South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis may have missed the national team's 15-day training camp, but his preparation for the Pakistan tour has probably been superior to that of the rest of the squad.
Kallis returned this week from his first season in English county cricket where, among the 1 034 first-class runs he scored for Middlesex, he was successful against two of the key bowlers he can expect to face in the three-test series against Pakistan Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed.
The 21-year-old Capetonian scored 96 against Glamorgan, whose attack included the devastating Younis, and 100 against Somerset, for whom the wily leg-spinner Mushtaq plays.
Visits to the Sports Science Institute and low-key practice matches are one thing, but competitive games against several of the opponents he will soon be facing again on the sub-continent is what Kallis already has under his belt.
"I guess I've got one up on the rest of the guys having faced some of the Pakistani bowlers recently. It should certainly help my confidence to know I've scored runs against them," Kallis said.
Kallis, with paceman Allan Donald, who played for Warwickshire, were excused from coach Bob Woolmer's training camp in Durban this week, but will leave for Pakistan with the rest of the squad next Thursday.
Kallis, whom skipper Hansie Cronje still rates as the best long-term prospect to fill the problematic No 3 batting position, was particularly pleased with his innings in Cardiff against Younis, who signalled he is back to top form with some stunning spells for Glamorgan incidentally coached by Western Province's Duncan Fletcher.
"It was good to face Younis, who probably wasn't bowling at top speed on that day, but he was certainly quick enough and used his reverse swing," he said.
Kallis hit his 100 against Somerset at Taunton only a fortnight ago, and managed to make runs against Mushtaq when the rest of his teammates failed. Mushtaq bagged five for 66 to bowl Middlesex out for 236, with Kallis scoring almost half of his team's runs.
"Mushtaq mixes it up more than Shane Warne, although he doesn't turn it as much. His googly is more difficult to pick than Warne's, and he also bowls quicker," he said.
Younis will share the new ball with Wasim Akram provided the Pakistani skipper has recovered from an injury which is currently sidelining him from the Sahara Cup series against India in Canada and Mushtaq will probably bowl in tandem with highly-rated off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq to make up a formidable attack against South Africa.
Kallis is confident he can put the disappointments of last season's series against Australia behind him when he failed to make an impression at No 3 and was dropped down the order for the final test in Pretoria when Brian McMillan replaced him at first drop.
He is still to keen to bat at No 3 though and believes he is now more equipped to do so after opening the batting for Middlesex.
"Although I prefer to bat at No 3, opening the innings, which I had only done before at junior school level, has helped to tighten my technique," Kallis said.
Should McMillan retain the No 3 spot in the short term in Pakistan, Kallis is quite happy to fill the No 6 all-rounder's spot where his much-improved bowling, particularly his ability to generate swing, could be important on Pakistan's flat pitches.
Kallis said he picked up about a yard of pace during the English season mainly because he was bowling more regularly than he does in South Africa, and was able to get into a rhythm.
"Initially I was only going to bowl in the one-day matches for Middlesex, but because we were knocked out of some of the competitions in the early rounds, I ended up doing a fair bit of bowling in the four-day games," he said.
He took a career best five for 54 against Kent and finished with 32 championship wickets at an impressive average of 20.4.
Add to this, his 1 034 first-class runs (including four centuries) at a healthy average of 47 and Kallis' initial foray in county cricket can be regarded as a resounding success, one which South Africa hope will stand them in good stead in Pakistan.
Date-stamped : 07 Oct97 - 18:10
Contributed by the Western Province Cricket Association (wpca@cricinfo.com)