Graeme Pollock — South Africa's Greatest Batsman and a Career Cut Short, 1963–1970

South Africa's cricket isolation deprived the Test game of Pollock, Barry Richards, Mike Procter and several others at their peaks. The collective loss is incalculable; Pollock's case is the most stark because his average and the quality of his few Tests make the projection so obvious.

Pollock made his Test debut at 19 in 1963 against Australia in Brisbane, scoring 25 in a low-scoring match on debut. By 1965 he was universally regarded as the most naturally gifted batsman in the world. His innings of 125 at Trent Bridge in July 1965 — made on a difficult pitch against a good England attack including Trueman and Statham in their last Ashes seasons — was rated by Wisden as the innings of the year. He drove with extraordinary power despite minimal backswing, his timing so pure that a full-length delivery might be driven to the mid-on boundary while fielders barely saw the shot leave the bat. In 23 Tests he averaged 60.97 — exceeded among South Africans only by his brother Peter Pollock's bowling average. He scored his last Test run at Port Elizabeth in March 1970, aged 26. He continued in first-class cricket through the 1970s and 1980s, playing in the Currie Cup, the Rest of World series and various rebel tours, but never again on the Test stage. He finished his first-class career with 20,940 runs at 54.67.

“Pollock was the best natural talent I saw in my lifetime. The waste of his career was one of cricket's genuine tragedies.”