Shaun Maclean Pollock (born 16 July 1973) is a South African cricket commentator and former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, who was captain in all formats of the game. A bowling all-rounder, Pollock along with Allan Donald formed a bowling partnership for many years. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He was chosen as the '' Wisden'' Cricketer of the Year in 2003. Pollock was a member of the South Africa team that won the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, the first ICC trophy the country has won. On 11 January 2008 he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after his 303rd One Day International on 3 February. Pollock now works as a commentator on SuperSport's coverage of South African cricket. In November 2021, he was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

International career

Prominence

He is joint 10th in the all-time best ever bowler ratings in the ICC Ratings, and has taken over 400 wickets and at the time of his retirement was one of only six players to have scored 3000 runs and taken 300 wickets in Test matches. In June 2007 he represented an Africa XI in an ODI game against an Asia XI in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. Playing as a specialist batsman, Pollock scored 130 from number 7 in the batting order, the highest ever score by an ODI batsman in that position. The record would however not last long, MS Dhoni bettered it later in the series. In 2007, he received the SA Player's Player award and the SA ODI Player of the Year Award. He was the leading wicket taker for South Africa in Tests until Dale Steyn overtook him on 26 December 2018. He took over 400 test wickets and scored over 3,700 test runs in his 108 Test matches.

Captaincy

Shaun Pollock was a bowling all-rounder. After Hansie Cronje was banned from cricket for life, Pollock took over the captaincy in April 2000. He was eventually removed from the captaincy after South Africa's performance in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Trent Bridge Cricket Ground - the first day of the 1998 Test Match - geograph

Trent Bridge Cricket Ground - the first day of the 1998 Test Match - geograph

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. 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 The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, 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."

Domestic career

Pollock took four wickets in four balls on his first appearance for Warwickshire – in a limited-overs (B&H Cup) game v Leicestershire at Birmingham in 1996. In Summer 2008 Pollock represented Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, and Durham Dynamos in the 2008 Twenty20 Cup in England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club in the North East of England and along with fellow South African Albie Morkel was used mainly in the Twenty20 Cup competition. Of the 18 players who have bowled at least 2,000 balls for South Africa in ODIs, Pollock's economy rate of 3.65 runs per over was the second best behind that of Fanie de Villiers.

Records

*Shaun Pollock has the record for the most Test centuries while batting at number 9 or below (2). *He also holds the record for playing the most ODI innings before scoring a century (189). *Shaun Pollock also holds the record for becoming the first test captain to be stranded or to be remained unbeaten on 99 in a test innings. *He too holds the record for taking the most ODI wickets when playing at home soil (193). *Shaun Pollock holds the record for bowling most Maiden overs in ODI history (313).

Personal life

Pollock comes from a family of mainly Scottish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Pollock, who played for Orange Free State, was born in Edinburgh. He attended Northwood School in Durban,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

. He is married with two daughters. His wife was a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant in the early '90s and worked for a South African telecom company. He is a teetotaler and a devout Christian.Personal Information on Shaun Pollock
Retrieved 3 December 2022. Pollock is a graduate of the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

with a bachelor's degree in

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Shaun 1973 births Living people University of Natal alumni South Africa One Day International cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century South African sportsmen South Africa Test cricket captains South African Christians Dolphins (South African cricket team) players Durham cricketers KwaZulu-Natal cricketers Warwickshire cricketers ACA African XI One Day International cricketers ICC World XI One Day International cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year South African people of British descent South African people of Scottish descent Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Mumbai Indians cricketers South African expatriate cricketers in India South African cricket commentators Cricketers from Gqeberha Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cricket Alumni of Northwood School, Durban Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games South African expatriate cricketers in England