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Allrounder, no 1 - Andrew Flintoff

The world is his oyster

Andrew Miller
November 7, 2006

A gargantuan performer with a big heart and bigger shoulders, Andrew Flintoff has established himself as one of the great personalities of the modern game. He is both a fearless striker of a cricket ball whose every innings makes for compelling viewing, as well as a galumphing pounding paceman who regularly exceeds 90mph and jars bat-handles with a high, powerful action and a visibly "heavy" ball. In addition, he is one of the world's most reliable slip fielders, and a tactically astute captain who leads by example and inspires all who follow him down the pavilion steps.


Achievements

Against Australia in the summer of 2005, Flintoff finally came of age with a series-long performance that earned him global fame and recognition, and the eternal gratitude of his nation. In his first appearance against the Aussies, but at the peak of his powers and fitness, he cracked 402 runs in five Tests, and blasted his way to 24 priceless wickets, as England recaptured the Ashes after 18 fruitless years. He was subsequently named as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year - the first cricketer to earn the accolade since Ian Botham in his own annus mirablis of 1981.
What makes him special

In Flintoff , England have found the answer to all their prayers - a man who, like the irrepressible Botham before him, is a genuine allrounder, worthy of a place in the nation team on the strength of his batting or bowling alone. In addition, Flintoff is the consummate team man, a player who inspires his colleagues and intimidates opponents in equal measure. And, what is more, he is a man of the people as well, as he demonstrated with his heroically slurred speech in Trafalgar Square on the morning after the Ashes triumph. Accessible, yet untouchable - that's Flintoff through and through.


Finest hour

It's hard to look beyond the Ashes, especially the second Test at Edgbaston. Flintoff's twin scores of 68 and 73 first set England up for a shot at victory, and then, on the penultimate afternoon, a bullish first over produced two vital wickets at a moment when the match seemed to be slipping away. He followed up with a matchwinning hundred at Trent Bridge in the fourth Test, a masterclass in self-denial and certainty, while his five-wicket haul in the Oval decider was instrumental in breaking Australia's resolve. From a personal point of view, however, Flintoff would probably single out England's astonishing victory at Mumbai in March 2006, his first win as captain, when he inspired a team of rookies to excel themselves in an alien environment.


Achilles' Heel

Not so much an Achilles' Heel as an Achilles' Ankle. A bone spur in Flintoff's left foot has been a constant source of aggravation in recent years, and he has twice undergone operations to rectify the problem. Before the foot, his main problem was his back, which at times threatened to scupper his prospects of ever bowling again. In his younger days, Flintoff was his own worst enemy, with a penchant for a party and a reluctance to do his back-strengthening Pilates exercises. But a stern talking-to from his management team transformed his attitude, and under the tutelage of Duncan Fletcher, he has become one of the fittest athletes in the game.


How history views him

It's too soon to judge Flintoff's place in the pantheon although, by common consent, the 2005 Ashes is already considered to be among the greatest sporting encounters of all time, and so he is guaranteed a hefty mention in a sizeable chapter. Much depends on how Flintoff follows that tour de force. Injury scuppered his 2006 season, but a repeat performance in Australia this winter will confirm that he saves his very best for when it matters most. And that is the mark of a true champion.


Life after cricket

In this age of the celebrity, the world is Flintoff's oyster. Like Botham before him, he is guaranteed recognition long after his on-field feats have faded from memory, and the likely route is a lucrative career in television. He is a committed family man, however, with a wife and two young children, and has often spoken of his discomfort in the limelight. It could well be that he opts to return to a quieter life. With the freedom of the city of Preston among the rewards for his achievements, he will never again have to buy a pint.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

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Allrounder, no.2 - Ravi Shastri

India's lost captain

Dileep Premachandran
November 23, 2006

A dour customer capable of bursts of flair on the field, Ravi Shastri was a debonair, straight-speaking individual off it, qualities that didn't exactly endear him to an Indian society that still clung largely to outdated, hypocritical Victorian values. His left-arm spin may not have been in the Bedi class, but it fetched him 151 Test wickets in a career that spanned just over a decade. But for a man who batted at ten different positions in the order, it was as an opener that Shastri enjoyed his finest moments, inspiring India's victory in the World Championship of Cricket (1985), and becoming the first India to score a double-century in Australia. His tactical nous was sadly overlooked by the selectors, but a crushing victory over West Indies in the lone Test in which he led offered a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been.


Achievements

Three successive half-centuries, and a formidable association with Krishnamachari Srikkanth spearheaded India's charge to victory in the World Championship of Cricket. His efforts were rewarded with the Champions of Champions tag, and an Audi car that a delirious team piled into during a victory lap of the MCG. In the Test arena, he will primarily be remembered for his epic 206 at Sydney in January 1992, an innings that he followed up with some canny bowling that took India agonisingly close to victory in a series that they went on to lose 4-0. And though he disputes the correctness of the decision to this day, he was the man at the non-striker's end when Maninder Singh was declared out in the Chennai Tied Test in 1986. For Mumbai, he once slammed Tilak Raj for six sixes in an over to equal the record set by the inimitable Sir Garfield Sobers.


