in a total of five 50-over World Cups and three Twenty20 World Cups in an international career that lasted nearly two decades.Kallis is South Africa’s leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. In 166 Tests, Kallis scored 13289 runs at an impressive average of 55.37 and a strike rate of 45.97, hitting 58 half-centuries and 45 centuries, with his highest Test score being 224 against Sri Lanka at Cape Town in 2012. He took 292 wickets with the ball at an average of 32.65 and an economy rate of 2.82 with his best bowling figures being 54/6 against England at Leeds in 2003.

In 303 ODIs, Kallis scored 11579 runs at an average of 44.36 and a strike rate of 72.89, hitting 86 half-centuries and 17 centuries with his highest ODI score being 139 against West Indies at Johannesburg in 2004. He took 273 wickets with the ball at an average of 31.79 and an economy rate of 4.84 with his best bowling figures being 30/5 against the West Indies in the 1998 Champions Trophy Final at Dhaka.

In T20Is, Kallis scored 666 runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike rate of 119.35 with his highest score being 73 against India at the 2010 ICC World T20. He took 12 wickets with the ball at an average of 27.75 and an economy rate of 7.23 with his best bowling figures being 15/4 against Zimbabwe at Hambantota during the 2012 ICC World T20.

He retired from international cricket in 2014. Jacques Kallis’ numbers are enough to tell that not only is he the greatest all-rounder from South Africa but perhaps even South Africa’s greatest cricketer ever.