Player Profile: Jacques Kallis

Kallis is responsible for the catchphrase ‘big unit’ in cricket. Once he was called for running on to the danger area of the pitch. That part was then called the endangered area. When he ran on again, it was the pitch and not Kallis who had to go off.

He was once dropped from the T20 World Cup squad. In his anger he booked himself into Carnivore for rehab. In a meat haze, Kallis is supposed to have said, “the only game for me is what I eat here”. If his neck sticks out a bit, it’s because of his fondness for giraffe, as for the thinning tuft of hair, that’s attributed to a soft spot for the Bald Eagle.

His career took off almost like an Englishman, where his test average hovered in the 30s. He then realized that playing for self over country is an easy way to notch up a 50 plus batting average. To maintain his batting average, he only bowls in the alley.

On his day, Kallis can be nigh impossible to dislodge from the crease. He hopes to out-bat Tendulkar in numbers, years, records. This he only shares with the clique. Gibbs follow up book to the controversial ‘To the Point’ is the aptly titled ‘Pointless’, with three chapters on Kallis. Gibbs is supposed to have written this stone cold sober. Kallis hopes to outdo Gibbs, writing an entire book on himself 'Jacques of all trades' it will be called.