10 Things you don’t know about Jacques Kallis

1.  Full name Jacques Henry Kallis

2.  Jacques Kallis was born 16 October 1975 in Pinelands, Cape Town,

3.  Jacques Kallis is a South African cricketer, playing right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium swing bowler

4.  Jacques Kallis shared a close relationship with his passed on father, Henry, whom Jacques Kallis cited s his primary influence. Jacques Kallis also have a younger sister, Janine Kallis, who was a cheerleader in Indian Premier League 2009 and is also a physiotherapist based in East London

5.  Jacques Kallis attended and played cricket for Wynberg Boys’ High School. In 2009 Wynberg honoured Kallis by naming their main cricket oval after him.

6.  His first Test appearance was in December 1995 against England at Durban, but he struggled with the bat in his first few matches.Kallis made his World Cup bow in 1996 Cricket World Cup in Pakistan but did not have much opportunity to excel.His breakthrough came in 1997 with 61 against Pakistan, but more notably two matches later when he salvaged a draw for South Africa with a fighting century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

7.  Between 1998 and 2002, Jacques Kallis was one of the world’s leading all-rounders, as seen in the ICC’s cricket ratings . In 1998, he led South Africa to the ICC Champions Trophy title with two “Man of the Match” and the “Player of the Series” performances

8.  Jacques Kallis was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2008 Wisden for his performances in 2007 in addition to being the “ICC Test Player of the Year” and ICC Player of the Year in 2005.He has been described by Kevin Pietersen and Daryll Cullinan as the greatest cricketer to play the game, and along with Walter Hammond and Sir Garry Sobers is one of the few Test all-rounders whose Test batting average is over 50 and exceeds his Test bowling average by 20 or more

9.  Jacques Kallis became the fourth player and first South African to score 13,000 Test runs on an eventful opening day of the first Test against New Zealand on 2 January 2013. Kallis, who has also taken 288 Test wickets, lies fourth behind Indian Sachin Tendulkar (15,645), Australian Ricky Ponting (13,378) and India’s Rahul Dravid (13,288) on the list of all-time run scorers in test cricket.He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year in 2013

10.  The Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation was established in Kallis’ benefit year with the aim of combining the academic and life skills programmes of existing school structures with funding and mentoring support from Jacques Kallis. In so doing, the Foundation with its partners, hopes to provide talented youngsters from all walks of life the opportunity to reach their full sporting and academic potential. Currently, the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation sponsors 2 boys from Wynberg Boys’, 2 boys from Pretoria Boys High School, 2 from Maritzburg College and 2 from Selborne College. Jacques Kallis partakes in annual fundraising events for his Foundation, to which he invites fellow South African celebrities and cricketers like Mark Boucher and André Nel.