All-rounder is such a keyword in cricket that bridges any gap that exists between the batting and the bowling departments. The presence of one or more all-rounders in the team goes a long way in striking the right balance and keeping the team ahead as far as the off-field strategies are concerned. Given the unpredictability and dynamic nature of the sport, no team can entirely trust their team combination to deliver the goods when on the park. As per the match scenario, a team may require a specialist batsman to score quick runs when the asking rate has soared sky high or a bowler to indulge in a wicket-taking spree, pushing the batsmen away from their dreadful intentions.
While it may be difficult to fill 2 such specialist players in the line-up, the problem can be solved to perfection if an all-rounder is incorporated into the side and asked to perform the desired role as the situation demands. In the long history of cricket, we have seen several quality all-rounders who ruled the roost and are still remembered for their game-changing performances of yesteryears. These cricketers scored plenty of runs and scalped as many wickets as they could to propel their respective teams into the direction of safety and dominance. In the below piece, we look at 5 such all-rounders, who scored more than 1000 runs and picked 100 plus wickets in ODI cricket:
1. Richard Hadlee
Having burst to the scene as a tear away pacer, Hadlee cut down on his pace going ahead and concentrated more on extracting vicious movement off the surface.
While Hadlee’s rip-roaring pace dealt a blow, his left-handed batsmanship plunged a dagger into the heart of the opposition. During his tenure, the Kiwi side reached an unprecedented high in their cricketing career and could look the fearsome opposition in their eyes in the early 90s.
Hadlee has scored 1751 runs from 115 ODIs at an average of 21.61 and also picked 158 wickets at an average of 21.56 and best bowling figures of 5-25.
2. Imran Khan
One of the best all-rounders in the early 80s, Khan was responsible for the majority of the success Pakistan could procure during his playing days.
Be it the thriving or the crunch moments, Khan’s all-round contribution was always a constant and it never faded away, even during his last few years in international cricket. Such was the greatness of the man, who also won Pakistan their maiden World Cup in 1992.
Needless to say, Pakistan won’t get a better leader and an all-round player like Khan, who changed the cricketing culture in the country massively. Khan has garnered 3709 runs from 175 games at an average of 33.41 and scalped 182 wickets at an average of 26.61 and best figures of 6-14.
3. Kapil Dev
The captain of the Indian team who lifted the World Cup in 1983, Kapil Dev shouldn’t be a surprise featuring in this list. Throughout his illustrious career, Kapil Dev pulled off remarkable all-round performances to bail his team out of trouble and take them towards victory.
His right-arm seam bowling assisted in breaking dreadful partnerships and bringing the team back from the dead. While his fierce striking lower down the order needs no special mention which could also embarrass a specialist top-order batsman.
Apart from this, Kapil Dev was a good mover in the outfield stopping vital runs in the team’s favour. Kapil Dev has mustered 3783 runs from 225 games at an average of 23.79 and picked 253 wickets at an average of 27.45 and best figures of 5-43.
4. Steve Waugh
The coolest captain in the history of Australian cricket, Waugh hogged the limelight when he led Australia to 1999 World Cup glory. The triumph was indeed the beginning of a golden era for the team, who then went onto lift two more World Cups in 2003 and 2007 and the third one after a gap of 8 years in 2015.
There was a pattern to his scoring which included rotating the strike early on and once set, pummeling the bowlers to various sides of the ground. Apart from the batting, Waugh was a canny medium-pacer, who knew how to build dot balls and pick wickets under pressure.
The classy batsman has accumulated 7569 runs from 325 games at an average of 32.90 and also scalped 195 wickets at an average of 34.67 and best figures of 4-33c one of the very few all-rounders who had a class in his batting.
5. Sanath Jayasuriya
A swashbuckler from Sri Lanka, who batted predominantly at the top of the order, Jayasuriya was the biggest gift his country had ever procured.
Jayasuriya in a way was similar to Sehwag, as both liked to take the attack to the opposition and make the first move. Seldom did we see them taking a backseat and playing the waiting game, bestowing the momentum in the hands of the opposition.
If not for his batting, his left-arm orthodox spin worked wonders, getting the wickets of some of the top batsmen in world cricket. Jayasuriya has chronicled 13430 runs from 445 games at an average of 32.36 and has scalped 323 wickets at an average of 36.75 and best figures of 6-29.
