Pollocks were the past masters here

Durban: A nondescript sports shop outside the Kingsmead stadium here has its own little story to tell about the most famous cricket family of South Africa - the Pollocks.

The shop, stacked with the best of cricket gear from places far and near including Ludhiana and Meerut, once belonged to the Pollock family and had been featured prominently by different sections of the media during the 2003 World Cup, but not many know the fate of the business thereafter.

Star all-rounder Shaun Pollock's brother Gavin was the one involved in the day to day functioning of the outlet, which incurred huge losses following South Africa's early exit from the World Cup they hosted four years ago.

"They had invested a lot of money in sports goods and memorabilia during that World Cup and as South Africa crashed out in the preliminary stage itself, they were left with lots and lots of unsold goods and ultimately had to wind up the business," informed Dhiraj Arbee, who now runs the outlet.

Shaun, son of famous player Peter Pollock and nephew of the legendary Graeme Pollock, had lost his captaincy following that ouster in the 2003 World Cup which came about due to a confusion over the target in a rain-reduced tie that saw Mark Boucher happily defend the last ball thinking they had wrapped up the match when one run was still required.

It was not just his captaincy but also the small business that took a big hit then. So today, instead of walking in to be greeted by one from the family, you just get to see a life-size cut-out of Shaun Pollock endorsing a sports brand.

"As a player, I too have bought stuff from this shop. It was unfortunate for them to sell the shop in such circumstances. The local cricket association bought it off from the Pollocks and when they could not run it well enough, decided to sell it off. I bought this shop in 2004," said 31-year-old Dhiraj, who played club cricket here.

The shop has a lot of Indian brands too, with Indian players prominently featured in the packaging of bats, balls and pads. Sunridges, BDM and MRF vie for shelf space in this neatly kept outlet, which has cricketers of all age groups walking into the shop.

"The Indian brands are doing well here and I have had to make a few business trips to India over the past few years," said Dhiraj. "Most brands have a demand here with MRF the leading one for bats because it is endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar."

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