What makes him special

Players far more talented than him wore the India cap without achieving even a smidgen of what he did. Without possessing a wide repertoire of strokes, Shastri managed to thwart some of the greatest bowlers of his age. In his 17 Tests as opener, he averaged 44.04, with four centuries, a record that only Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag have bettered.


Finest hour

Looking back, it might seem like cricket in slow-mo, but the team that annexed the World Championship of Cricket was every bit as accomplished as that which won the World Cup in 1983. They went through the tournament undefeated and Shastri's half-centuries against Australia and New Zealand smoothed the path to the final. There, he scored an unbeaten 63 as India romped to victory over arch-rivals Pakistan.


Achilles' Heel

Though capable of thwacking the ball long distances when in the mood, his sedate approach to the game won him few admirers in his playing days, and prompted accusations of selfishness. It was perhaps an unfair accusation given that his most prolific period came at a time when Indian cricket was struggling to get over the retirement of the peerless Sunil Gavaskar. By the time Sachin Tendulkar arrived to change Indian cricket's landscape for ever, Shastri's career was nearing its end, with chronic knee trouble forcing him out of the arena at the age of 30.


How history views him

Many will think of him as the best captain that India never had, and it's a sad indictment of the selectors that his supposedly maverick nature - that never stopped Ian Chappell or Viv Richards - went against him. Other will remember him for his bloody-mindedness and ability to maximise the talent that he possessed. Hard as nails in keeping with the old Mumbai tradition, he gave no quarter, and asked for none.


Life after cricket

Like Gavaskar, who played a big part in his early development as a player, he made a seamless transition from the field to the commentary box. These days, he's a permanent fixture whenever India play, one of the few men with the gumption to call it as he sees it. Articulate and possessing acute awareness of the tactical mind-games that are an integral part of international cricket, he has become India's answer to Ian Chappell.

Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo

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Allrounder, no.3 - Ian Botham

Nothing less than a phenomenon

Lawrence Booth
November 30, 2006

For much of the 1980s, all of the 1990s, and the first few years of the 2000s, his standing in the game could be measured by the desperation with which journalists and fans would refer to the latest English allrounder as "the new Botham". Just as revealing was the fact that, until Andrew Flintoff slayed the Aussies in 2005, no one came even remotely close to justifying the tag. As for the real Botham, well, there were moments in his 15-year international career when he seemed to transcend the role of wicket-taker and run-scorer. At his peak, he was - for Englishmen of a certain generation - nothing less than a phenomenon.


Achievements

Pick 'n' mix from his CV, and you are unlikely to be disappointed: 102 Tests, 5200 runs, 383 wickets, 120 catches. Botham was always involved, never dull, and made such an impression on the international stage that he had 100 Test wickets to his name at the age of 23, not to mention four hundreds. In 1980 he scored 114 and took 13 wickets against India in Mumbai, and in 1981, the summer still instinctively referred to as "Botham's Ashes", he beat Australia virtually by himself. Even at the age of 36, in his final winter as an international cricketer, he could draw on his considerable competitive juices to see off Australia in the World Cup.


What makes him special

With the bat, Botham was a fearless hitter - but good enough to take a double-century off India at The Oval. With the ball, he was a muscular, no-quarter-given, swing bowler who had a knack of persuading the batsman that he was not going to last long. At slip, he would stand with his hands on his knees until the final second, as if to emphasise his love of a challenge. But his defining feature was his ability to inspire those around him and scare those opposite him. While Botham was around, anything was possible. Crucially, both sides knew it.


Finest hour

Which of the highlights from 1981 do you settle for? The undefeated 149 at Headingley, which paved the way for the only instance in the 20th century of a team winning a Test match after following on? Or his spell of five wickets for one run which turned defeat into victory at Edgbaston? Or his helmetless, swash-and-buckle 118 at Old Trafford, an innings which prompted The Times to ask whether it was the greatest in Test history? Headingley has to get the vote, simply because it remains the most talked-about match in 130 years of Test cricket - and because it was the catalyst for a summer that was never to be forgotten.


Achilles Heel

West Indian fans never saw the best of Botham, unless they had gone along to Taunton to watch him and his best mate Viv Richards try to hit the ball into the Quantocks. In 20 Tests against what was then the best team in the world, Botham averaged 21 with the bat and 35 with the ball. He was also unfortunate enough to be up against West Indies in nine of his 12 Tests as captain, none of which ended in victory. In his later years, a back injury severely compromised his ability as a bowler. Sometimes, even his irrepressibility was not enough.


How history views him

Botham will be remembered as the most charismatic Englishman ever to play the game: he remains one of the few cricketers to have successfully relegated football to the inside pages of the British newspapers on a regular basis. His personal duels with the other three great allrounders of the 1980s - Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee - provided sport within a sport, but for England fans he is regarded as the man who bucked the trend by refusing to kow-tow to Australia. Even now, the mere mention of his name inspires a shudder down under.


Life after cricket

It has been almost as hectic as his playing days. Botham has been a familiar and outspoken presence in the Sky commentary box since the corporation began following England, and in 2001 he launched a marketing and sports management agency, which now counts Kevin Pietersen among his clients. His indefatigability still shines through: he recently completed his 11th charity walk to raise money for leukaemia sufferers and teenage victims of cancer.

