Jaques Kallis. The best ?

[Chuck Palumbo]

Originally Posted by Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1

Out it this way, Giles just got his 100th wicket in 2004. he is a full time bowler and kallis is quite a relunctant bowler and can still get more wickets than the newly christened 'king of spin'

Whats your point?

[Maranello]

Giles has played a far fewer number of Tests.

He is a spinner who bats a bit, there is no comparison with Kallis who is a batsman, and a part-time seam bowler.

In any case, Giles will never be a world top 5 bowler, but in the tier below that, he is excellent. Kallis on the other hand is very much a world top 5 player, in fact a world no.1 at the moment; hence the comparison is unfair to both.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1

Out it this way, Giles just got his 100th wicket in 2004. he is a full time bowler and kallis is quite a relunctant bowler and can still get more wickets than the newly christened 'king of spin'

How can you compare a finger spinner to a FM bowler?

[Chuck Palumbo]

Well at this moment in time Kallis is a batsman who can bowl a bit and thats why I don't class him as an all rounder. At the start of his career he was a genuine force with both bat and ball but injuries have taken their toll and he has had to concentrate on his batting more which you can argue has resulted in the purple patch he is going through now.

[Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1]

he seems to be quite a reluctant bowler..... he dosn't seem to enjoy it very much but relishes his batting..... and it is pretty quite valid to class him more as a batsman who can bowl rather than an allrounder like he used to be.

[John]

I think what should be considered here is what contribution a player has made to his team over a period of time. Kallis would be sorely missed would Giles be missed ? not that much. Would Flintoff be missed ? Of course.
As for Tendulkar him and Lara are up there over the last ten years for me but that doesn't mean we shouldn't appreciate other batsmen like Kallis, Laxman, Hayden, Ponting. Lets not lose perspective.

[Shaka]

I'd love to have a Kallis in my team. He's worth his weight in gold as a batsman alone. I don't know if his bowling has tailed off but his bowling average is still pretty respectable.

[jot1]

I do think Kallis is the best, but I think he scores too slowly sometimes when we need runs quickly.

[Maranello]

Interesting statistical analysis of Kallis' runs and form on cricinfo, yes the mere numbers do look impressive, but as has been pointed out, Kallis' stats are flattered by his record against the minnows. The comparison to Ponting is very interesting, and the similarity in Tests played, runs scored and average is uncanny (or even downright spooky!).

... there is one area Kallis will want to improve on: he scores only 33 runs per innings in the 12 Tests he has played against Australia, while his averages against Pakistan and Sri Lanka are in the 30s too. Couple that with an incredible average of 390.50 in six Tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and you can see why there's still the occasional whisper of Kallis being a bully of bad bowling

[John]

I take your point about Kallis and the minnows. All I would say he has been a valuable member of South African. He is a test class batsmen who over the years played vital innings. Okay leaving out Tendulkar, Lara, Steve Waugh he comes amongst the next group of batsmen over the last decade. I believe at the moment he has batted himself into the following group of players.