Career
Shaun Pollock was a fast-medium seam bowler, with the ability to deliver a quicker ball with accuracy and swing.
The nephew of legendary South African cricketer Graeme Pollock and the son of former South African fast bowler Peter Pollock, expectations from him were high since he started playing for South Africa in 1995/96, in their home series against England. He cemented his place in the team with some excellent performances and found a steady bowling partner in Allan Donald. They were to be the mainstay of South African bowling till Donald's retirement.
Pollock was also a very useful hard-hitting batsman, whose style bears some resemblance to his famous uncle on occasions. He has normally batted at 7 or 8, with a Test average of over 30 and ODI average above 25. He is also an athletic fielder. After Hansie Cronje was banned from cricket for life, Pollock took over the captaincy in April 2000. He had the task of boosting the morale of the team in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal. After getting off to a good start as a captain he faced some disappointing series losses in his tenure. 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 as the host nation.
Although no longer captain, he retained his place in the team. After a disappointing Test series tour of Australia in 2005/2006, he faced criticism for losing his wicket taking ability. He has the lowest (best) economy rate of any bowler to have taken 300 ODI wickets, and he is also the first South African and only the tenth player to take 400 Test wickets. However, minor injuries hampered his performances towards the end of his career, and in September 2007 he was dropped from the South African test side for the first time in his career. Pollock was later readded to the test series against the West Indies, whereupon he announced his retirement, effective on 3 February 2008. He stated that "I realise I have been blessed by God and feel I have nurtured my talents to the best of my abilities." After South Africa sealed a series victory against the West Indies, Graeme Smith paid tribute to Pollock, stating "It's very important that people celebrate what he's given to South African cricket and what he's achieved as an individual." Shaun Pollock recently represented Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, and Durham Dynamos in the 2008 Twenty20 Cup in England.
He is friends with golf icon Gary Player and regularly plays in the Gary Player Invitational charity golf series to help raise funds for underprivileged children.
Shaun Pollock has commentated on Sky Sports and Test Match Special on the BBC during the 2008 England vs South Africa Test Series.
Read more about this topic: Shaun Pollock
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