Today on 23 August 2020, the International Cricket Council announced the three new inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame. The ICC eternally honored the formidable all-rounder Jacques Kallis from South Africa, the outstanding world-cup winning all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar from Australia and one of the most elegant batsmen of his time Zaheer Abbas from Pakistan by inducting them into the ICC Hall of Fame 2020.
The ICC Hall of Fame is the highest honor for any cricketer. Last year, the ICC had honored the great batsman Sachin Tendulkar from India, the women cricketer and a successful seamer Cathryn Fitzpatrick from Australia, and the lethal pacer Allan Donald from South Africa with the same.
Kallis became the fourth South African player to receive the honor. And Zaheer became the sixth one from Pakistan. Lisa is the 27th from Australia and the ninth woman player on the list, which includes five from Australia. A total of 93 players have received this honor so far over the decades.
Let us now see the individual achievements of the three ICC Hall of Fame 2020 inductees: Jacques Kallis, Lisa Sthalekar, and Zaheer Abbas and we will also see their reactions after receiving the honor.
Jacques Kallis
The South African great all-rounder had a pretty long career of 19 years from 1995 to 2014. He made his Test debut against England in December 1995.
He played his last Test against India in December 2013 and his last ODI against Sri Lanka in July 2014.
In 166 Tests, he amassed 13289 runs at a phenomenal average of 55.37 and took 292 wickets at a bowling average of 32.65 with his effective pace bowling. He scored 45 Test centuries (includes two double-centuries) and 58 half-centuries.
In 328 ODIs, he scored 11579 runs at an average of 44.36 and took 273 wickets at a bowling average of 31.79. He scored 17 ODI centuries and 86 half-centuries.
He is third on the list of all-time highest Test run-scorers only behind the other two greats Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. Jacques Kallis is also eighth on the list of all-time highest ODI run-scorers.
This is a great achievement for Kallis in spite of being an all-rounder.
On receiving the ICC Hall of Fame honor, Kallis said,
“It’s a great honor to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. It is something that I never expected when I started playing. I certainly did not play the game for any accolades or anything like that. I only wanted to win the games for whoever I was playing for.
“But it is nice to be recognized when one has succeeded in the sport. It is nice to be recognized by people for something that you have achieved in the game, something that I am really proud of.”
Few other notable achievements of Jacques Kallis:
- The only player to score at least 10,000 runs and take at least 250 wickets in both Test and ODI cricket
- ICC Player of the Year and ICC Test Player of the year in 2005
- South Africa’s leading Test run-scorer
- The most capped South African player in both Test and ODI cricket
- Scored 113 not out in the semi-final and took 5-30 in the final as South Africa won the first ICC Knockout Tournament (later the ICC Champions Trophy) in 1998
- Won 23 ‘Player of the Match’ awards in Test cricket, more than anyone else
- Spent 592 days as the No.1 ranked Test batsman (2005-2011)
- Spent 4028 days as the No.1 ranked Test all-rounder (2000-2013) and a record 493 matches ranked number 1
Lisa Sthalekar
Born in Pune, India, and then sent to an orphanage by her biological parents as they were not able to support her, Lisa Sthalekar later got adopted by an American couple, who later settled in Sydney, Australia.
Lisa was one of the leading all-rounders of her time, a frontline batter, and an off-spin bowler.
Lisa Sthalekar made her ODI debut for Australia against England in June 2001. And made her Test debut again against England in February 2003.
She played her last Women’s Test against England in June 2001. Played the last WODI against the West Indies in February 2013. And the last WT20I against New Zealand in January 2013.
In 8 Women’s Tests she played, she scored 416 runs and took 23 wickets. Has one Test hundred and two fifties to her name too.
In 125 WODIs, she scored 2728 runs and took 146 wickets. And in 54 T20Is she scored 769 runs and took 60 wickets. Also scored two WODI centuries and 16 WODI half-centuries.
Lisa Sthalekar expressed her joy after receiving the honor,
“I am deeply humbled to receive this honour. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players.
“I was fortunate enough to learn from the best when I entered the Australia team – Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, all of whom have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. The guidance from them and other teammates along the way kept me focused but also ensured that it was a fun environment. Thanks to all my teammates.
“It goes without saying that if it wasn’t for the support of my family, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have.”
Few other notable achievements of Lisa Sthalekar:
- Topped both ODI batting and bowling rankings
- The first woman to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODI cricket
- Spent 934 days as the No.1 ranked ODI all-rounder (2007-2010)
- Part of the Australia teams that won the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2005 and 2013 and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2010 and 2012
- She won 12 Women’s National Cricket League titles with New South Wales and was captain for five victories in a row
- Short-listed for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in both 2007 and 2008 and for ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2012
Zaheer Abbas
Zaheer Abbas, born on 24 July 1947 in Punjab, British India was a stylish right-hand batsman. He played for Pakistan from 1969 to 1985.
Abbas played his first Test against New Zealand in October 1969 and his first ODI against England in August 1974.
He played his last Test against Sri Lanka in August 1974 and his last ODI against Sri Lanka in November 1985.
In 78 Tests, he scored 5062 runs at an average of 44.79 and in 62 ODIs, scored 2572 runs at an average of 47.62.
He scored 12 Test hundreds (includes 4 double-hundreds)and 7 ODI hundreds in his career.
Zaheer Abbar expressed his gratitude upon his induction into the ICC Hall of Fame,
“I feel privileged and truly humbled to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame of the class of 2020. I’m excited to be in the midst of other illustrious cricketers.
“I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfil my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level. Thank you, ICC, and the members of the jury, for this special honour. It is a final recognition for any cricketer.
“This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket.”
Few other notable achievements of Zaheer Abbas:
- The only player from Asia to have scored at least a 100 first-class hundreds
- Became just the second player to score his hundredth first-class century in a Test Match
- He scored two centuries in the same first-class match on a record eight occasions
- On a record four occasions, he scored a double-century and a century in the same first-class match
- The first player to score three successive centuries in ODI cricket
- Spent 215 days as the No.1 ranked ODI batsman (1983-1984)
- Captained Pakistan in 14 Test Matches, and only lost one of them
- Later served as an ICC Match Referee and as ICC President
The ICC Hall of Fame considers only the retired players for the honor who had played their last international match five or more years ago.
Former ICC Cricket Hall of Famers formed the majority of the judging panel with representation from the media, ICC, and Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA).
Commentator Alan Wilkins hosted The ICC Hall of Fame 2020. The event also featured retired greats Sunil Gavaskar, Melanie Jones, and Shaun Pollock as the main guests and had Wasim Akram, Graeme Smith, and Alyssa Healy join in to congratulate and appreciate the 2020 inductees.
So we saw the brief summary of the achievements of the three ICC Hall of Fame 2020 inductees: Jacques Kallis, Lisa Sthalekar, and Zaheer Abbas
Source:
© ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020
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