Lawrence Booth is a freelance cricket writer based in London

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Allrounder, no.4 - Imran Khan

Pakistan's cornered tiger

Osman Samiuddin
December 8, 2006

To restrict Imran Khan to mere cricket is to heap an injustice upon him. Undoubtedly, he was a giant on the field. He lorded over the game in Pakistan; he chose when to play and when to lead, his teams were handpicked, under his tutelage gawky, precocious teenagers became legends. Under his leadership Pakistan not only won the World Cup, they learnt how to win, eventually challenging the West Indies consistently for top honours in Test cricket.

He was also, without exaggeration, among the finest all-rounders the game has ever seen; at his peak, a fast bowler as fierce as they came and a batsman attuned to most roles you can think of. But he was also, and remains, a giant personality off the field. Once, he was a man most men craved to be. Ruggedly yet aristocratically handsome, swanky London bachelor pad, beautiful, swooning ladies never far, Mick Jagger and Elton John for mates, equally at ease in the worlds of Royal Ascot and 'Hello' magazine, as in his Lahore home, hunting in the mountainous terrain in North-west Pakistan, on the cricket field and in cricket magazines. Larger than life than this, is difficult to imagine.


Achievements

What didn't he achieve? As captain, he led Pakistan to first-ever overseas series wins in India and England. He also led them to a World Cup win and two semi-finals and never, under his captaincy, did Pakistan lose a series to the frighteningly dominant West Indians. He also took 362 Test wickets and scored nearly 4000 runs (average-wise, he tops the four great all-rounders of the 80s). He is one of only two players to take ten wickets in a Test and score a hundred, one of only a handful to take 40 wickets in a Test series (and that too on Pakistani pitches). The list could go on. And all this after he played two years literally as half a player, a serious shin injury preventing him from bowling.


What makes him special

Above all, he had tremendous presence on the field. Sheer will pushed him from being an inswinging medium-pacer to a fast bowler who, in his prime, touched West Indian pace, with an action so beautiful it deserved a catwalk. Arguably, he reverse swung it better than any, even his famed disciples. As a batsman, he improved with age; by the end of his career, an essentially sound technique meant he could do one-down stabilizer, lower-order bully or middle order chaser.


Finest hour

Potentially, it could be hours: his first series as captain in England, where he topped bowling and batting tables, the away series wins over India or England, or even the drawn series in the Caribbean in 1988. Probably edging them all is the World Cup triumph in 1992, his last act as captain and player. With the ball, the sting had gone, but as a batsman, the brain ticked over till the very end. Above all, as leader he was peerless, goading from a rabble, the performance of their lives; cornered tigers anyone?


Achilles' Heel

He was widely perceived as being too arrogant and aloof, which didn't endear him to many teammates. In his beliefs, he could be stubborn to the extent of being autocratic, a trait which made him as many friends as enemies. If he liked you though, you could do no wrong. Just ask Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir. If he didn't, then God help you (and that too after seeking permission from Imran). Just ask Qasim Omar, Younis Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim. To boot, he was never a great fielder.


How history views him

The greatest cricketer Pakistan ever produced and its' most inspiring leader. Almost single-handedly, he created a legacy of fast bowling on which Pakistan thrives to this day. Without Imran, there would be no Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib, Asif or Gul. Along with Sarfraz Nawaz, he gave cricket reverse swing as well. As a personality, for much of the 80s, he was also one of Pakistan's most useful PR tools.


Life after cricket

Where most cricketers slip smoothly behind the mic, Imran got busy helping his country. He first built a state-of-the-art hospital for cancer treatment - free for people who can't afford to pay for treatment - after his mother passed away from cancer, for want of a decent hospital. He then became a politician, battling the many forces of injustice in this country. Cricket success hasn't translated into political reward just yet, but from being a political joke, he has worked his way up gradually to becoming an opposition politician taken seriously enough to be once offered, he says, the premiership by President Musharraf. In the time he has left, he continues to raise funds for his hospital and dabble in occasional media work for cricket.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

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Allrounder, No. 5 - Monty Noble

Master of the spin-swerve

Peter English

The first Monty to be a crowd favourite, M.A. Noble was the most complete player of the late 1800s and early 1900s. A medium pacer and batsman who appeared everywhere from opener to No. 9, Noble was capable of holding his place with either discipline and was a crucial member for Australia over 11 years and 42 Tests.
With the ball Noble employed break-backs, although when the wicket was not offering assistance he preferred "spin-swerve", and Ranjitsinhji rated him in his best six medium pacers. "He reached 1000 runs and 100 wickets in 27 Tests - five fewer than Benaud, six fewer than Miller, seven fewer than Davidson," Ray Robinson wrote in On Top Down Under. "He averaged a victim every 59 balls, a ball sooner than Lindwall's striking rate".

