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Originally Posted by Navo
^ Brianlara7, the question is, would Kallis have gotten into the South African team on his bowling alone? Looking back on 15+ years of international cricket, where he has bowled admirably as 4th or 5th change, his wicket tally looks impressive - but he's also bowled in 260 innings to get them. So he's been good, very good on occasion, and most importantly, he has had a long shelf life. But the point being made is whether a player would be able to make it into his team as either a bowler or as a batsman and I'm not sure if Kallis would always make it into the team purely as a bowler, given the stiff competition in South Africa. His skills are clearly not even balanced, especially considering his gargantuan batting average. However, obviously it's his overwhelming presence as a batsman and the total package he brings as a player, that makes him invaluable.
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Thats a bit unfair because Kallis would walk into Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, WI, and maybe a couple other teams on his bowling alone. Gotta look at his strike rate, which isn't all that bad at under 70.
Kallis' overall averages indicate he's the better batsman even though he is likely to take a dip if he plays for another couple years. But I doubt any major player has choked as much as Tendulkar so that almost guarantees Kallis is the bigger better batsman.