Graeme Pollock is the second best batsman I played against. Number one — and the best I've ever seen — is the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers. The big difference between Sobers and Pollock — two left-handers — was the former hooked and the latter didn't.


Graeme Pollock in action against the rebel West Indies in 1983 

Boy, but couldn't Pollock play the other shots with exquisite timing and precise placement. They were the two things that stood out when Pollock batted; he didn't seem to hit the ball hard and yet it always beat the chaser to the boundary and rarely did he hit a firm shot at a fieldsman.