MONDAY SP RT SPECIAL

Kallis ends Test career on a high at venue where it all began

CENTURY No 45 was special for the retiring 38-year-old Jacques Kallis as it was made at the venue where he had made his debut, against England, on December 14-18, 1995.

He would not have too many fond memories of that first innings of his illustrious career as he contributed a single in South Africa’s total of 225 all out at Kingsmead on that day. The match, though, ended in a draw.

But he will savour the final knock of his career, which has taken him all around the world to show his class as one of the best all-rounders to come out of South Africa.

Yesterday’s 115 was important in many ways for the man, who was born in Pinelands, Cape Town on October 16, 1975.

“It’s a special feeling,” he said. “It’s strange walking out to bat knowing there is no tomorrow and it will be your last opportunity to get a 100 for your country.

“It’s a different kind of pressure, being in the 90s for the last time was different to normally being in the 90s. At least I could fall back on my experience and managed to get the three figures.”

The all-rounder, who has scored the most runs among South Africans in Test cricket at Kingsmead – 1 266 in 27 innings with a highest score of 177 with five centuries and five 50s – spoke of the difficulty and application that was required during his final Test innings after the South Africans lost early wickets.

“In the situation that we were in it was important to consolidate a bit and make sure we got back on track after losing a few wickets,” he said.

“We basically tried to pace the innings and to keep the scoreboard ticking. It was quite difficult to score because the wicket is quite slow, they put up defensive fields and bowled quite defensively. As we got closer to their total we could afford to be more positive. I thought the guys really paced the innings well.”

And Kallis, who has starred in so many South African wins against the top Test playing nations, was no doubt responsible for their first innings of 500 which gave them a lead of 166.

That helped put India, whose batting has shown some brittleness especially after the top five or six batsmen are dismissed, under immense pressure.