Most sportsmen are judged on what they are but Jacques Kallis is one of a rare breed condemned for what they are not.
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Kallis's supposed crime has always been that he has the talent of a Barry Richards or Ian Botham but the wooden temperament of a small-town bank clerk, fussing over copper coins rather than dealing in large-denomination notes.
Blessed with every shot in the textbook, he has managed to devalue his talent through a self-imposed commitment to percentage play.
Tell that to England.
Michael Vaughan's side came into the five-match series against South Africa as big favourites after an unbeaten campaign in 2004 but, after winning the first Test, they now find themselves as underdogs.
Kallis has been the main reason for the shift.
He has scored 448 runs in the first three Tests, at an average of 74.67. He began with a seventh-ball duck, missing a Steve Harmison full toss, but then made 162 in the second Test, followed by 149
England's fans goaded him with chants of "Boring, boring!" when he inexplicably struggled to accelerate the run rate shortly before South Africa's second-innings declaration at Cape Town but Kallis had the last laugh after a 196-run win.
"As long as I keep boring them I'll be happy," Kallis responded. "It's just a matter of summing up the match situation and playing according to that.
"Sometimes there is a time when you can try and take the game away from the opposition and times when you have to grind it out."
He admires Andrew Flintoff's explosive play but with a caveat. "The nature of the way he plays means he won't be consistent. It probably only happens every third or fourth game," he says.
Kallis, 29, has just displaced Rahul Dravid as the world's number one batsman, with Ricky Ponting in third. Not bad for a man considered an all rounder.
In 85 Tests, he has made 6,656 runs at 55.46 a visit, while taking 167 wickets with his bustling right-arm pace bowling at 31.23 apiece.
It is his batting, however, which came to the fore last year. Kallis's father died in 2003 from cancer and that led to him re-focusing on his career and making him even more determined to exploit his opportunities to the full.
In 11 Tests he averaged 80.50 with the bat, scoring five centuries and seven half-centuries, while taking 12 wickets at 48.41.
That compared with a batting average of 49.85 in 2003 and 19 wickets at 38.42 with his bowling.
Against England, he has taken a single wicket for 122 runs. Eccentric South Africa coach Ray Jennings, however, is not ready to let Kallis peter out as a bowler. Nor is he ready to allow him to become satisfied with his record.
"I would rather burn Jacques out at 30 or 32, playing to the level I know he can play at, than drag him out to age 38," Jennings said at the start of the series.
"Jacques is 29, we're making him an old person. I'm gonna turn on the heat, make or break him. No soft option, treat people softly and they'll become soft."
The approach appears to be working. While England have thrown away their wickets during the series, Kallis has defended his as if it were his life. England have tried to bat in fifth gear from the off while Kallis has been happy with the security of third.
Jennings is delighted that Kallis has responded to his challenge.
Don't put it past the South Africa coach to join the Barmy Army in the stands at The Wanderers in the coming days and lead the chants of "Boring, boring" if he thinks it will help his side's cause.
