Graeme Pollock

Graeme Pollock (born 27 February 1944 in Durban) is a former South African cricketer who played for Transvaal and Eastern Province. He comes from a well-known cricketing family and is considered one of the finest batsmen South Africa—and indeed the world—has ever produced. His international career ended when he was just 26, cut short by the sporting boycott of South Africa. Of his 23 Test matches, all but one were against England and Australia, the top teams of the era. Despite this, he set several records. His career Test batting average of 60.97 (minimum 20 innings) is the third highest of all time, behind only Don Bradman and Adam Voges.

Pollock has received many honours. In 1999 he was voted South Africa’s Cricketer of the 20th Century. He was one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 1966, and in 2007 was retrospectively named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World for 1967 and 1969. In South Africa he was Player of the Year in 1961 and 1984, and special tributes appeared in the S.A. Cricket annuals of 1977 and 1987. Don Bradman said Pollock, along with Garfield Sobers, was the best left-handed batsman he had ever seen. In 2009, Pollock was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Pollock was born into a Scottish family in Durban. His grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and his father, Andrew, played first-class cricket for Orange Free State and edited the Eastern Province Herald. As a youth, Pollock earned the nickname “Little Dog.” The story goes that his brother Peter, with an unbroken voice, made odd-sounding lbw appeals. Springbok Atholl McKinnon joked they sounded like a dog barking and called Peter “Pooch.” When Graeme joined the provincial side, they became Big Dog and Little Dog.

He attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, a noted sporting school, where he was coached by Sussex professional George Cox and Hampshire professional Tom Dean. In his first match for Grey Junior, aged nine, he took all ten wickets and then scored 117 not out. During that innings he hit a six into a nearby cemetery and had to fetch the ball himself. Selected for the school First XI as a leg spinner, he took six wickets for five runs. At 15, he was chosen to represent South Africa schoolboys.

In 1960, still at Grey High School and aged 16, Pollock was picked for Eastern Province. His first-class debut came against Border in East London, where he made 54 before being run out and later took two wickets in Border’s second innings. Later that season he scored his maiden first-class century, 102 against Transvaal B, becoming the youngest South African to do so. In his debut season he played five matches, scoring 384 runs at an average of 48.00. In 1961, while visiting Britain with his parents, he played six matches for Sussex Second XI.

In the 1962–63 South African season, Pollock finished second in the averages with 839 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 69.66. The highlight was 209 not out for an Eastern Province Invitational XI against the International Cavaliers, a side that included bowlers like Richie Benaud and Graham McKenzie. Benaud called the innings “magnificent” and said, “I knew I was watching a champion.” At 19, Pollock was the youngest South African to score a first-class double-century.

Pollock was 19 when selected for the 1963–64 tour of Australia. He started poorly, making 1 and 0 against Western Australia, dismissed twice by McKenzie. He recovered with 127 not out against a Western Australia Combined XI. His Test debut came at the Gabba in Brisbane, where he made 25 in a rain-affected match before again falling to McKenzie. That match was infamous because Australian bowler Ian Meckiff was no-balled for throwing, ending his career. In the Second Test at the MCG, Pollock made 16 and 2 as South Africa lost by eight wickets.

Questions were raised about his place, but in the Third Test in Sydney he scored 122 in the first innings. Bradman commented, “Next time you decide to play like that, send me a telegram.” At 19 years and 317 days, he became the youngest South African to score a Test century—a record that stood until 2025. In the Fourth Test in Adelaide, Pollock and Eddie Barlow shared a South African third-wicket record partnership of 341, with Pollock making 175 and Barlow 201. South Africa won by ten wickets to level the series 1–1. Pollock finished his maiden series with 399 runs at an average of 57.00. During the drawn Fifth Test, he suffered an injury that caused him to miss the first two Tests of the subsequent New Zealand tour.

England toured South Africa in 1964–65 under Mike Smith. Pollock played all five Tests. England won the First Test at Kingsmead by an innings and 104 runs; Pollock made 5 and a first-ball duck. The remaining Tests were all drawn. In the final Test at St George’s Park, he scored 137 in the first innings—Wisden described it as “a splendid century, distinguished by many drives past cover and mid-on”—and an unbeaten 77 in the second. For the series, he made 459 runs at an average of 57.37.