Cape Town: Less than a year after climbing to the top of the Test rankings, South African cricket is suddenly faced with an uncertain future with respected coach Gary Kirsten set to depart and two top players at a crossroads in their careers.
Kirsten's decision not to extend his contract when it expires in August comes as captain Graeme Smith battles recurring ankle problems and all-rounder Jacques Kallis admits his desire to play International cricket is on the wane.
For a team hoping to nail down a dominant spell in international cricket, the loss of their winning coach is a major setback. To lose all three components at the same time would be a hammer blow.
The last two years have seen South Africa become the most consistent performers in world cricket at the Test level, opening up a 14-point lead at the top of the International Cricket Conference ratings....
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03:05 PM, May 13, 2013
Ranchi: Kolkata Knight Riders kept their slim IPL 6 play-off hopes alive beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets in a low-scorer at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday. Jacques Kallis, after picking up two wickets, made an important 41 as the hosts chased down 116 in 19.2 overs to register their sixth win in 14 matches. Bangalore, on the other hand, suffered their sixth defeat in 14...
07:09 PM, May 12, 2013
Eleven matches. Eight defeats. Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions and regarded as one of the strongest teams in the league, are almost certifiably out of IPL 6. The stage has been reached where it is almost easier to say "insert previous match comments here" in describing how KKR have stumbled through IPL 6 like zombies, walking in circles with their groans getting louder as their hunger for success increases. Unfortunately...
12:20 PM, May 08, 2013
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders allrounder Jacques Kallis hasn't given up on his team's chances of making it to the play-offs in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League. The Gautam Gambhir-led team beat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets on Friday to keep their hopes alive in the nine-team tournament. Kallis, who scored an unbeaten 33 in a 78-run stand with Yusuf Pathan (49*) that saw the hosts chase down...
09:32 AM, May 04, 2013
Kolkata: It's still an uphill task to stay alive, but Kolkata Knight Riders are not out of IPL 6 yet. Needing to win to prevent elimination from the tournament, KKR bowled and fielded with purpose - barring one silly drop by wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla - to restrict Rajasthan to 132 on a sluggish Eden Gardens pitch. A few early wickets were then smoothed over by a spirited partnership of 78...
11:06 PM, May 03, 2013
Cape Town: Jacques Kallis was left out of South Africa's squad for the Champions Trophy on Thursday after making himself unavailable for personal reasons, and for the first time in years the veteran all-rounder won't play at a major one-day tournament for his country. Head selector Andrew Hudson said South Africa's management respected Kallis' wish to be left out of the 15-man group for what are so far undisclosed reasons....
03:05 PM, May 02, 2013
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper, Gautam Gambhir, praised Manvinder Bisla, Jacues Kallis and Eoin Morgan for their efforts in the team's six wickets victory over Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens on Friday. "I think it was a fantastic effort from our bowlers to restrict them to 149. A lot of credit needs to go to Kallis, Bisla and Morgan. The way they played was just amazing. I have...
01:17 PM, Apr 27, 2013
Kolkata: Struggling to repeat their last year's performance, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders were dealt further blows as Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary sustained injuries during their game against Mumbai Indians here on Wednesday. "Kallis has twisted his right knee while taking a dive. We will take a call on him in next 24 hours. As for Tiwary, he has had about three to four stitches after splitting the webbing...
01:52 PM, Apr 25, 2013
This is not something that the team management of Kolkata Knight Riders had expected when they began their defence of the IPL title. Though they started their campaign with a win, they are in the middle of an extremely bad phase - losing five of their next six matches. And in spite of having world class limited-over spinner in the form of Sunil Narine, they are not ending up in...
11:33 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Kolkata: Observing that 160 was a defendable target, Kolkata Knight Riders' spinner Sunil Narine Wednesday rued the absence of all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who could not turn up to bowl after getting injured while batting against Mumbai Indians in their IPL encounter at the Eden Gardens here. "The target of 160 was defendable but we fumbled at the end. Kallis is a world class bowler and his absence badly hurt our...
02:16 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Kolkata: The top four batsmen laid out the carpet and the bowlers walked over it as Kolkata Knight Riders got back onto the points table after two losses in a row, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 48 runs on a sluggish Eden Gardens surface. Kolkata made a promising start with their first fifty-run opening stand of the season but it was Eoin Morgan's blast that turned a competitive total into a...
07:20 PM, Apr 14, 2013
London: The 150th edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack published on Wednesday warned that the Ashes will be "stretched to their limit" as a result of numerous upcoming series between England and Australia. Cricket's oldest rivals - who played the first cricket Test in 1877 - meet 10 times in the now five-day format from July 2013, with a series in England, to January 2014, by which time they will be...
04:22 PM, Apr 10, 2013
Jaipur: Jacques Kallis is arguably world's best allrounder and South Africa's mainstay for over a decade and a half, but he won't enjoy this bit of statistic from his Indian Premier League (IPL) career - four golden ducks and seven overall. Kallis got out off the first ball to medium pacer Rahul Shukla in Kolkata Knight Riders' 19-run loss against Rajasthan Royals on Monday - putting him at second place...
10:47 AM, Apr 09, 2013
Jaipur: Kolkata Knight Riders' all-rounder Jacques Kallis on Sunday said that Shane Watson's presence will certainly bolster the the Rajasthan Royals' side ahead of the Indian Premier League match, on Monday. "He ( Watson) is a world-class player and can change the complexion of the match. If he plays tomorrow, he might have a big role," veteran South African told the reporters on Sunday. KKR were comprehensively beaten by 22...
09:42 PM, Apr 07, 2013
South African allrounder Jacques Kallis or New Zealand's Brendon McCullum might lead KKR in Gambhir's absence. ...
12:09 PM, Mar 20, 2013
Kallis was one of five wickets to fall to Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal on the second day of the match. ...
08:35 AM, Feb 16, 2013
Every year
Wisden picks Five Cricketers of the Year to salute a player's influence on the previous English season. Is it time the list was renamed 'Five Cricketers of the
English Year'? Or its reach broadened to international not just domestic cricket? Or do we need another list to mark international achievement? ...
02:36 PM, Feb 08, 2013
Not only are South Africa on top of the Test team rankings, they dominate the individual categories too. ...
11:13 PM, Feb 05, 2013
Dale Steyn took three wickets and Morne Morkel claimed two in the morning session as New Zealand slumped to a 2-0 series whitewash. ...
02:43 PM, Jan 14, 2013
South Africa named four uncapped players in the 14-member squad for the three-match series, starting Jan 19. ...
11:41 PM, Jan 06, 2013