Noble scored one Test century, 133 at Sydney in 1903-04 during his first Test as captain, and finished with 1997 career runs at 30.25 to go alongside 121 wickets at 25.00. "A wonderfully good medium pace bowler; an extremely solid batsman and at point, a most brilliant field," wrote the Victoria representative J. Elliott Monfries in Not Test Cricket.
Known as Monty or Alf, he was jokingly referred to as "Mary Ann" by his SCG home crowd while his team-mates plumped for "Boots" after his impressively-sized feet. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1900, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2006. "During his long career, Noble showed exceptional ability in every detail of the game," Wisden said in Noble's obituary, "and by many people was regarded as the greatest all-round cricketer produced by Australia."


Achievements

Noble's Test debut came in Melbourne in 1897-98 and by the end of his second game he had 15 wickets. His batting came along too and he held the record for the best average in an Australian season four times, a mark that was ultimately beaten by Don Bradman. Hove was a favourite ground and he posted double centuries there on two trips to England, including 284 against Sussex in 1902, when he combined with Warwick Armstrong for 428, which was then a world record for the sixth wicket. Made captain for the Ashes of 1903-04, he lost 3-2, but won the 1907-08 campaign 4-1 and the 1909 series 2-1. In 1909 he became the first captain to send England in at Lord's and won all five tosses during the summer. A stand was later named after him at the SCG.


What made him special

Picking up a new grip from baseball, he was able to apply swerve to trick the batsmen. "Instead of pressing two or three fingers on the ball's seam, like a spinner, Noble held it between his thumb and his strong corn-studded forefinger," Robinson wrote. "On the truest of tracks all he needed was some sort of headwind for this spin-swerve to be difficult."
Noble's usual fielding position was as a brilliant point and his arm was so strong he once struck with an apple an Arab making "objectionable gestures" on the shore as they passed through the Suez Canal. Monfries wrote: "He brought forth a spontaneous burst of applause from thousands of spectators, when, after we saw the flash of a bat, the next sight of the ball was from the hands of Monty at point, and on its way back to the bowler." As a captain he helped pioneer the tactic of leaving gaps at cover so the batsmen would hit catches towards the gully region.

 
Finest hour

It should probably be finest hours. Scoring 60 not out at Manchester in 1899, he then opened the batting as Australia followed-on, crawling to 89. "He withstood the England bowling for eight and a half hours," Wisden said. "Noble did not get a run during three-quarters of an hour in his second innings, which lasted five hours twenty minutes, his prolonged effort contributing largely towards Australia avoiding defeat." He later apologised for his slow play.
"His most notable bowling performance for Australia against England was at Melbourne in January 1902," Wisden reported. "In the first innings of the very strong team captained by A.C. MacLaren he dismissed seven men for only 17 runs, and six in the second innings at 10 runs apiece - 13 wickets in the match at the very small cost of 77 runs." Twenty-five wickets fell that New Year's Day and Noble finished the series with 32 victims.


Achilles' heel

He got a pair at Leeds in 1899 and was part of a J.T. Hearne hat-trick in the second innings, walking off the wrong way. "It was the only time team-mates saw his self-control fail," Robinson wrote. He was presented with a small silver duck and kept it in his pocket during the next match, which was his successful one at Old Trafford.


How history views him

Robinson, the great Australian cricket writer, said Noble was "the most accomplished cricketer Australia produced as bowler, batsman, captain and fieldsmen, at least in the pre-1954 era of all-weather wickets". Wisden's obituary said Noble's figures proved there had not been a superior all-round Test player.


Life after cricket

He ended his career in banking when picked on the 1899 tour of England and began to study dentistry. Working as a dentist, he was visited by Bill Ferguson, who had arranged the trip to help him get the job of team scorer and bagman, which he did for half a century. "I bought enough gold fillings to last a lifetime," Ferguson wrote in Mr Cricket. Touring life made running a dental practice difficult - strangely, he put sugar cubes into his whisky to prevent hangovers - and he became an agent for a manufacturer and also a writer. One of his clothing ideas was to have air holes under the arms of playing shirts. In 1940 he had a heart attack when playing a social match and died a week later aged 67.

Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo

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Allrounder, No. 6 - Jacques Kallis

Sharing space with Sir Garry

Neil Manthorp
December 22, 2006

South Africa's leading Test run scorer by the age of 30 with an average of 55.28 (8072 runs including 83 for a World XI) that places him amongst the top ten of all time amongst players with 5000+ runs, Jacques Kallis has established himself amongst the elite in world cricket - and there is plenty more to come.


Achievements

No batsman in the history of the game has surpassed 8000 runs without being universally regarded as a 'great' player. Some of the greatest bowlers of the last 100 years have barely managed to reach 200 Test wickets. And yet Kallis has done both.

Debates will always flourish on the subject of 'greatness' in cricket, and sport, but for some players the question is not whether they are great, but how great they are. In the case of Kallis, indeed, the question may well be: is he the greatest South Africa has seen?

Amongst all of his records and achievements, perhaps the most impressive is the one he alone shares with the man still regarded by most, 30 years after his last match, as the greatest allrounder ever, Sir Garfield Sobers.

They are the only men to have achieved the extraordinary 'double' of 8000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket. There is a third string to their bow, too. Both men have claimed over a century of Test catches.


