Former Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis has been appointed as England’s latest batting consultant for next month’s Test series in Sri Lanka.
According to the Cricinfo website, the England Cricket Board (ECB) last week stepped up its search for full-time appointments for their batting, pace- and spin-bowling coaching vacancies, with applications due to close on January 10.
KALLIS’ APPOINTMENT IS AN EYE-CATCHING ONE
Similar appointments were made for Jonathan Trott during the Pakistan Tests last summer, and Marcus Trescothick on the recent T20 and ODI (which were postponed) tour of South Africa.
The ECB has flagged the need to rotate their options for the foreseeable future to mitigate against the strain of living, practising and playing in bio-secure environments.
Kallis’ appointment is certainly an eye-catching one.
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He secured his status as an all-time great with 13 206 Test runs at 55.37 for South Africa, in addition to 292 wickets, while his mastery of Asian conditions is renowned, with eight centuries at 55.62 in 25 Tests in the region.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR KALLIS WAS HELPING SA
This time last year, Kallis was working as a batting consultant for South Africa’s Test team during their 3-1 series loss against England.
However, with CSA committing in September to a policy of affirmative action for future consultant roles, Kallis’ opportunities for further work within his home country are limited, particularly now that the role of High Performance Batting Consultant has gone to his former team-mate Neil McKenzie.
Discussions between Kallis and the ECB are understood to have taken place earlier this month and have been described as “very quick and simple”.
Kallis is expected to link up with the squad when they travel to Hambantota on January 2, ahead of the first of two Tests against Sri Lanka in Galle starting on January 14.
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