Russell Domingo: Jacques Kallis is probably the greatest cricketer who has ever played

Jacques Kallis was back to say hello, as he attended South Africa's practice session at the venue on Sunday for the second of the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

South Africa‘s legendary all-rounder Jacques Kallis did not say the final goodbye to the Newlands crowd in Cape Twon, when he abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket in 2013. Instead, he was back to say hello, as he attended South Africa’s practice session at the venue on Sunday for the second of the three-Test series against visitors Sri Lanka on Monday. Meanwhile, South Africa’s head coach Russell Domingo also requested Kallis to conduct a consultation session with the South African players, while the session was extended optionally. He spent time with most of the players, giving them valuable advises, before helping the players to pack up as well.

Speaking on Kallis, Domingo said, “He’s probably the greatest cricketer who has ever played and he’s in Cape Town. For us not to get him down to practice is stupid. He’s keen to come and watch and see what’s happening and share his experiences with some of the younger players who have never met him before. A lot of guys think of him and go, ‘Jeez – can’t he play tomorrow? Is he available?’ He’s a great player and it’s great to have him around the team.”

Live Cricket Scorecard, South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Cape Town

Kallis too praised Amla. “He is hitting it pretty well, he just needs to push on but generally he is hitting it as well as when I was playing. He has got a few 40s in that and he just hasn’t kicked on. That happens. But he is hungry, I can tell you that. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went on and got a big hundred in the next Test match or two. It’s pretty much assured,” said Kallis, reported ESPNCricinfo.

Speaking on the South African performance, he said, “It’s nice to see us bouncing back from that. One thing you can learn from that is that when you do go through good periods like we are going through now, don’t give it away. Throw your mind back to India where we were struggling. The guys certainly don’t seem complacent, they seem very hungry to keep going. They’ve learnt from that experience in terms of taking their form forward and not giving it away. They are in a very good space.”

Live Cricket Score, South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Cape Town, Day 1

Meanwhile, Domingo too said about Kallis’s presence during the practice session. “As good a batsman as he was we can always scrape together his runs but to scrape together the 15 or 16 overs he bowled is not that easy. Look at England, they’ve got Ben Stokes who plays as a fourth seamer. Angelo Mathews bowls 15 overs. Australia have Mitchell Marsh. It is one area where he has been missed,” he said.

“It has presented an opportunity for a spinner to step up. Instead of the spinner bowling 10 overs the spinner’s now bowling 25 overs a day. Kallis’ greatness probably limited the opportunities for a spinner. Having him not there now means the spinners have to front up. That’s why it’s so good to see a guy like Keshav Maharaj come in. We’ve got the confidence to bowl him 25 overs a day and rotate the three seamers,” he concluded.

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