How history views him

Nobody, it seems, has a critical word to say about Kallis's technique, determination or concentration. He is very good indeed, by popular acclaim. But that's the problem. Most people have a 'but' and, for most people, the 'but' is that there should be more; more attack and more of a killer instinct.

"Jacques is a very special cricketer, there is nobody who surpasses him. Whenever I bowled to him he was class personified. He has an unbelievable reputation and he will become even greater. But surely he can dominate more," says Allan Donald.
"It has nothing to do with a lack of mental toughness or physical strength. All he needs is a change of gear - he has the ability to dominate," Donald says.

Far from being a negative criticism, Donald's is merely an observation which is borne from a profound desire to see Kallis fulfil his matchwinning potential. It is hard to deny that for much of his magnificent career, Kallis has given the impression that he is batting within himself.

" I have no desire to criticise Jacques because he is a great player," says Barry Richards, the most outspoken of those to say Kallis doesn't dominate as much as he should. "I'm only saying that he won't be remembered in the way his talent deserves until he starts winning games, not just making them safe. He has the talent to do it. But every now and then the opportunity comes along to step up the pace and he doesn't do it."

Kallis himself takes the point affably. "They can say what they like about me, honestly, I just don't care. Not in the slightest. I've realised what works for me and I'm going to keep on playing to my strengths. I've been batting this way for a long time now. I have become more dominant in recent years and the aim now is to build on that," he says with a weary smile.


What makes him special

"He plays orthodox, good cricket. He was taught well and coached well, and has the cricket brain to keep improving as bowlers started to work out where his strengths were. He has no weaknesses, is technically correct off the front and back foot, and plays so straight because he has a high left elbow which keeps the bat dead straight," says Geoffrey Boycott.
Whereas Sobers was loved by his public, Kallis is respected. Whereas Sobers put bums on seats with his dashing flair, Kallis inspires a warm feeling of security amongst South African audiences. 'It'll be OK if Jacques is still there.'
Kallis, it would appear, suffered from the disparity between what cricketers strive to achieve and what the public want to see. Consistency is the players' Holy Grail while entertainment, preferably of the swashbuckling variety, is what the man in the stand wants for his money. Yet, as every cricketer will tell you (and will be supported by the more discerning supporter), the fun stuff isn't possible without the hard graft. As the progression of Kallis' career shows, he achieved at least as much consistency with the bat as anyone else of his generation, including all of the world's 'greats' - Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Yousuf and Ricky Ponting. But how many wickets have they taken, between them?


Finest hour

It is temptingly obvious to name his prolific run of centuries - five in as many tests - but that would be to ignore the genuinely 'allround' contributions in favour of his stronger suit. Nonetheless, only Don Bradman's six hundreds in consecutive Tests can surpass that streak. Four consecutive hundreds against the West Indies on home soil were followed by an innings of 92 in his next Test against New Zealand, in Hamilton, which ended sickeningly with a top-edged hook to fine leg. "I thought my chance was gone with the match heading for a draw," he admitted afterwards.

But the second innings witnessed an unbeaten knock of 150 that made the game safe and he almost matched the Don in Auckland producing innings of 40 and 71. In the New Year Test against the West Indies in 1999, on his home ground of Newlands, history beckoned. Having scored 110 in the first innings, Kallis was 75 not out at lunch on the fourth day and beautifully set for a second century in the match. Captain Hansie Cronje revelled in the history of the game and gave him an extra hour to reach the landmark. He even extended the deadline by a few minutes in the hope that Kallis might burst into life, but he did not and was left 88 not out when the captain called his men in. With Allan Donald injured and unable to bowl in the second innings Kallis took the new ball and rose to the occasion with an inspired return of 5-90 and became just the eighth man to score a century, a fifty and take five wickets in the same Test. He would have been the first to score two hundreds and take five wickets, a feat beyond even Sobers. But perhaps he really didn't care about records. South Africa won the match easily.


Achilles heel

Although he has almost completely recovered from the condition these days, Kallis suffered for the majority of his international career - through no fault of his own - from 'averageitis'.

Having barely recovered from the hangover sustained after the euphoria of returning to international cricket, South Africa's public and media were obsessed with measuring the country's cricketers against those from other countries. Test caps, test hundreds, test wickets and, above all, test averages. Australia had five batsmen averaging 40+, 300 caps and 40+ centuries when Kallis debuted. South Africa had about half a dozen. After seven starts in Test cricket he had accumulated 57 runs at an average of 8.14. And every time it was mentioned or written, he winced. Kallis wasn't the only batsman determined to break through the 40- barrier but he was, perhaps, the only one to become fixated with the task as a result of the media hype.

After 20 Tests he averaged 31.73. After 40 Tests he had broken through the 'barrier' - 43.49. After 60 Tests it was 47.27. But the cricket world was changing, rapidly, and an average of 45 was becoming far more common. The new benchmark, set by Tendulkar, was 50 and there was no stopping Kallis. After 80 Tests the magic number was 53.75 and after he had earned his 100th Test cap against New Zealand at Centurion, it was 56.31.

But it is only when you divide his career in half that you realise just what a force he became.

In his first 50 Tests he scored 2952 runs at an average of 41 with seven centuries. In his next 50, starting in September 2001, he scored 4988 runs at an average of 72.28 with seventeen centuries. Not many people in the world could live with that record.

