J. Kallis to say good bye to Tests after Durban

Jacques Kallis, one of the greatest all-rounders of the game, on Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket after the Durban Test against India, starting on Thursday, but will continue to play in the ODI format.

The 38-year-old had made his debut against England in December 1995 and is the third big player to quit Test cricket this season, after Australian Ricky Ponting and Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar.

Going through a lean patch of late, Kallis has featured in 165 Tests for South Africa, scoring 13,174 runs at a stunning average of 55.12. He also took 292 wickets and 199 Test catches, proving what a quality cricketer he has been for his team in the last 18 years.

With 44 hundreds under his belt, Kallis was closest to Tendulkar’s record of 51 Test centuries and the possibility of surpassing incredible figure by any batsman has diminished further.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying, but I feel the time is right. I don’t see it as goodbye, I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing,” Kallis said in a statement.

Kallis is currently fourth on the list of leading run-getters in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar (15,921 runs in 200 Tests), Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs in 168 Tests) and Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs in 164 Tests).

He is the greatest all-rounder the game has seen, atleast in terms of statistics, leaving behind Sir Garfield Sobers (8,032 runs, 235 wickets, 109 catches in 93 Tests) and Sir Ian Botham (5,200 runs, 383 wickets, 120 catches in 102 Tests.)