Patient Pollock’s time has come

Shaun Pollock will have a point to prove when he spearheads South Africa's bowling attack in the World Cup. His return to England will ta...

Shaun Pollock will have a point to prove when he spearheads South Africa’s bowling attack in the World Cup. His return to England will take the red-haired all-rounder back to the country where he endured one of the most frustrating periods of an otherwise glittering career.

Going into the fifth and final Test against England last year, Pollock had taken only ten wickets despite beating the bat frequently. "I stopped trying to count how many times the batsmen played and missed," he recalls.

Pollock finished the series by taking eight wickets at Headingley, Leeds, but personal joy was outweighed by disappointment as England clinched a series which South Africa had seemed set to win.

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Pollock, 25, learned patience from last year’s travails. "Sometimes you have to wait for things to happen," he says.

That the experience was not traumatic was shown during an outstanding 1998-99 season. He was the main destroyer of the West Indies, taking 29 wickets in the Test series as South Africa swept to a 5-0triumph.

He topped the bowling in the one-day series as well, as South Africa won 6-1, and Took most wickets in both the Tests and one-day games as South Africa continued their winning ways during a tour of New Zealand.

Pollock reached the milestones of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in both Tests and limited overs international cricket during the season.

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The Test mark was reached in his 26th match. Only three players, headed by England’s Ian Botham, had done it in fewer. When he achieved the one-day double, though, he nudged Botham from the top of the list, having played only 68 games to Botham’s 75.

Although Pollock is a fluent stroke-player, his batting has taken second place to his bowling in the past year. Although frequently dubbed the leading all-rounder in world cricket, Pollock says he thinks the label is used too freely.

"I don’t know if I would be picked if I could not bowl … the genuine all-rounder can be picked for batting or bowling."

With last year’s experience in England behind him -"I don’t want any mental blocks" – Pollock will be concentrating on causing problems for opening batsmen at the World Cup.

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As Allan Donald is likely to be held back for the middle overs, Pollock carries the twin responsibilities of taking wickets and keeping the scoring rate down in the early phases, when fielding restrictions invite batsmen to attack.

It is a role Pollock has managed with remarkable success. His 103 one-day wickets have been taken at just over 23 runs each, while he has conceded fewer than four runs an over.

The son of former Test fast bowler Peter and nephew of acclaimed batsman Graeme Pollock can scale further cricketing heights. He led a young South African team to a gold medal triumph over a full-strength Australian side at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia last year and has been made vice-captain and Hansie Cronje’s heir-app arent in the South African team.