The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver

Shaun Maclean Pollock (1973 – ) Awarded for:

His excellent contribution to cricket in South Africa and being an inspiration for the South African Cricket Team.

Profile of Shaun Maclean Pollock

Shaun Maclean Pollock was born on 16 July 1973 in Port Elizabeth. Pollock first came to the fore in 1995 after a superb series of performances in domestic cricket for Natal. During this time, he not only took many wickets, but also gained something of a reputation for being a hard-hitting batsman.

He earned his first test cap in November 1995 against England and immediately impressed with his aggressive approach. After a steady series with both bat and ball, he truly made his mark in the fifth test in Cape Town, capturing seven for 58 as South Africa won by 10 wickets to secure a one-nil series triumph.

His first one-day international (ODI) proved to be a triumph as he claimed the Man of the Match Award. The standard was set, and Pollock has never failed to deliver since.

He and Allan Donald formed a fast bowling attack that was undoubtedly one of the best in the world and the envy of many countries. In 2004, he became the highest wicket-taker in South African history, passing Donald’s 330 victims.

Pollock had to wait a long time to score his first test century, but when it came he completed it in style, hammering 111 off 106 deliveries as South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and seven runs at Supersport Park, Centurion, in January 2001. The very next series that South Africa played, away to the West Indies, Pollock topped the batting averages at 75,50, including an unbeaten 106 in the third test.

As captain, he led the team to a drawn test series in Sri Lanka, victory in the Singapore Challenge, and a win over world champions Australia in the limited overs Super Challenge 2000.

The South African side was slightly below par early on in his captaincy, but Pollock managed to inspire the team to attain the standards that they had been setting previously. Their limited-overs whitewash of 2000 International Cricket Council Knock-out champions, New Zealand, later in that same year, was evidence of this. Besides beating the Kiwis in six successive ODIs, Pollock also led the Proteas to a 2-0 test-series triumph.

The second test at Centurion was a much tighter affair, but Pollock played a pivotal role in South Africa’s three-wicket victory to secure a series triumph. After claiming two for 51 in 29 overs, Pollock became only the fourth man in test history to be stranded undefeated on 99 as South Africa took a lead of 125 runs.

After picking up a single wicket in the Sri Lankan second innings, Pollock then guided South Africa to victory after a top-order collapse in the home team’s second innings.

Pollock was also in excellent form in the five ODIs. His bowling was particularly good: he picked up 11 wickets in the five matches at the astonishingly miserly average of 13,72, while conceding only 3,49 runs per over. His fine showing included four for 18 in Johannesburg and two for 23 off his 10 overs in Bloemfontein.

Shaun Pollock was one of the key players in the South African team, and undoubtedly one of the top all-rounders in recent international cricket.