CricketZA

When you properly introduce yourself to world cricket with an unbeaten half-century in a 414-run fourth-inning Test chase, and then embed yourself on world psyche with a 166-run run masterclass, the chances of you living up to the hype you would have created for yourself are understandably slim. Even with that caveat, JP Duminy's career has been rather disappointing. Historically speaking, for the last 40-odd years, the average Test cricket average has been around 31. Duminy's Test average was 32. Decidedly bang average. But that was his Test career. He has thankfully retired from that endeavour, not quite successful, but not really a failure. We have a world cup in 10 months, so we are here to talk about his ODI career. Urbandictionary.com describes the phrase "finesse", as "meaning to make a profit off of someone by fooling them to buy something that is low quality or not real". When you look at Duminy's career average, it seems an acceptable, bor...

David Miller. Sometimes known as Davey Miller, other times known as "Killer Miller". He is, with the retirement of AB de Villiers arguably the most destructive batsman in the Proteas set up when he gets it right. For the last three years leading into this year, he'd got it right more often than not. From 2015 until 2017, David Miller scored 1306 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 110. You could argue that he was one of, if not the, premier #5 batsmen in world cricket for a spell. Of the active Protea members, only Faf du Plessis had a higher average than David Miller over the 2015-2017 time period. But that was then, and this is now. Right now David Miller looks like he could get cholera and end up constipated, such is his complete inability to get the runs. There are of course still flashes of the old nuke bomb Miller. As we speak, he has scored 129 runs without losing his wicket at a strike rate of nearly 200 in the Caribbean Premier League. He's basical...

Twenty-two. That is the amount of players in all of cricketing history who have taken more international wickets than Jacques Kallis. Four. That is in totality the amount of players in all of international cricket who have scored more runs than Jacques Kallis. No other player appears in the top 25 in both lists. In fact, no other player appears in the top fifty. You could expand that into a top 100 list, and the only player not named Kallis to feature would be Shahid Afridi. A mildly surprising fact, I suppose, but there you go. Of course, an achievement like this is inherently related to longevity, as well as continued health, but much of that longevity has to do with the fact that Jacques Kallis was for 15 years the undisputed best all-rounder in the game, especially when all formats were considered. Do you know who wasn't the best in their art for 15 years? Michael Jordan. You know who else? Tiger Woods. In Jacques Kallis, South Africa had arguably the most statistically domi...

 If averages is your gig, then there can be no doubt that Graeme Pollock presents a very compelling case for being South Africa's greatest ever cricketer. In fact, he was voted just that in 2000, and it is debatable whether anything has happened since to bring that finding into disrepute. A crunching left-handed batsman. he had it all. The cover drive, the leg glance, the pull, the hook the cut. The ferocity. Before Viv Richards had the temerity to not wear helmets at bowlers bowling at 90mph, you could argue that Graeme Pollock was the original Master Blaster. Standing at 6'4, with a "road sweeper" for a bat, he certainly could make his presence felt. Many say Barry Richards is the greatest South African cricketer to ever lace them up. He certainly played well enough to back up that assertion in the limited opportunities he got. However, any man who played an innings Bill Lawry called the greatest knock he'd ever seen, or is acclaimed as the best left-hander ever...