Jacques Kallis

One of the greatest cricketers of all time, fit to rank alongside - and some might say above - Garry Sobers, Jacques Kallis was South Africa's broad-shouldered, immovable, relentlessly consistent colossus for nearly two decades, combining the output of a world-class top-order batter with that of a frontline quick bowler. The numbers alone place him among the game's immortals: more than 10,000 runs each in Tests and ODIs, 45 Test hundreds, 17 ODI hundreds, and nearly 600 international wickets across formats.

Kallis' rise began in earnest in his seventh Test, in Melbourne in 1997, where he ground out a defiant last-day century over six hours against Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to save the match. It set the template for a career defined by obduracy and calm in moments of crisis. He went on to compile over 13,000 Test runs at an average of 55.37, placing him among the game's most prolific run-scorers, while also claiming 292 wickets with brisk seamers that could nip and bounce disconcertingly. He twice had purple patches where he made five hundreds in the space of eight innings or fewer, and finished with over 2000 runs against each of Australia, England and West Indies.

If there were criticisms - that he could be too methodical, too unwilling to seize the game by the throat - they were outweighed by his dependability. Kallis was the archetypal banker: he might not have won every match with a burst of brilliance, but he seldom lost one either. And he was capable of shifting gears: his clean hitting in ODIs produced 11,579 runs at an average above 44.

With the ball he often had real impact. He took five wickets in an innings five times in Tests, including 5 for 30 against West Indies in Cape Town in 1999 and 6 for 67 against them in Bridgetown two years on, and provided invaluable balance to a team built on fast-bowling depth. In the slips he was exceptional - his 200-plus catches in Tests rank him among the best close fielders the game has seen.

In one-day cricket Kallis was central to South Africa's often strong but luckless World Cup campaigns. He was the player of the tournament at the 1998 Champions Trophy, which South Africa won. Injury forced him to miss part of the 2003 World Cup, and in later years knee problems limited his bowling, but he continued to churn out runs with dependable efficiency.

Kallis was the ICC's Player of the Year in 2005, their Test Player of the Year in 2007, and a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2013.

Towards the end of his career he was a senior statesman, mentoring younger players while still producing match-turning contributions. His farewell Test, at Durban in December 2013, fittingly brought a 45th century; he is second on that score only to Sachin Tendulkar.