Proteas skipper Aiden Markram weighs in on the Jacques Kallis versus Ben Stokes debate following the English star's Test retirement, explaining why the South African icon remains the greatest cricketer of all time. Picture: ANESH DEBIKY / AFP
Following the sudden retirement of Ben Stokes late last month during the third Test against New Zealand, Proteas skipper Aiden Markram believes you simply can’t compare the England star to legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
“It's very tough. Different eras, different generations,” Markram said in an exclusive interview with IOL. “Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer that’s ever played the game, in my personal opinion. It takes a lot for anyone to be in the same sentence as him, though that takes nothing away from what Ben Stokes has achieved.”
Throughout Stokes' career, comparisons with Kallis were common. The numbers, however, tell a different story.
In Test cricket alone, Kallis played 166 matches, scoring 13,289 runs at an incredible average of 55, including 45 hundreds and 58 fifties. With the ball, he claimed 292 wickets at an average of 32.
