The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Kallis keyed up

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Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007
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Kallis keyed up

— Photo: AP

Jacques Kallis.

LAHORE: South Africa’s in-form batsman Jacques Kallis said on Sunday that beating world champion Australia in Tests was equal to winning a World Cup.

“Beating them would be sort of equivalent to winning a World Cup — certainly in the Test series,” Kallis said.

“It’s a tough tour, they are the best in the world and they are ahead of everyone at the moment and you want to test yourself against them.”

South Africa will tour Australia at the end of 2008 besides touring England next summer.

“These are the goals that the team has set and I want to be heavily involved,” Kallis said.

Kallis, who was dropped for the ICC World Twenty20 championship back home last month, accumulated 421 runs in the two-Test series against Pakistan and was adjudged Man of the Series.

It included successive centuries in a 160-run win in the first Test and another in the drawn Test at Lahore. South Africa won the series 1-0 — its first away series win against a major subcontinent opponent over the last seven years.

“In Pakistan it’s the best batting wickets in the world by a long way,” Kallis said.

“The wickets are pretty flat here and batter friendly, you just have to make slight adjustment in your technique from South Africa where there is a lot more bounce.”

Since its readmission to international cricket in 1991, World Cup is the trophy that has eluded South Africa and it was even labelled as ‘chokers’ of international cricket.

“It’s a disappointment that we haven’t won a World Cup,” Kallis said.

“I think we have been in positions to win it, but we made crucial mistakes. It has been frustrating but I don’t think that’s due to choking or anything like that.— AP

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