20 Cwers ranked 18 all-rounders. Here is the countdown list!

[Red]

Kapil was explosive AF with the bat. God he could hit.

Would have been amazing in T20 cricket as an opener or #3.

 

[watson]

Kallis at 9 is not quite right IMO.

 

[smash84]

Kallis at 9 is not quite right IMO.

you mean he should have been higher?

 

[watson]

you mean he should have been higher?

Yeah, closer to No.1

 

[watson]

Kapil was explosive AF with the bat. God he could hit.

Would have been amazing in T20 cricket as an opener or #3.

Then there was his bowling........

From 1978 to 1994 there were only 6 bowlers who took more than 50 wickets against the might of the West Indies.

Kapil Dev took more West Indian wickets than any other bowler at an average that is only bettered by Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee;

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo


Imran Khan
Tests = 13
Wickets = 55
Average = 16.45 (frigging awesome)


Richard Hadlee
Tests = 10
Wickets = 51
Average = 22.03


Kapil Dev
Tests = 25
Wickets = 89
Average = 24.89


Merv Hughes
Tests = 14
Wickets = 53
Average = 28.75


Craig McDermott
Tests = 14
Wickets = 59
Average = 28.86


Ian Botham
Tests = 20
Wickets = 61
Average = 35.15


If you also consider that Kapil's record with the bat against the West Indian pace attack was slightly better than Imran, Hadlee and Botham's then he deserves a lot more kudos than he typically gets IMO.

 

[smash84]

One of the biggest problems with Kapil was that he played way past his prime. Should have retired end of the 1980s imo.

He was easily the most explosive batter of the great all rounders of the 80s. His record against the WI was excellent but both he and Botham were not really in the Hadlee or Imran class bowling wise. However, unlike Botham he did raise his game when the stakes were higher.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

One of the biggest problems with Kapil was that he played way past his prime. Should have retired end of the 1980s imo.

He was easily the most explosive batter of the great all rounders of the 80s. His record against the WI was excellent but both he and Botham were not really in the Hadlee or Imran class bowling wise. However, unlike Botham he did raise his game when the stakes were higher.

Borham raised his game for The Ashes. There's no higher stakes than that.

 

[smash84]

Borham raised his game for The Ashes. There's no higher stakes than that.

well, he did suck big time whenever the best team of that era showed up which is what i had in mind when i meant high stakes.

I cbf looking up his exploits again but what was his record like in the Ashes after the 81 series?

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I cbf looking up his exploits again but what was his record like in the Ashes after the 81 series?

Better than Kapil's.

 

[watson]

One of the biggest problems with Kapil was that he played way past his prime. Should have retired end of the 1980s imo.

He was easily the most explosive batter of the great all rounders of the 80s. His record against the WI was excellent but both he and Botham were not really in the Hadlee or Imran class bowling wise. However, unlike Botham he did raise his game when the stakes were higher.

Kapil's bowling is still generally under-rated. Sure it's not in the same class as Imran or Hadlee but he was still better than nearly all the specialist bowlers of his era.

Whichever way you look at it a bowling average of 24.89 over nearly 16 years against Viv Richards, Greenidge, Haynes, Lloyd, Richardson, etc is awesome stuff. Especially as the lone quick.

 

[watson]

well, he did suck big time whenever the best team of that era showed up which is what i had in mind when i meant high stakes.

I cbf looking up his exploits again but what was his record like in the Ashes after the 81 series?

Botham took 31 wickets at 27.58 during the 1985 Ashes series. After that his back went along with his ability to be a great bowler.

His last great innings was his 138 at Brisbane, November 1986.

So Botham is difficult to work-out because his sublime record against Australia and India is mitigated by scoring no 100s against the West Indies, and away batting average of just 14 in the Caribbean.

Even during his peak to the end of 1984 his bowling figures after 14 Tests against the West Indies show a middling 47 wickets at 32.85.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...5;spanval1=span;template=results;type=bowling


In short, Ian Botham's career is one big dichotomy.

 

[Engle]

Kapil's greatest feat is the acquisition of 5,000+ Test runs and the capture of 400+ Test wickets - a record not likely to be exceeded anytime soon

 

[smash84]

He would have been better off not chasing that feat

 

[AndrewB]

Botham took 31 wickets at 27.58 during the 1985 Ashes series. After that his back went along with his ability to be a great bowler.

His last great innings was his 138 at Brisbane, November 1986.

So Botham is difficult to work-out because his sublime record against Australia and India is mitigated by scoring no 100s against the West Indies, and away batting average of just 14 in the Caribbean.

Even during his bowling peak to the end of 1984 his bowling figures after 14 Tests against the West Indies show a middling 47 wickets at 32.85.

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

Botham injured his back at the start of the 1980 season, just before he first played against the West Indies. His bowling was always a bit up and down after that - when his average was 35 against WI in 1984, that was about the same as it had been in the 3 years since the 81 Ashes.

 

[mr_mister]

Kapil's greatest feat is the acquisition of 5,000+ Test runs and the capture of 400+ Test wickets - a record not likely to be exceeded anytime soon

Think Ashwin may just get there. Will be tight with the 5k runs though, that's no small feat

 

[srbhkshk]

Think Ashwin may just get there. Will be tight with the 5k runs though, that's no small feat

Ashwin seems more of a 4000 runs + 500 wickets type. In a way he is our best all rounder since Kapil which tells you about the paucity India (and world cricket in general) has had of this breed.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Ashwin seems more of a 4000 runs + 500 wickets type. In a way he is our best all rounder since Kapil which tells you about the paucity India (and world cricket in general) has had of this breed.

Nah, if anything this current era is one of the best since the 80s for all rounders. Stoke, Shakib, Ashwin have serious ATG potential, and you have guys like Moeen, Jadeja, Philander, are all fantastic in their own ways. Just go back 10 years, who did we really have? Kallis, Flintoff for a few years, and that's basically it.

 

[srbhkshk]

Nah, if anything this current era is one of the best since the 80s for all rounders. Stoke, Shakib, Ashwin have serious ATG potential, and you have guys like Moeen, Jadeja, Philander, are all fantastic in their own ways. Just go back 10 years, who did we really have? Kallis, Flintoff for a few years, and that's basically it.

I meant between Kapil and Ashwin's time.

 

[ankitj]

Borham raised his game for The Ashes. There's no higher stakes than that.

Ashes has higher stakes but that didn't make it tougher to perform in. That's fallacious. India vs Pak games have had very high stakes too but performing against Australia has been tougher for Indians in last 2 decades.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Ashes has higher stakes but that didn't make it tougher to perform in. That's fallacious. India vs Pak games have had very high stakes too but performing against Australia has been tougher for Indians in last 2 decades.

My reply was solely to the point about Botham not performing when the stakes were higher. That's not the same as saying he struggled against the strongest opposition of the era.