Kallis appointed South Africa batting consultant

London, December 18: Jacques Kallis will again link up with Mark Boucher after being named as a batting consultant for South Africa ahead of their home series against England.

Cricket South Africa announced the appointment of the former all-rounder, one of the greatest players in Proteas history, on Wednesday, eight days before the first Test with England in Centurion.

Kallis is the latest ex-South Africa star to take up a non-playing role with his country in recent days. Graeme Smith took over as interim director of cricket last week and swiftly appointed Boucher as head coach.

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Now 44, Kallis played 519 international matches in a glittering career.

He is the third-highest run-scorer in Test history behind Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, having amassed 13,289 runs at a spectacular average of 55.37.

Kallis also claimed 292 Test wickets, as well as contributing 12,245 limited-overs runs and 285 wickets for the Proteas.