ON THIS DAY
Follow UsGrandson and son of cricketers Andrew Pollock and Peter Pollock, respectively, and nephew of South African cricket legend Graeme Pollock, there was little doubt that Shaun Pollock would take up cricket when he was born on July 16, 1973. But very few could predict him to become one of the best all-rounders in world cricket and a Hall of Fame inductee.
Interestingly, the term favoritism wasn't floated around when Pollock debuted in international cricket in 1995 with his uncle Graeme Pollock as the selector; the reason being Pollock's 78 first-class wickets at an average of almost 21.
Unlike his uncle, who was one of the best batters Proteas ever produced, Pollock was known for his bowling. In his first Test series against England at home, Pollock would take 16 wickets in five matches at an average of 23.6, which also included his first five-wicket haul that helped South Africa seal the series with a 10-wicket victory.
Pollock struggled to find his footing in his first three years on the international circuit, but he never fell short of expectations once he got going in 1998. He garnered 69 Test wickets that year, bettered only by Allan Donald, and there was no looking back.
He would take a whopping 274 wickets from 1998 to 2003 across 64 Test matches, which included 14 five-fors. Only Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan had more wickets during that period. Pollock would end his Test career with an unbelievable 421 wickets with an average of 23.1.
However, it was in the ODIs where he reigned supreme. Pollock had 393 wickets to his name with the white ball in 303 games and retired as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in world ODI cricket. He was led only by Wasim Akram (502), Muralitharan (455 wickets) and Waqar Younis (393).
Pollock's impeccable bowling and temperament made him a mainstay in the South African team, while his reliable batting performances cemented his name as a legend.
During the first five calendar years of Pollock's Test stint, he averaged over 30 before his willow started talking in 2001. Pollock would sum up 573 runs that year apart from taking 55 Test wickets. His first and last Test century came against Sri Lanka and West Indies, respectively, in the same year. Many assumed his batting display was a blip, but Pollock repeated it by scoring 231 runs in 2002 and 452 in 2003.
Pollock looked more comfortable with the bat in ODIs, a format where he has 10 fifties, and a century, all of which came mostly from #7. Pollock's innings of 130 against Asia XI in 2007 was the highest score from the #7 position that lasted for four days before MS Dhoni scored 139*. He would end his international stint with 7386 runs, 829 wickets and 21 five-wicket hauls.
Shaun Pollock was forced to take up captaincy after Hansie Cronje's match-fixing scandal came to light in 2000. He was tasked with lifting up the dressing room and the entire nation, and he did a brilliant job.
Pollock would captain South Africa for three years, during which he would attain his career's only 10-wicket haul. However, host South Africa's group-stage elimination from the 2003 World Cup owing to a miscalculation of the D/L method was followed by Pollock leaving his leadership role for Graeme Smith.
Pollock remained a team player until he retired from all forms of international cricket in 2008, but his sportsmanship and professionalism earned him immense respect from both teammates and opponents. Apart from that, he also coached the Mumbai Indians to a Champions League Trophy in 2011.
