Latest Press Releases

Lasting legacy of SA’s greatest

South Africa does not cherish its sporting stars in the same way most countries do.

Their brilliance is almost routinely appreciated too little and heroes are allowed to slide into anonymity with barely a wave of goodbye.

Shaun Pollock’s departure from the international stage was the exception to the rule. His farewell series against the West Indies in 2007-2008 became a tribute that allowed him to say goodbye to every major ground in South Africa and, more importantly, gave the crowds a chance to bid him a final goodbye. There was barely a dry eye in the house – least of all his own -but it happened almost by accident.

Makhaya Ntini is the only other great to have been paid a fitting tribute, although the celebration was actually for his 100th Test when he was already some way past his best. His final match was his 101st when he plodded through two wicketless innings against England at Newlands in Cape Town.

THIS YEAR HAS TURNED OUT TO BE A BIG ONE

FOR Wynberg Boys’ High cricketer Kyle Verreynne. At 17 years old, the wicketkeeper-batsman has already represented the SA Schools team and, at the time of writing, was on tour with the SA U19 team to Bangladesh where, despite a loss in the second ODI, he top-scored with 47. Verreynne’s story is an interesting one. He came to Wynberg from Edgemead as a 15-year-old as part of the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation. He has played for the 1st XI since 2013 which, according to his coach Eric Lefson, has resulted in about 115 1st XI caps.

Kallis makes boys’ dreams come true

SOUTH African cricketing great Jacques Kallis, believes that it’s the small individual contributions that will go a long way towards making a progressive change to the country. Recently retired from international cricket, the all-rounder is helping promising youth from disadvantaged backgrounds to realise their dreams through education.
Through the Jacques Kallis Foundation, which was established in 2006, Kallis has helped 18 matriculants and is currently assisting 16 promising young boys. “Setting up this foundation was an opportunity for me to try and give something

Jacques Kallis – Three trades, master of all

When Kallis started his Test career, not one member of South Africa’s top six averaged above 40. It
became a duty, more than a desire, to increase his average, and the habit stuck.
It’s hard to believe, given his physique and the reputation, Jacques Kallis commanded in international
cricket for almost two decades, but the reason he wasn’t selected for Western Province Schools was
because he was too small. His headmaster at Wynberg Boys’ High, Keith Richardson, had seen
beyond his lack of height and breadth, however, and asked him to net with the First XI, aged just 14.
Kallis arrived in a helmet, not only a rare luxury in those days, but an apparently futile gesture at
protection for one so fragile.

College Old Boy hopes to play for Proteas

MARITZBURG College Old Boy Kurtlyn Mannikam begins a new journey this week that he
hopes will one day see him turning out for the Proteas.
After being named as vice captain of the KZN Inland team at the CSA U17 Cricket Week last
year, the youngster, who gets regular phonecalls from the legendary Jacques Kallis, was
selected to be a member of the Dolphins Academy.

Jacques Kallis and 12 other great SA all-rounders

Kallis made his Test debut in 1995, but Ali Bacher recalls that he really revealed a big match temperament in his seventh Test at Melbourne in 1997, when he scored a maiden century. Bacher recalls:
” The Melbourne Cricket Ground holds 100,000 people, but it was pretty empty on the Monday. It was extraordinary, the acoustics – whatever the players said, you could hear it in the stands. I can see it as if it was yesterday: Michael Kasprowicz bowling to Jacques, loud-mouthing and verbalising him. But he never flinched. Eventually, Kasprowicz bowled a bouncer, without effect, and verbalised him again – and eventually, Kasprowicz said: “Is this man [expletive deleted] deaf?”

Kallis the best of all time, Steve Waugh tells Ali Bacher

In a recent interview in London, former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh rated South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis as the greatest cricketer of all time.
Waugh was speaking to former South African Test captain Ali Bacher and, on the subject of cricket greats, had no hesitation in naming Kallis.

Howzat Jacques!

He’s not known as the prince of batsmen for nothing-Jacques Henry Kallis recently became the first South African cricket player to notch up 150 Test matches. Although the 36-year-old has been criticised as a slow scorer and a cautious batsman his career is far from
over.
Kallis has been one of the Proteas’ most consistent batsmen in the last 16 years. However, the second Test against Sri Lanka proved he’s also a mere mortal when he gave his worst performance ever with no runs at all. Yet in the third Test at Newlands, Cape Town, he proceeded to notch up his best score ever 224 runs.