The star-studded batting lineup of the late 90s and early 2000s consisted of the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher. Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, and Hansie Cronje to name a few others.
Later, the likes of AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith joined in to bolster the ever-formidable batting lineup.
However, one of the most underrated batsman in their lineup came at number six, in the form of Shaun Pollock, who has three international tons. The stat is not bad for someone who has picked up 421 Test and 393 ODI dismissals to his name.
Through his naggingly accurate lines outside the off-stump, Pollock has dislodged several batsmen but also perfected the craft of batting during the latter half of his career.
His knock of 130 against Asia XI in a losing cause back in 2007 is the greatest testament to his batting abilities.
Although, one bowler who terrorized Pollock the batsman was Pakistani speedster, Shoaib Akhtar, from Pakistan.
“When batting we used to watch the Pakistan captain see how many overs Shoaib Akhtar had left in his spell. When he’d get the signal that he was out of the attack, we would think, Yes!,” Pollock told Cricket Pakistan.
Somewhat from the retro era, Pollock mentioned that speed measuring devices turned out to be the game-changer for the sport, as the bowlers knew precisely how quick they bowled.
“The speed gun brought a different dimension to fast-bowling because all of a sudden now you had something through which you could register how quick you were on the field,” Pollock concluded.
Both Pollock and Akhtar were the spearheads of their respective teams. The sight of Allan Donald bowling in tandem with Pollock, and ‘Rawalpindi Express’ bowling with the likes of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, served as a treat for pace bowling enthusiast.
