JACQUES Kallis is putting no stock in his previous failures in England as South Africa prepare to take on the world’s top side in the first Investec Test at The Oval. Kallis, a prolific international run-scorer for the past 17 years, had largely barren summers in 2003 and 2008 as the tourists claimed series victories and his last attempt, in particular, brought paltry returns – barely a hundred runs in seven innings, featuring five single-figure scores, and resulting in an average under 15.
But Kallis said: “I’m not someone who worries too much about what happened in the last innings or on previous tours. You don’t get a head start if you’ve done well in a previous innings or previous tours. You start with nought behind your name.”
He went on: “It’s not like Formula One, where you get pole position. It would be nice to have a good tour here. But if I have a bad tour and we win, I’ll take that.”
Whoever takes the individual honours over this three-Test series, which will get under way tomorrow, Kallis is one of many predicting a wonderful spectacle and a hard-fought battle for world supremacy.
“I don’t think there is a reason why we haven’t played well here,” he said of South Africa’s winless run in their 10 Test visits to The Oval to date.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve been doing for the last couple of weeks and not worry about the ground or the opposition. They are two good attacks, certainly as good as any in world cricket at the moment. Both sides have got good batters as well. It’s going to be a fantastic series.”