Tough times for cricket great Pollock as he battles cancer
GRAEME Pollock, owner of the second-highest batting average in test cricket history and officially South Africa’s Cricketer of the [20th] Century is, at 70, a physically and financially fragile facsimile of the brawny left-hander whose bruising cover drives once inspired oohs in onlookers, fear in fielders and stress among scorers.
Pollock is battling colon cancer and Parkinson’s disease and is recovering from a minor stroke — factors that limit his ability to earn an income, although he remains available as a guest speaker.
His inquiries about assistance from South Africa’s cricket authorities have been met with a dead bat, a sign of the lingering animosity between figures in the game during apartheid.
Pollock is said to be receiving financial aid from his sons, Anthony and Andrew, has enlisted the help of a public relations agent, Basil O’Hagan, and launched a trust fund.
Pollock’s family, who include fellow former test players Peter and Shaun Pollock (his brother and nephew), had been “extremely supportive”.
Pollock declined to comment on whether he had made adequate provision for his retirement or suffered setbacks, how much money he was trying to raise and what would happen to him if he did not reach his target.
“Graeme feels that [those questions] are too personal,” said O’Hagan. “All we want to do is give Graeme a dignified and respectful retirement. This is what we, as South Africans, can do for someone who has brought so much joy to cricket fans all over the world.”
However, not all sections of the game would appear to agree — as Pollock discovered when he approached Cricket South Africa for assistance.
“[Former CSA chief executive] Gerald Majola stated clearly that players from the pre-1992 era were persona non grata,” said Pollock, referring to the period that predated the racial unification of cricket in the country.
Neither should Pollock expect much help from the South African Cricketers’ Association, which functions as a trade union for players. “Graeme isn’t covered by our pension fund as this only covers players playing at the time SACA was formed in 2002 and after,” said chief executive Tony Irish. He said Pollock had not contacted the association in this regard.
Pollock’s plight has made the front page in India, where there is no players’ association.
“The response we’ve had from the Indian people has been amazing — from old and young and from corporates to individuals,” said O’Hagan.
When Pollock played test cricket, from December 1963 to March 1970, South Africa’s government did not allow the all-white “national” team to take on sides who were not entirely white. Domestic sport was also segregated.
Once the international isolation mounted in the fight against apartheid took hold, Pollock played against rebel XIs from countries that toured South Africa in defiance of the boycott.
Many modern administrators in South Africa are drawn from the ranks of those who opposed the rebel tours, and Pollock’s installation in 1999 as South Africa’s “Cricketer of the Century” raised eyebrows.
Even in cricket-crazy India, where understanding for South Africa’s troubled sporting past would appear limited, support for Pollock is not universal. “Typical Indians, bl**dy white a**e lickers,” read one response to the online version of the Pollock story.
However, among his South African contemporaries, Pollock remains an admired figure. On his Facebook page, former test batsman Barry Richards wrote: “Wonder why CSA never made G Pollock an ambassador then they could give him a small retainer each month?”
The comments on Richards’s post included golfer David Frost’s: “With today’s internet ability, let’s put together a fund? I’ll start it at R5 000.”