South Africa will be looking to replicate their Test success in the One-Day arena, while England will be looking to get the "Pietersen Era" off to a good start. One thing both these One-Day outfits are blessed with is a genuine all-rounder. Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff are arguably the greatest all-rounders in the game today and will make a real difference in this series. But are they the best all-rounders in the history of ODIs....close but no cigar is what the numbers reveal.

First, it is important to agree on the definition of an all-rounder. Ideally, an all-rounder is someone who can hold a place in the side purely as a batsman or a bowler. But such chimerical cricketers are few and far between; even someone like the great Sir Richard Hadlee would have struggled to play in the eleven as just a batsman. So an all-rounder can be one who bats in the middle-order, scores you a solid fifty and then comes on first change with the ball and picks up three wickets- your classic all-rounder. He could also bat atop the order, score a hundred and bowl a tidy ten overs, picking up a wicket or two- the batting all-rounder. And of course, he could come lower down, score a quickfire thirty and then take a fifer with the ball- and he would be called, you guessed it, the bowling all-rounder. As long as the batting and bowling all-rounders show the ability to do consistently well with both bat and bowl (defined as a minimum qualification of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs), they make the cut for consideration. That's a list of 42 all-rounders up for consideration based on overall One-Day records. Of course you have Adam Gilchrist, a different kind of all-rounder whom we shall not include for the purpose of our discussion.

The "All-Rounder Index" (ARI), is simply a combination of a batting index and a bowling index for each player. The batting index itself is a combination of average and strike-rate over the course of one's career. Likewise, the bowling index is a combination of bowling average and economy rate. These indices have been adjusted to give a higher weightage to averages as opposed to taking a simple product of the two factors (average and strike-rate). Further, they have been adjusted to ensure the batting and bowling scores are on the same scale and are hence are equally important to the overall ARI. And here are the top ten.

10. Kapil Dev: ARI 1563
Kapil Dev had a terrific strike-rate of 95 with the bat, but his bowling is what helped him crack the top ten. Kapil was an uncomplicated cricketer, accurate bowling and big hitting. He led by example to take India to a historic World Cup win in 1983, and without a doubt, is India's greatest all-rounder.

9. Andrew Symonds: ARI 1569
Perhaps one of the most under-rated cricketers when it comes to a discussion on the all-time greats, Andrew Symonds is arguably one of the greatest ODI batsman of all time. He averages over 40 with the bat with a strike rate in the 90s, which makes him the third best batsmen in this all-rounder list of 42. He has made a few handy contributions with his off-breaks as well. Roy's career may have got off to a shaky start, but his 143* against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup was the turning point in his career and since then he has gone on to establish himself as Australia's best ODI all-rounder ever.

8. Richard Hadlee: ARI 1657
Sir Richard Hadlee is the best bowler in this list, with an average of under 22 and an economy rate of 3.3. He single-handedly carried the Kiwi side for a decade and a half, as one of the best fast bowlers of his generation. Hadlee also chipped in with some useful contributions with the bat, but a career average of 21.6 prevents him from making it higher on this list.

7. Chris Gayle: ARI 1662
As blasphemous as it may seem to some to put Gayle ahead of Hadlee and Dev, the numbers indicate that Gayle has earned his spot with some aggressive batting and clever bowling. Gayle averages close to 40 at a strike rate of over 80. While it could be argued that he plays in a time when scoring rates are higher and his strike rate should be more than openers and all-rounders of the past, Gayle also has to bowl in a time when runs are scored faster and his economy rate will be worse than a similar bowler in a previous decade. And Gayle has been a key bowler, often coming on at the death and going at 4.6 runs an over picking up a wicket or two for every ten overs. Gayle narrowly edges out Hadlee to come in at 7, but there's quite a difference between his score and number 6 on the list.

6. Jacques Kallis: ARI 1807
A Jacques of all trades, Kallis is in at 6. Kallis has an impressive batting average of 45.2 and a decent bowling average a bit over 30, but his low strike rate of 71 and an economy rate coming close to 5 peg him down to number five in the list. Kallis will figure much higher in a Test match equivalent version of the best all-rounders, but in the ODI version he is not the best of the best.

5. Imran Khan: ARI 1835
Imran Khan is one of the few classic all-rounders the game has ever seen, and he could play in the Pakistan squad purely as a batsman or a bowler. And Imran was consistent, never really showing a decline in form even in the latter part of his career. He played at a time when three other all-rounders (Hadlee, Dev and Botham) lay claim to being the best of their time, but in the end, Imran Khan in the shorter format of the game has proved to be better than them all.

4. Shaun Pollock: ARI 1839
The baby-faced assassin, Shaun Pollock was one of the tightest bowlers in the modern era. His economy rate of 3.67 is better than anyone else that played in his time, even McGrath wasn't as economical. Pollock was also an explosive lower-order bat, averaging 26 with a strike rate in the mid 80s.

3. Andrew Flintoff: ARI 1965
Touted as the next Ian Botham, Freddie Flintoff has actually out-performed his hero in the one-day version of the game. He started his career as an erratic, inconsistent player, but time has changed him into one of the highest impact players in today's game. Before he was out injured, Flintoff's bowling in ODIs was a revelation as he was England's most accurate and economical bowler. With Flintoff back at his best, England can realistically hope to bounce back in the upcoming one-day series.

2. Viv Richards: ARI 2023
Sir Issac Vivian Alexander Richards is arguably the greatest batsman in the shorter version of the game, fearless (never wore a helmet!), aggressive and down right intimidating. Yet, Richards is also the second greatest all-rounder of all time. Clearly, he was never a classic all-rounder, a batting all-rounder for sure. Richards' batting accomplishments were so phenomenal, one tends to overlook his efforts with the ball. Richards though has done enough to prove his ability as a bowler with 118 ODI wickets which has him at number two on this list.

1. Lance Klusener: ARI 2049

The master of masters is Lance Klusener. Zulu will be best remembered for his spectacular performances at the 1999 World Cup when he averaged over 140 with the bat and a shade over 20 with the ball, for which he won the Man of the Series. He will also be remembered for his starring role in the semi-final tie against Australia, where he single-handedly brought his side back into the game, only for the Proteas to choke right at the end. Klusener's career ended rather abruptly, but with a batting average of over 40 and a strike rate close to 90, he will be known as one of the most destructive batsmen the game has ever seen. Bowling was his forte when he started as a tearaway quick, but he adapted to injuries to a medium pacer who picked up regular wickets. Overall, Klusener was a fantastic player and is the best all-rounder in the history of One-Day cricket.

7:21 PM
Categories: Cricket. Author: SacHu