Once upon a time, a long time ago, I saw a small left-handed batsman. Playing for the Titans against a touring Australian team, he walloped a 150 in 100 balls.
Shane Warne called him the one of the best batsman he had played against in a long time. The batsman named was none other than Jacques Rudolph, a classical left hander.
I'll never forget the wonderous cover drives and marvellous cut shots he played, even against the best of international opponents. He was, and still is, my favourite batsman (unless he starts playing for England ;-)).
His International Career
Jacques played 35 test matches for the Proteas between April 13, 2003 and Feb. 5, 2006 at an average of 35, plundering five hundreds.
For a newcomer to any side, you would think that he deserved more of a chance. However, like all sports, when a team has done really poorly (South Africa vs. Australia, 2006) it seems like the selectors decide the best approach is to cull as many young players as possible.
Many forget that in a Perth epic, Rudolph scored an unbeaten 102 against a charged-up Shane Warne. This was the only saving grace for South Africa, as they went on to lose the next three test matches.
Although Rudolph only managed to score 125 runs from his next six inninings, perhaps his axing was a tad unfair.
Then came the Kolpak deal, Rudolph moved to Yorkshire citing his unfair treatment. None could blame him.
At Yorkshire, Rudolph continues to churn out the runs. In the 2008 season Rudolph has already scored 542 runs, in six inns at an average of 77.
Perhaps Rudolph will play for England at some stage; it wouldn't be such a bad thing. At least I'd be able to see that classical cover drive again.
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