One of South Africa’s finest all-rounders, Shaun Pollock turns 46. Born on July 16, 1973, it would have been very surprising had Shaun Pollock not turned out as a cricketer. Coming from a family heritage with strong cricketing ties – His father Peter and uncle Graeme were famous cricketers – Pollock went on to become one of the best players in the game with numerous records to his name and even captained the South African national team. Happy Birthday, Sunil Gavaskar! Disliking Helmets to Writing Books, Here Are Five Lesser-Known Facts About the Former Indian Cricket Legend.

Pollock had traits of both of his father and uncle in him but what made Pollock a great and legendary figure was his perfect line and length and a long handle with the bat lower down the order. Revered as perhaps the straightest bowler in the cricketing circle, Pollock despite his 130kph pace could trouble batsmen around the world with a searing bouncer. He also had the ability to move the ball both ways and in the company of another great Allen Donald, Pollock – first as a bowler and then as a captain – led South Africa to greater heights.  Happy Birthday MS Dhoni: On Former Indian Captain's Birthday, Let's Have a Look at Five Gestures that Earned Mahi More Fans (Watch Video).

His very first job as a captain of South Africa was to resurrect a distraught Proteas team immersed in a fixing bubble. Pollock was announced South Africa’s skipper just five years after his Test debut against England in 1995. He was replaced by Graeme Smith after the disastrous 2003 World Cup. Pollock went to represent South Africa in 423 international matches and took 829 wickets across all formats, while also scoring over 7000 runs.  On the occasion of Pollock's birthday, let us take a look at some of the most interesting facts about the South African great.

Family of Cricketers

Pollock had such a strong lineage of cricket in his family that any other profession would be a catastrophe. His father Peter Pollock led the South African bowling attack back in the 1960s, while uncle Graeme Pollock is considered by many as one of greatest – if not the greatest – left-handed batsmen of all time in cricket.

Both were legends of the game. But Cricket in the Pollock family did not end there. His grandfather Andrew Pollock, great uncle Robert Howden, Cousins Andrew and Anthony have all played in first-class cricket.

A Teetotaller

Shaun Pollock is a devout follower of Christianity and refrains from consuming any alcoholic drink or beverages. His teammate Herschelle Gibbs once revealed that they tried to break Pollock’s Teetotaller habit but couldn’t do it. "We've tried to get him to drink even a little half glass of liquor, but he's not interested,” Gibbs was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Most Innings Taken To Reach Maiden ODI Hundred

Shaun Pollock took 189 innings and 285 matches to reach his maiden ODI century — which is the longest any player has taken to score a first ODI hundred. Pollock, then 34 years of age, smashed 130 off just 110 deliveries in the Africa XI vs Asia XI game of Afro-Asia Cup in 2007. It remained his one and an only ton in ODI cricket but it was a remarkable century and was the highest score by a number seven batsman in ODI history before MS Dhoni broke it four days later.

Four Wickets in Four Deliveries

Long before Lasith Malinga had scripted World Cup record by dismissing four batsmen in four consecutive deliveries, Shaun Pollock had achieved it. Pollock’s record, however, came at a County game in England for Warwickshire.

He achieved this remarkable feat in a 50-over game against Leicestershire in 1996. The game played at Birmingham saw the lanky South African bowler remove Greg Macmillan, James Whitaker, Phil Robinson, and Darren Maddy to reach the milestone. Pollock was later one of Malinga’s victims in the 2007 World Cup.

Off-Spinner Shaun Pollock

As Shaun Pollock reached the fag end of his career his medium pace further declined. He was still bowling that impeccable off-stump line but with little pace in his armour. Then South Africa toured Sri Lanka in 2006. By then the rise of Dale Steyn had already reduced veteran Pollock to a first or second change bowler.

But Sanath Jayasuriya sucked the life out of him on that tour. Pollock missed the first Test and finished the second with figures of 1/112. The second Test also saw him resort to bowling off-spin after Jayasuriya had clanged him for a straight six. He couldn’t get a wicket but managed to halt the run flow for some time.

Pollock took 421 wickets 108 Test for South Africa with best figures of 7-87, while in ODIs he claimed 393 wickets in 303 games and had best figures of 6/35. He was also a handy lower-order batsman and has two Test centuries to his name. Pollock made a total of 3,781 runs in 108 matches with the highest score of 111.

In ODIs, Pollock scored 3519 runs with 1 century and 14 fifties. He retired in 2008 first announcing his Test retirement midway through South Africa vs West Indies game at his hometown in Durban before calling it quits in international cricket in the following ODI series.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2019 08:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).