Cricket

You were South Africa’s Glenn McGrath: Alan Donald to Shaun Pollock

 

Former South Africa gun fast bowler heaped praise on his ex-skipper Shaun Pollock after the legendary all-rounder was inducted in ICC Hall of Fame. Donald rated Pollock as South Africa’s Glenn McGrath, who would keep bowling accurately.

Pollock was known to be right on the money during his heydays and bowled an accurate line and length to breathe down the neck of the opposition batters. In fact, Pollock had decent speed under his armoury but he lost a couple of yards in his pace due to continuous troubles with injuries.

However, the former Proteas skipper never lost accuracy in his bowling. As Pollock used to bowl in the corridor of uncertainty and didn’t give an inch to the opposition batters, he was always instrumental in building the pressure from his bowling end. Thus, it helped the likes of Alan Donald and other South African bowlers to strike at regular intervals.

Pollock was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame along with Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and ex England women’s team skipper, late Janette Brittin.

Donald, who had a smooth bowling action said while talking to ICC, “What I admire a lot about you is the way you were able to adapt your game. When you first came into the Proteas side, you were this fast bowler who could terrorize batters.”

“…Despite injuries later in your career, you always managed to be effective, even if you didn’t quite have the pace you once had, and that’s a remarkable quality. You were our Glenn McGrath, the sort of bowler who could lock down an end and let the rest of us run free at the other,” Donald wrote in the letter.

Pollock had a glorious career as he scalped 421 wickets in 108 Test matches and also scored 3781 runs. The fast bowler also snared 393 wickets in 303 ODI matches and amassed 3519 runs in the 50-overs version.

“We could throw you the ball and say ‘See you tonight’. You would pile up the dots at one end and then I would have licence to express myself,” Donald wrote. “Where my style was to combine control with pace, you did so with swing, getting so close to the stumps that batters would have to play almost every ball. It took incredible stamina and concentration because you gave them nowhere to hide.”

“I think we were never better than when the West Indies came to South Africa in 1998/99. Between us we took 52 wickets in a 5-0 series victory. There was also the tour to India in 2000 when we won 2-0 and the two of us, along with the rest of the pace attack and Nicky Boje just seemed to click.”

 

About the Author


Written by DafaNews

DafaNews brings you the most highlighted news in the world of Sports. It serves you up-to-date matches, scores, live streams, fantasy games and quizzes. Our news covers India's prestigious leagues and events – Premier League, Pro Kabbadi League, Cricket World Cup and many more. Follow DafaNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,Telegram and Youtube for more updates.

Related Post
Share
Published by
DafaNews

Recent Posts

India’s Junior Men Clinch Bronze with Gritty 2-1 Win Over Australia in Four Nations Tournament

The Indian junior men’s hockey team wrapped up their campaign at the Four Nations Tournament… Read More

June 26, 2025

Suryakumar Yadav Undergoes Successful Sports Hernia Surgery, Eyes Return for Bangladesh Tour

India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has successfully undergone surgery for a sports hernia in his… Read More

June 26, 2025

Golden Glove Winner Jaspreet Singh Joins Bengaluru FC in Key Summer Move

Bengaluru FC have taken a decisive step toward rebuilding their squad by signing goalkeeper Jaspreet… Read More

June 26, 2025

Ravi Shastri says opening Test loss against England is a tough pill to swallow for India

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri believes the opening Test loss against England is a… Read More

June 26, 2025

Varun Aaron says England batters’ approach made Jasprit Bumrah desperate for wickets in 2nd innings of 1st Test

Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron believes England batters were able to find a way… Read More

June 26, 2025

Varun Aaron says Karun Nair will be disappointed with his opening Test performance against England

Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron believes Karun Nair will be disappointed after he failed… Read More

June 26, 2025