Some would argue that being motivated by his batting average was his strength rather than his Achilles heel. And perhaps they are right.


Life after cricket

Henry Kallis looked after his two children well. The premature death of Jacques and Janine's mother, Mercia, made life hard for father and children but the discipline and values he instilled in them will last the rest of their lives.
Jacques started the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation with the entire proceeds of his 2004 Benefit Year and by his 30th birthday he had already been responsible for the education, at several of the country's top schools, of a dozen promising young cricketers from poor and under-priviledged backgrounds.

Having partly learnt and partly inherited the wisdom his father had after a career at investment bank Old Mutual, Kallis has a property development company with great friend Mark Boucher and a portfolio of business interests most cricketers could only dream of.

Having missed his mother for most of his life, and having a strong sense and belief in the values of family life, he seems a prime candidate to settle down with a beautiful wife and have at least four children when his cricketing days are over. As long as he is still permitted to indulge in his other great passion - golf.

Neil Manthorp is a South African broadcaster and journalist, and head of the MWP Sport agency

[fineleg]

Kban,
Applause for keeping this updated. Great work!

[kban1]

Thanks fineleg.

There are 14 more to come. It should make for an interesting debate once we have all the 20 profiles posted here on this thread. The only gripe i have is that the list does not include Chris Cairns - not that he is the greatest all time, but given the names on the list, I think he deserves to be in there ahead of a few others.

[vincent]

Thanks fineleg.

There are 14 more to come. It should make for an interesting debate once we have all the 20 profiles posted here on this thread. The only gripe i have is that the list does not include Chris Cairns - not that he is the greatest all time, but given the names on the list, I think he deserves to be in there ahead of a few others.

There are also some "stealth allrounders" who tend to get forgotten among known names : Daniel Vettori, Abdul Razzaq, Chris Gayle among others in current teams. There were their equivalents in the past too.

I do not understand why Ravi Shastri comes ahead of India's own all time greats such as Mankad, Umrigar and Kapil Dev.

[RicePlateReddy]

There are also some "stealth allrounders" who tend to get forgotten among known names : Daniel Vettori, Abdul Razzaq, Chris Gayle among others in current teams. There were their equivalents in the past too.

I do not understand why Ravi Shastri comes ahead of India's own all time greats such as Mankad, Umrigar and Kapil Dev.

vincent, I think the idea is to pick 14 all rounders that catch the reporters' fancy than make any claims of greatness or rank them. I agree with you that Vettori is a very strong all rounder. His batting is getting better by the day. Razzaq is an enigma, but talented of course. Gayle seems to be a batting all rounder.

[poondu]

Allrounder, No 9

The king of swing

Osman Samiuddin

January 19, 2007

 
Wasim Akram could make a cricket ball talk
 
 
Think of your favourite Wasim Akram moment. The two balls to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis, the hat-tricks in Sharjah, the penultimate-ball six at the Nehru Cup final, the two Test hat-tricks in consecutive Tests, the 1992 Lord's Test win, four wickets in five balls against the West Indies or the ball to Rahul Dravid at Chennai? That's just for starters. Akram was the ultimate big-game player, the man for the occasion, the man who put swing into reverse, the man chosen to succeed Imran Khan, which in itself takes some succeeding. There hasn't been a better left-arm fast bowler and only a handful of any description have surpassed him. His batting never fulfilled the talent it was assigned but he rarely failed when it was most needed. As captain, he became progressively better with each stint, beginning as petulant and moody but ending, by 1999, a canny, authoritative and inspirational fatherly figure. Imran Khan thought him the most naturally gifted player he'd ever seen. Not for the first time, Imran wasn't wrong.

Achievements
Nearly a thousand international wickets, only man with over 500 ODI wickets, close to seven thousand international runs, four international hat-tricks, one more at first-class level: you want more? Okay, here you go: World Cup winner and player of the final, most ODI four-wicket hauls, seven for 50 on first-class debut against a touring New Zealand and ten wickets in only his second Test against the same. Is that it? No: second-most winning Pakistan player (41 Test wins, behind Inzamam's 48), 18 match awards and seven series awards, captained Pakistan to the World Cup final in 1999, led them to series wins in England and India, Pakistan's last Test win in Australia and their only tri-series triumph in Australia in 1996-97, with a young, injury-ravaged squad. Satisfied?

What makes him special
A left arm, gifted, it was reputed, from God. What couldn't he do with it? Swing both ways and all kinds, cut, changes of pace, length, angles. Mark Taylor once said he could bowl four balls in an over on the same spot and get them to do four different things. Often, he got one delivery to do four different things. Short, randomly-calculated run-up and a whizzing, economical action couldn't prevent injuries but on his day - and there were plenty - he was the finest fast bowler on the planet and no one had more variety.

Finest hour
Melbourne, Wednesday, March 25, 1992. He began by pelting an adrenaline-fuelled 33 off 18 balls, to drag Pakistan to 249. As England began the chase, he dazed them by dismissing Ian Botham. Then, as they revived, he came back in the 35th over to deliver the knock-out in the middle order with two of the most famous - and unplayable - deliveries in World Cup history. Be warned though: given how many moments he did have, it is unlikely this is a unanimous choice.

