Shame but I suppose all great careers come to an end. I have been fortunate enough to see him play a couple of times. He is spoken of in the same breath as Bradman and there can be no higher praise than that.
Well written Julian ... I think you're probably feeling how I will feel when Kallis retires.
I have watched quite a bit of him over the years, and watching Cricket will never be the same.
To the casual fan or someone who hasn't been following Cricket for long enough it's hard to remember him anything but a run accumulator. But in a weak Indian line up, he was the one batsmen who was capable of taking the game to any opponent. When he set his mind, he could take any bowler out of the attack before the tennis elbow happened. The battles he had against McGrath , Warne, Ambrose, Walsh, Akram and Younis will be memorable forever. It is not for nothing Alan Donald regards him as the best batsman he has ever bowled to. He started relying more on his defensive technique in the later part of his career. Even the later version of Tendulkar was supremely enjoyable. His innings in South Africa, in the last tour when he shielded Gambhir from a fiery Dale Steyn spell comes to mind.
I will miss him....i was even prepared to watch him scratch around for runs, if it meant i could still watch him live!!
Le Tallec
I had it in my head you were an Israeli? If so where did the interest in cricket come from ?
Despite the fact that it's end of an era, it's probably the right time.
He's been amazing. That India team containing him, Ganguly, Laxman and Dravid was ridiculous. But, they all ran out of steam, as players do.
They have some amazing new guys coming through.
For me, modern cricket-wise, I'd place him 2nd behind The Don.
Kallis is another, wait till he retires, that bloke's stats are equally ridiculous.
Kallis is another but, despite the stats, he won't be remembered in the vain of Sachin and Lara. He's simply not dominated - let alone destroyed - opposition attacks the way those guys did. He's scored big, great average but more in the style of Boycott rather than Botham.
It's a bit harsh - unlike the other two, he wasn't as critical to the success of South Africa nor was he viewed as a god as he wasn't playing rugby or footy. He was a vital cog - and one of the greatest all-rounders ever - but if he struggled, there were other very good batsmen to carry the slack. His #s are fantastic, and I will miss seeing him once he retires. A truly special batsmen who was just consistently good.
As a batsman, though, at least a rung down from those two.
It depends how you judge batters tbh mate ... Kallis took his time, bored the crap out of bowlers and was robotic in many of his innings. He didn't have the 'on-field' personality of a Tendulkar or Lara as a batter, but he did his job as well as both of 'em.
That kind of ability cannot be overestimated in it's importance. This is why both these guys were so important to their teams. Bowlers and opposition captains have great respect for Jacques but feared Lara and Tendulker.
Kallis's stature will grow even more 10-15 years after he retires when his stats come into focus than the memories. One of the main reason Kallis is not being thought of in the same league (unfairly IMO) as the pantheon of all time greats is the lack of memorable all time great romantic moments. Tendulkar has numerous of those, so does Lara. Among all rounders Kapil has the 1983 world cup win, Imran Khan the 1992 world cup win.
I maybe wrong here as I have not followed Kallis career in that great detail but he does lack that awe inspiring "Gerrard in Istanbul" type moment.
Kallis is a beast.
One thing about Kallis is his eyes don't seem to have deteriorated.