‘Kallis, a knight in shining armour’

DURBAN: Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Chris Nenzani felt the retirement of Kallis signaled an end to an era of legendary cricketers. "We are truly entering a new era with three of the icons of the game Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and now our own Jacques Kallis departing the Test arena within a short space of time. It is a time for reflection not only on Jacques enormous contribution to the game of cricket but also the legacy he leaves behind him.

"South Africans love their sporting heroes and Jacques is right up among the best; not only that but he has been there for the best part of two decades. At a time when we live in a fast-changing world and not always for the better he has remained true to the best traditions of the game and of sportsmanship and has always risen above any kind of controversy.

"To me the greatest legacy he leaves us is the Jacques Kallis Foundation which offers underprivileged South Africans of all persuasions the priceless benefit of a quality education and the opportunity to live their dreams on the cricket fields. There are already a couple of youngsters from this programme who have gone on to represent SA Schools and SA under-19. He has indeed been our knight in shining armour who has ridden to the rescue of our embattled troops on more occasions than I am sure he would wish to remember! Happily, Jacques is not totally lost to the Proteas. Our ODI side is a comparatively young and inexperienced one and his contribution to our World Cup campaign will no doubt be as immense as it has been across all the formats up to now. Jacques, we thank you not just for what you have meant to South African cricket and indeed to the world of cricket but more particularly for the example you have set in being a model South African for our youth and future leaders," he noted.

Cricket South Africa chief executive, Haroon Lorgat said the retirement of Kallis was a big blow to the team. He said: "Although we all knew the retirement of a great player like Jacques Kallis was going to happen sooner rather than later, his decision still comes as a blow when the reality dawns that Cricket South Africas greatest ever player and arguably the worlds best all-rounder, will be playing his last Test match in this last week of 2013 when the Sunfoil Series concludes against India at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead.

"Jacques Kallis has simply been the Proteas rock of Gibraltar. He has been a stalwart for many years and their recent triumphs and greatness has been built around him. He is a legend and his statistics speak volumes. He has the 10th highest ICC batting points ranking of all time (935) and the highest by a South African. As for the number of Test centuries scored, he is second only to Sachin Tendulkar and he is statistically the greatest all-rounder of all time.

"Jacques has been ever present for the Proteas in the past 18 years and it is fitting that his final Test should be on the same ground as the one on which he made his debut against England back in 1995. "Only Jacques would know how much strain his body can still take and while we will be very sad to see him walk off the Test arena for the last time, we can be buoyed by the knowledge that he wishes to represent us at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australasia. What great satisfaction it will be to Jacques and the rest of us if the Proteas can triumph at the World Cup.

"We were reminded again this past weekend what he means to the Proteas and what some of our opponents might well call an unfair advantage that he gives us! 'When Morne Morkel was ruled out of the match through injury he simply stepped into the void, cranked up the speed gun and put his body on the line to deliver what we needed. "Like all great players Jacques contribution cannot just be measured in runs, wickets and catches. He has been a tremendous source of inspiration and a mentor to some of his younger peers and I am sure that super stars like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis would be the first to admit how much they relied on him, " Lorgat noted.