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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Should Jacques Kallis be given another mini-break to freshen him up better for the business end of the Indian Premier League?
This may just be on the mind of Ray Jennings, coach of the embattled, basement-level Royal Challengers Bangalore, as they seek to end a four-match losing trot against fellow strugglers the Kolkata Knight Riders at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
The veteran all-rounder is pretty sure to have entered this year’s IPL as one of the most exhausted international cricketers of all, having played significant roles in both the epic home-and-away Test and one-day series against Australia this summer.
Kallis, 33, defied the creep of age to almost unfailingly “deliver” in his often no-frills way with both bat and ball for his country during the lengthy campaign in which the Proteas earned overall superiority for 2008/09 over the old enemy.
So it was always going to be difficult for the hefty customer to get up immediately for the rigours of the IPL.
Kallis sat out just the first Challengers’ match – ironically the one in which they registered their solitary win thus far, against Rajasthan Royals – but has played each of the last four games.
He was going pretty well with the bat at No 3, knocking up 101 runs at a healthy enough strike rate, until he opened in the last match against Delhi Daredevils and fatally shouldered arms to the swift Dirk Nannes’s peach of a first ball of the innings.
But it is in the bowling department that Kallis’s woes have contributed to the nightmare trot by his franchise: he has taken an awful pasting as first-change seamer.
Things went pear-shaped quickly, as the Chennai Super Kings’ in-form Matthew Hayden blitzed him around the park as he was limited to two overs at a cost of 28 runs.
Kallis then went 2-0-19-0 against the pace-setting Deccan Chargers, 4-0-51-1 against Kings XI Punjab and 3-0-37-0 against Delhi Daredevils, for a well less than flattering overall effort thus far of 11-0-135-1 and gruesome economy rate of 12.27.
He is, of course, a better bowler than that, and the IPL is such a fickle stage that he could suddenly bag a cheap three- or four-wicket haul and all will be forgiven.
The Proteas stalwart may well need a decent analysis soon if he is to remain a contender as all-rounder for the national side for the looming World Twenty20 in England.
Intelligence from the South African camp, after all, suggests that it is not a foregone conclusion that Kallis has been put out to pasture as an international T20 player -- it is thought his experience could yet bring “value” on English pitches in early summer there.
T20 has not been his happiest arena for his country: in 23 matches, he has scored 483 runs at 21.95 and taken just six wickets at 83.33.
Kallis’s great friend and Challengers team-mate Mark Boucher showed the value of a meaningful break in their last match against the Daredevils: he had not played an IPL game until then, and made an immediate impact -- presumably as a rejuvenated competitor -- by smacking 36 off 28 balls.
So perhaps it is in the Challengers’ interest to give Kallis a week or so off shortly, even if coach Jennings can hardly be pilloried for wanting a full squad as his disposal in the bid to canter out of their current “crisis”.
Recent soundbites from the straight-talking Jennings tend to suggest Kallis may be “rotated” a bit in the coming days.
The coach would not confirm, for instance, suggestions from the franchise’s management that Kallis would take over the captaincy once Kevin Pietersen leaves (after Wednesday’s game) to honour England commitments back home.
Jennings was reported on Cricinfo as saying: “It is still open. I need to sit down with management and discuss what we need to do.
“If Jacques plays, obviously he might be captain. But if he doesn’t play we have other guys like Boucher, (Anil) Kumble and even (Rahul) Dravid who are capable of leading the team.”
Cape Town – Should Jacques Kallis be given another mini-break to freshen him up better for the business end of the Indian Premier League?
This may just be on the mind of Ray Jennings, coach of the embattled, basement-level Royal Challengers Bangalore, as they seek to end a four-match losing trot against fellow strugglers the Kolkata Knight Riders at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
The veteran all-rounder is pretty sure to have entered this year’s IPL as one of the most exhausted international cricketers of all, having played significant roles in both the epic home-and-away Test and one-day series against Australia this summer.
Kallis, 33, defied the creep of age to almost unfailingly “deliver” in his often no-frills way with both bat and ball for his country during the lengthy campaign in which the Proteas earned overall superiority for 2008/09 over the old enemy.
So it was always going to be difficult for the hefty customer to get up immediately for the rigours of the IPL.
Kallis sat out just the first Challengers’ match – ironically the one in which they registered their solitary win thus far, against Rajasthan Royals – but has played each of the last four games.
He was going pretty well with the bat at No 3, knocking up 101 runs at a healthy enough strike rate, until he opened in the last match against Delhi Daredevils and fatally shouldered arms to the swift Dirk Nannes’s peach of a first ball of the innings.
But it is in the bowling department that Kallis’s woes have contributed to the nightmare trot by his franchise: he has taken an awful pasting as first-change seamer.
Things went pear-shaped quickly, as the Chennai Super Kings’ in-form Matthew Hayden blitzed him around the park as he was limited to two overs at a cost of 28 runs.
Kallis then went 2-0-19-0 against the pace-setting Deccan Chargers, 4-0-51-1 against Kings XI Punjab and 3-0-37-0 against Delhi Daredevils, for a well less than flattering overall effort thus far of 11-0-135-1 and gruesome economy rate of 12.27.
He is, of course, a better bowler than that, and the IPL is such a fickle stage that he could suddenly bag a cheap three- or four-wicket haul and all will be forgiven.
The Proteas stalwart may well need a decent analysis soon if he is to remain a contender as all-rounder for the national side for the looming World Twenty20 in England.
Intelligence from the South African camp, after all, suggests that it is not a foregone conclusion that Kallis has been put out to pasture as an international T20 player -- it is thought his experience could yet bring “value” on English pitches in early summer there.
T20 has not been his happiest arena for his country: in 23 matches, he has scored 483 runs at 21.95 and taken just six wickets at 83.33.
Kallis’s great friend and Challengers team-mate Mark Boucher showed the value of a meaningful break in their last match against the Daredevils: he had not played an IPL game until then, and made an immediate impact -- presumably as a rejuvenated competitor -- by smacking 36 off 28 balls.
So perhaps it is in the Challengers’ interest to give Kallis a week or so off shortly, even if coach Jennings can hardly be pilloried for wanting a full squad as his disposal in the bid to canter out of their current “crisis”.
Recent soundbites from the straight-talking Jennings tend to suggest Kallis may be “rotated” a bit in the coming days.
The coach would not confirm, for instance, suggestions from the franchise’s management that Kallis would take over the captaincy once Kevin Pietersen leaves (after Wednesday’s game) to honour England commitments back home.
Jennings was reported on Cricinfo as saying: “It is still open. I need to sit down with management and discuss what we need to do.
“If Jacques plays, obviously he might be captain. But if he doesn’t play we have other guys like Boucher, (Anil) Kumble and even (Rahul) Dravid who are capable of leading the team.”