Achilles' Heel
Never quite made it with the bat, despite numerous glimpses of his skills. His first Test century, after all, came in dire straits down under and a Test high of 257 is suggestive of talent. One of his finest innings came at Lord's in 1992, when an unbeaten 45 led Pakistan to a thrilling, low-scoring two-wicket win. Cover driving and mowing over midwicket was never a problem but an average of 22.64 from 104 Tests says something, somewhere wasn't entirely right.

How history views him
Tricky. On the field, as a cricketer, he was undoubtedly one of Pakistan's greatest and, for much of the nineties, one of the best in the world. Off it, though, he was dogged by controversy through the mid-90s. Hindsight affords captaincy tantrums, player politics and ball tampering the status of storms in teacups - and anyway, how can anyone really begrudge an art as beautiful as reverse swing? But the stain of match-fixing, proven or otherwise, is an altogether more difficult one to wipe away. Will forever be the "Yes, but..." to his career.

Life after cricket
Richie Benaud is unlikely to be threatened by his presence behind the microphone (more likely appalled by the "Shaz and Waz" skits he does with Ravi Shastri) but as a commentator, he at least provides a Pakistani alternative to Rameez Raja for broadcasters. Almost became a sports news anchor too at one point, though thankfully left that well alone. Has dabbled in a sports goods business and is also, famously, a roaming, floating provider of tips, mostly to Indian fast bowlers, whenever they are needed. Why Pakistani bowlers don't seek him out more often says more about them than it does about him.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo


http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/276822.html

[kban1]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/275188.html

Allrounder, No 7 - Shaun Pollock

Keeping it in the family

Telford Vice

January 5, 2007

Blessed with a loose-limbed effortlessness that adds elegance to anything he does, Shaun Pollock glides through his aesthetically soothing action with silky deception and wields a bat as if he were adding a flourish to an autograph. Pollock has never possessed express pace, and the fact that he seemed able to hit batmen on the helmet at will early in his career had everything to do with his uncanny accuracy. These days he prefers simply to dismiss batsmen as efficiently as possible. His bowling discipline gives way to flare when he strides out to bat, a sight that should invariably be accompanied by a drumroll.


Achievements

Pollock deserved better than to have to celebrate becoming the first South African to take 400 Test wickets during his team's first ever home defeat by India at the Wanderers in December, 2006. He is the only South African Test cricketer with more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets to his credit. As South Africa's captain, Pollock presided over Test series wins against Bangladesh (with Mark Boucher's help), India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (twice, with another rubber drawn), West Indies and Zimbabwe. His only lost series as captain was the 3-0 hiding from Australia in 2001-02. South Africa won 14 of the 26 Tests they played under Pollock's leadership and lost just five. That gives him a better won-lost ratio than either Hansie Cronje (captained 53, won 27, lost 11 - legitimately we hope) or, at the time of writing after the first Test against India in 2006-07, Graeme Smith (40, 15, 13).


What makes him special

His genes would seem a good place to start. Someone who calls Peter Pollock dad and Graeme Pollock uncle should, at the least, be able to keep the seam upright and hold a bat. Sadly, as the progeny of legendary players everywhere can attest, that ain't necessarily so. Perhaps what really makes Pollock special is that he has forged his way into the limelight on his own terms despite the shadows cast by his illustrious forebearers. Pollock oozes pure talent and is fuelled by an inner confidence that has yet to let him down. He does not have Boucher's brashness nor Graeme Smith's emphatic nature. But he has class, loads of it, and humility to keep it real.


Finest hour

'Twas the night before the third Test against Australia in Adelaide in 1998, and all around South Africa fearful cricket folk shuddered at the thought of an attack robbed of the injured Allan Donald. Would the callow Pollock, then just 15 matches into his Test career, rise to the challenge? All questions were answered when he bowled 71.4 overs in the match and took nine wickets. Australia clung to a draw with seven wickets down and with it they claimed a 1-0 series victory. But history might have unfolded differently had Mark Waugh not somehow survived being given out when he smashed his stumps after being struck on the elbow by one of those nastily accurate Pollock bouncers in the seventh of the final 15 overs. Waugh was 107 not out and he went on to an undefeated 115. In fact, Pollock would have had him for 96 had Adam Bacher at short leg held a difficult chance.


Achilles' Heel

The pedants have always harboured a suspicion that Pollock regards batting as a bit of a lark, a diversion to take his mind off a hard day's bowling. Certainly, he doesn't seem to place as high a value on his wicket as Jacques Kallis or Kepler Wessels. Perhaps it's the obvious truth that he enjoys batting that alarms some people, or that he hits the ball straight and sweet when others would seek survival. Pollock's Test batting average has been known to soar, but it is doubtful whether he will have escaped the merely respectable 30s at the end of his career. Similarly, it would come as a pleasant surprise were he to add, against anyone other than the ramshackle likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, to his two centuries.


