Sunday 30 July 2017 09:51, UK
Shaun Pollock used to leave batsmen looking all at sea as he picked up 421 Test wickets and 393 in one-day internationals for South Africa.
And now he has put his weight behind the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, which has been backed by The Kia Oval at this week's third Test between Pollock's countrymen and England.
Twenty-thousand reusable water bottles will be handed out over the course of the match, many of them by Pollock and his fellow Sky Sports Cricket experts, as The Oval aims to go plastic-free, with 20 free water-filling stations in place across the venue.
Over eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into our oceans each year, while, in the time it will take James Anderson, Stuart Broad et al to bowl one over, the equivalent of four rubbish trucks' worth of plastic will be discarded into them.
Pollock has been aware of the damage being caused since getting to know adventurer Mike Horn - and hopes the exposure Sky Ocean Rescue has had at The Oval can boost the clean-up process.
"Mike has been all over the world doing some wonderful things," Pollock told Sky Sports. "He has the Pangaea Project, where, on a boat built out of aluminium, he heads around the globe and enlists the help of thousands of young people to help keep oceans and villages healthy.
"He was involved with me at the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and the South African side and he was the one who introduced me to the problems plastics cause to fish, mammals and birds.
"Lots of the plastics assemble in similar places and he told me that some of these areas are like dustbins - there is so much damage in there.
"Sharks, dolphins, penguins, seagulls are eating it, it goes into their stomachs and it kills them. It's a massive problem but as people that live on land, I don't think we are fully aware of it.
"Mike is, and he says it also affects rivers. Thankfully, Sky Ocean Rescue have started this great campaign to try and make it better.
"When you see the numbers, you think: 'Surely it can't be that high' but Mike has pictures and video footage to show how devastating things have become.
"Because the plastic floats it makes the issue extremely visible but I think we are oblivious to the effect it has had on our harbours, beaches and bodies of water.
"This week at The Oval has been about awareness and explaining to people that buying fruit separately as opposed to in packets and reusing your water bottles can make a huge difference.
"Hopefully people now have a greater understanding of what is going on - once you are aware, your human side kicks in and you want to make sure you are not causing harm."
For more information on Sky Ocean Rescue, head to www.skyoceanrescue.com
