T1 Day 2: Smiths Lauds Kallis 10000 Class Efforts; But SA Struggle

Sreelata YellamrazuFeb 28 2009

Even as South Africa found themselves in bucket loads of trouble at the end of the second day’s play in Johannesburg, skipper Graeme Smith took a minute to praise Jacques Kallis on his tremendous efforts to make 10000 runs in both forms of the game when he scored his twelfth run.

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There is a general feeling that Kallis has never been quite as valued in his own country as he is outside of it. That it does hurt him a little was validated again by Daryll Cullinan during his commentary stint in the ongoing first Test at the Wanderers between South Africa and Australia.

South Africa could not recapture their magic spell of the first session of the Test and their weary bowlers were punished by the debutant Marcus North and more than handy bowling allrounder Mitchell Johnson after the partnership between Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke got Australia back on track.

South Africa faced a mammoth first innings from Australia, 466 to be precise. And perhaps the pressure of trying to eke out victory at home as also the fact that the Australian bowlers were more accurate than the South African bowlers earlier in the day meant South Africa finished slightly better on eighty-five for three after being reduced to 49 for three after the fall of the key wicket of Kallis himself. Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and debutant Ben Hilfenhaus all picked up a wicket each, the latter picking his in his first international test over.

While Kallis is aware that this could well be another series where the strength in the tail could make a difference, as it did in Australia in the first leg of the Test series, Smith is showering praise on the South African powerhouse.

Smith spoke highly of Kallis, “It has been a privilege and an honour to be part of this big moment for Jacques. It is a fantastic achievement and one that is thoroughly deserved. For a large part of his career he had to carry South Africa's batting and it is this longetivity which is one of the signs of true greatness. If you add in his 250 wickets and his 100 plus catches, you get a good idea of what a giant of the game he has become.”

Kallis though chose to focus more on the team’s character than his own individual heroics, “It will perhaps mean more to me when I have finished my career. There is still a lot more I wan to achieve and I have at least a couple of years left. I have had many ups and downs in my career but the greatest thing for me has been the way this team has played over the last two years. We are on the back foot at the moment but this team has the character and ability to fight its way back into this match.”

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It will be a test indeed with Smith, Hashim Amla and Kallis himself all back in the pavilion. How the South African tail fight back will form the rest of the tale!

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