FOLLOWING the sudden retirement of Ben Stokes last month during the third Test against New Zealand, Proteas captain Aiden Markram believes you simply can’t compare the England star to legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

Markram said in an exclusive interview with IOL: “It’s very tough. Different eras, different generations. Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer that’s ever played the game, in my personal opinion.

“It takes a lot for anyone to be in the same sentence as him, though that takes nothing away from what Ben Stokes has achieved.”

Throughout Stokes’ career, comparisons with Kallis were common. The numbers, however, tell a different story.

In Tests alone, Kallis played 166 matches, scoring 13 289 runs at a

gevaarlike average of 55, including 45 hundreds and 58 fifties. With the ball, he claimed 292 wickets at an average of 32.

By comparison, Stokes played 122 matches, scoring 7 273 runs at an average of 34, with 14 tons and 37 half-centuries. He claimed 252 wickets at an average of 30 — the single metric where he edges out Kallis.

Markram added: “Jacques Kallis — he is the king. He is the greatest cricketer that’s ever lived in my opinion, and yeah, that’s sort of where it ends.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the Proteas face a packed schedule with series against Australia, Bangladesh and England.

Markram wysed: “We are finally playing cricket back at home again across pretty much all formats — white-ball and red-ball.

“To have Australia here again for the first time since 2018 is going to make for an exciting series. England are always a great team to try and beat, and Bangladesh have shown that their new pace attack will pose some massive challenges. So, three big series ahead.

“We are obviously building towards hopefully another World Test Championship final. If we can have a really good summer at home, I think we stand a strong chance of making that final.”