I never wanted to overstay my welcome: Pollock

One of the finest all-rounders, the game has seen, Shaun Pollock hung up his boots last week. He followed in the footsteps of his illustrious family and now has his name etched in the list of South African legends. Vijay Tagore caught up with the man a week after he bowed out of the game. Excerpts

It must have been a very emotional moment. Have you overcome your feelings?

It was emotional. I think I had been anticipating this moment for a good few months so it came as a sense of relief to finally announce my decision.

But then I was overwhelmed by the huge response by the South African fans. I was totally blown away by the tributes through the media, from supporters at the ground and the public generally. It made saying good-bye a happy time for me. I’m at peace with my decision.

But why? You could have gone on for 500 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. Has the hunger gone?

No. I still love playing the game, but you have to weigh up the decision to retire with your head as well as your heart. I have the passion to go on playing cricket but I never wanted to overstay my welcome.

I’m glad to have retired at the top of my game and can leave the team in good hands as South Africa has a wealth of young bowling talent in the form of Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Paul Harris to compliment our more established bowlers.

Some said you were forced into retirement. Was the fact that you could not play against Pakistan and New Zealand a reason for an early retirement?

I had made the decision to retire before the start of the season, before I had been left out of the Test side but I think this just confirmed to me that it was the right time to go.

How do you look back at your career?

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have been able to live my dream for so long, to have played on the world stage against the best and to have been a consistent performer and able to achieve the pinnacle as a bowler and all-rounder

Any regrets in your career?

I think one always could look back and say I would’ve preferred this or that to happen, but if someone said to me 12 years ago that this would have been my bundle I would be 100 per cent happy with everything.

Graeme Pollock, Peter Pollock and now Shaun Pollock, all greats. But the statistics show you are the greatest among the Pollocks. Agree?

No, I think we have all played our part towards the success of South African Cricket.

Graeme has been named SA’s Cricketer of the Century and with good reason.
Your captaincy was a mixed bag. You think you could have done better?

Well, looking at the records, I actually performed pretty well so I’m happy with that. I thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility of captaincy.

I think it was unfortunate that we were knocked out of the 2003 World Cup in dramatic style but I was confident that I had given the task my best at every opportunity and am very grateful for having had the honour of representing such a proud sporting nation.

Most difficult player you played against, and why?

There have been many different players for different reasons. The fiercest bowlers would definitely have been Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar. Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar were obviously most skilled at their roles.

Most difficult player you played alongside and why?

I have great respect for my teammates because South Africans are very competitive in nature. Lance Klusener was probably the toughest player to contain at the crease and his batting at the 1999 World Cup will always leave an impression

How do you look at cricket in South Africa? Now that you have retired, some
commentators say South Africa will slip in the ranking.

No, I believe there is still a great deal of potential. South Africa has a tough year ahead with tours to India, England and Australia but we have a good bowling unit and our batting is looking solid so we have a real opportunity to prove our character as a team.

You will be playing in the IPL it seems…

I feel my experience of touring India will help me to handle conditions in the sub-continent and I’m looking forward to playing in the tournament. It’s an exciting prospect being able to positively influence the up and coming talent in India and to compete against the best in the world.

Not many South Africans are taking up coaching. Have you given any thoughts about it?

I’m sure there will be a consulting role for me in the future. At this stage I want to challenge myself outside of the game before I look at tackling that option.

Finally, do you think everything is fair in South African selection system?

Well, the recent drama of the past few days shows that there are clearly issues to be sorted out. Maybe in the end, the recent spat between Cricket South Africa president and the coach will clarify the way forward and optimise the selection process.