How history views him

If you're a woman, Pollock is the man your parents always wanted you to bring home. If you're a bloke, he's the mate your parents were always hoping you would spend more time with. Invariably polite and sunnily dispositioned, Pollock is the epitome of the well-raised, well-spoken, well-mannered, young man. So much so that his press conferences when he was South Africa's captain were masterpieces of inoffensiveness. He returns reporters' telephone calls, for goodness' sake. He fairly reeks of decency. But it's not all boring. Consider this alleged exchange between Pollock and Andy Flower in a one-day international: Pollock edged a delivery thinly enough for his error to be known only by himself and wicketkeeper Flower, who was standing up to the stumps and took the catch. Pollock stood his ground and was given not out. "Honestly, Polly," said Flower, "and I thought you were a Christian!" As he nonchalantly prodded the pitch, Pollock replied: "Ah yes. But in the eyes of the Lord we're all sinners." He will be remembered as an intelligent bowler who didn't need vicious pace to take wickets, as a free-spirited batsman, a thoughtful though not overtly inspirational captain, and as the man who stepped into the breach when Cronje's crookery was discovered.


Life after cricket

Pollock will land on his feet. Not for him the desperation of trying to cling to and embellish his fame in the commentary booth, or venturing into umpiring or coaching. Indications are that he will not look to stay in the game at all. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and, although he is as yet undecided as to where the future might take him, his destination will be in the real world. No-one should be surprised if they pick up some blue-chip company's annual report in a few years' time and discover that one SM Pollock is a senior staff member on track to secure a seat on the board. For now, though, he's still trying to balance being a husband and father with the demands of his cricket career. It's a tough job, but he's doing just fine.

[kban1]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/276138.html

Allrounder, No 8

Cricket's great pioneer

Lawrence Booth

January 12, 2007

 
Tony Greig is one of the most colourful and least pigeon-holeable cricketers in the modern game. He was born in South Africa, but went on to captain England. He bowled seam-up, but once took 13 wickets in a Test with off-breaks. He charmed the Indians, but riled the West Indians. He signalled his own boundaries off Dennis Lillee, but signalled his demise as a Test cricketer by signing up with Kerry Packer. But above all, in five years at the highest level he built up a formidable and often under-rated record as a flamboyant allrounder who simply did not know when he was beaten.


Achievements

A batting average of 40 at a time when the figure still stood as a benchmark for quality, and a bowling average of 32 - better than Garry Sobers - were testimony to Greig's talents. And that's before you mention the 87 catches he took, mainly at second slip, where he was a match for Ian Botham. He was also viewed as a sufficiently natural leader to captain England in 14 of his 58 Tests, and famously led them to victory in India in 1976-77. And international players everywhere remain grateful for Greig's role in helping Packer set up World Series Cricket. Never mind the threat to the establishment: Packer and Greig reminded the authorities that the players deserved their slice of the financial pie too.


What makes him special

Greig was big, brash and ultra-competitive, and made himself at home right from the start, scoring a pair of fifties and taking five wickets on Test debut in the win against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1972. He also had a perspective on life and the game that meant it was hard not to warm to him: his wooing of the Indian crowds was an object lesson on how to tour a country that English cricketers had not always relished, and his iconoclastic tendencies insured he relished a challenge. His 110 out of a total of 265 against a rampant Lillee and Thomson at Brisbane during England's bloodied-and-battered Ashes tour of 1974-75 remains one of the bravest in Test history.


Finest hour

Winning in India stands out on the CV, but few matches were more purely Greig than the thrilling 26-run win over West Indies in 1973-74 to square the series at Port-of-Spain. In an attempt to deal with the numerous left-handers in the West Indies batting line-up, Greig switched from medium-pace to off-spin, and promptly claimed 13 wickets. To put that performance in context, England's two front-line spinners in that match - Derek Underwood and Pat Pocock - took only four wickets between them in 105 overs. Greig finished the series with 24 wickets (England's next-best was Pocock with nine), and hit two hundreds for good measure. The fact that England lost their next five series in the Caribbean conferred a restrospective glow.


Achilles Heel

Occasionally the will to win got out of hand. The run-out of Alvin Kallicharran, who was on his way to the pavilion following the last ball of the day during the first of the two Trinidad Tests in 1973-74, cast a cloud over that series, even though the appeal was later withdrawn by England. And few articles on sporting gaffes are complete without reference to Greig's insistence, ahead of the 1976 series against West Indies, that he would make the tourists "grovel". Some commentators noted the racial awkwardness of a white South African preaching to Test cricket's only black nation, but in truth it was tactlessness more than anything.


How history views him

Greig will always be the devil-may-care rebel who cocked a snook at the establishment and ascended to the England captaincy almost in spite of the innate conservatism of the English game. On the field he was never less than watchable, and sometimes brilliant. Off it, he was part of the most important revolution the game has seen in the last 30 years. His alliance with Packer cemented his standing as an outsider, but it was typically pragmatic of the man. And the effects still reverberate today.


Life after cricket

Behind Richie Benaud, the commentary-box musings of Tony Greig are probably the most mimicked in the game. His friendship with Packer guaranteed him a job for life with Channel 9, and his on-air duels with Bill Lawry have become the stuff of legend, some of it comic.

[fineleg]

Kban,
Applause - keep it going.