By Craig Ray South African sports journalist

Pollock has been a model of consistency over the years

For cricket fans outside South Africa, a remarkable record set by Shaun Pollock passed by almost unnoticed.

While Australia's Shane Warne and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan were going head to head in a race to 500 Test wickets, Pollock began the series in New Zealand with his own personal landmark in sight.

On day two of the second test at Eden Park in Auckland, Pollock captured the wicket of opener Michael Papps for a duck.

Papps was the red head's 331st victim in his 82nd Test, nudging him one ahead of Allan Donald as South Africa's leading wicket-taker.

"In some ways it's sad to go past AD's record but I'm pretty sure he'll send a message of congratulations," Pollock told journalists at the end of play.

"He was such a magnificent servant to the game he should be able to keep the record. But he can't, so I'll take it."

For the 30-year-old former skipper it was another important addition to an impressive CV that includes a Test batting average in the mid-30s as well as the most wickets for South Africa in limited overs internationals (297).

Pollock also has the third lowest average (21.20) of bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets, behind West Indian pair of Malcolm Marshall (20.94) and Curtley Ambrose (20.97).

The late Malcolm Marshall helped refine Pollock's technique

One of the biggest influences on Pollock's career apart from his father Peter, himself a successful Test bowler, but Marshall, who played out his first-class career at KwaZulu-Natal where a young Pollock fell under his guidance.

"He started like all fast bowlers, as a real tearaway," former South African captain Kepler Wessels told BBC Online.

"But he developed subtlety and variation and has combined it with his biggest asset of a nagging line and length.

"He has also been relatively injury-free over the years. It must be natural because he is not a hard worker [in training] so he must have the right genes.

"He learnt so much from Marshall and with his own experience he has become a fine bowler especially after losing the captaincy following the early exit from the World Cup.

"Psychologically he took a knock and there was an adjustment period for him to get used to being just one of the players.

He builds pressure and maintains it, which allows him to get wickets Kepler Wessels

"But if you look at it subjectively he has handled it well by not showing bitterness and just got on with the job."

That is what Pollock has always done - got on with the job - one which started in late 1995 against England at Centurion Park with the wicket of Graham Thorpe and looks set to continue for a good few years yet.

"I'm sure he will continue until the 2007 World Cup.

"It is always a bit of a fitness lottery for a player over 30, but there is no reason he shouldn't continue for three more years," said Wessels.

By then, that Test wicket mark should be in excess of 400.