Jacques Kallis has expressed his delight at becoming the first batsman from South Africa to pass 13,000 Test runs.

The 37-year-old reached the landmark on Wednesday in his home city of Cape Town as the Proteas took command on day one of their match against New Zealand.

"The public have been fantastic to me," said Kallis. "To get an ovation like that certainly means a lot to me, and these are very special moments that will live with me forever.

"I'm probably batting as well as I've ever batted in my career, and hopefully I can carry on with that form for a little while longer and help win games of cricket for South Africa - or any team I play for."

Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid are the only other three players who have passed a total of 13,000 runs in the Test arena.