Shaun Pollock bowled more maiden overs than anyone in one-day international history
In a format built for big hitting, Shaun Pollock made a career of giving batsmen nothing. He sent down 313 maidens in one-day internationals, a record, and no bowler with 300 ODI wickets has conceded runs more slowly. On his Warwickshire debut in 1996 he took four wickets in four balls.
Born on 16 July 1973, Pollock comes from a family of mostly Scottish descent; his grandfather Andrew, a cricketer for Orange Free State, came from Edinburgh. He studied commerce at the University of Natal. For years he and Allan Donald formed South Africa's feared new-ball pairing, and he was part of the side that won the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, the country's first ICC title.
When Hansie Cronje was banned for life in 2000, Pollock took over as captain in all formats, leading until South Africa's disappointing 2003 home World Cup. He stayed in the team and became the first South African to take 400 Test wickets, retiring from 108 Tests with more than 3,700 runs as well. At that point he was one of only six players to combine 3,000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests, and he remained his country's leading Test wicket-taker until Dale Steyn passed him in December 2018.
His batting produced odd records. He holds the mark for most Test hundreds scored from number nine or lower, with two, and was the first Test captain left stranded on 99 not out. He needed 189 one-day innings before scoring a century. Playing for an Africa XI in 2007, he made 130 from number seven, briefly a record for that position until MS Dhoni topped it later in the series. Wisden named him a Cricketer of the Year in 2003.
Pollock played his 303rd and final one-day international on 3 February 2008, then turned out for Mumbai Indians and Durham. He now commentates on South African cricket and ICC tournaments, and joined the ICC Hall of Fame in November 2021.
Source: Shaun Pollock
