I remember being excited at the mention of you. Related to a dead set quickie and a member of batting royalty. As a fan of all cricketers who are “all round”, you sounded like a wet dream.
I even overlooked the fact you were red headed and came from South Africa.
Both hard things for me to overlook.
Nothing excites me like a fast bowling all rounder, perhaps Natalie Portman, but only her.
Cricket is such a formal game, but all rounders, they are rough and tough. It’s like working class men destroying a gentleman’s club.
I scour the world looking for them, and hearing of your imminent arrival I went and read everything I could on you, and your family.
You were starting just as all the giants of the world had left us.
Botham was unconscious in a bar.
Imran was planning world domination.
Kapil was getting his perm done.
The world had a void, and here comes this young fast bowler who can actually bat. He swings the ball, he hits the ball hard, and he releases them at a decent click.
How promising you were.
It all started to go down hill for me when I first saw you bowl, it’s not an overly masculine bowling action now is it.
Your batting, which does consist of heavy hitting, has a hint of your uncle, but lots of food have a hint of nutmeg, doesn’t always mean you can even taste it.
Imagine the horror I had Shaun, when you decided with all your Johnny cash given gifts, that bowling slow medium pace was the direction you were headed in.
Anyone can bowl medium pace. Greg Blewett did it, Nathan Astle did it, hell even Arjuna did it, it aint that tough.
Then with all your graceful and big hitting potential what do you do, you become a grafter, a slicer, a single hitter, and dare I say it, a Michael Bevan,
You had the talent to be whispered behind names like Miller and Sobers, instead you will be remembered as that guy who bowled like Glenn McGrath but was never quite as good or successful as McGrath.
It’s my own fault, I should have known that being from South Africa you were bound to let me down.
So I choose to forget your career, and instead I will remember the feeling I had before I saw you play.
He is a probot.
I know, but the problem is, he could have been anything, and instead he chose to be a probot.
You should’ve seen that innings he played for the Africa XI, in an ODI in Chennai, I think. And quite late into his career, that was the first occasion when most Indian viewers (the few who were watching the nonsense) realised the full extent of his batting potential. He had the eye, the whole range of strokes, and the natural grace of the long-limbed. When Pollock walked into the South African team, the position of aggressive fast bowler was already taken. And there were any number of medium pacers who could fill in creditably. Fanie de Villiers and Brian McMillan were already there, and a young and fast Lance Klusener as well. Over a career, one cannot fault Pollock for performing the role that his team wanted him in – that of the stock bowler who could also pick up wickets with the new ball, the same role that Vaas had to do for a long period in his career, and Mathew Hoggard as well. As far as batting goes, I guess he never had the freedom to express himself like he did in Chennai, because when he walked in, in most circumstances, there was a repair job at hand, or the job had already been done and only finishing touches were required.So, Unc J, I don’t think he had much of a choiceabout being a probot.
John, Its innings like that that prove how much more he had in him. As for the bowling, you can’t imagine that anyone told him to bowl slower. If Johnson, Lee and Tait all play together two of them aren’t about to become medium pacers, and neither did waqar and wasim.I think he could have been better than he was. Vaas and Hoggard got everything out of themselves they could, Pollock held himself back and i really really hate that.