NZ probably have the biggest pool of all-rounders in world cricket at the moment..Cairns, Adams, Mills, Oram & theres more like Tama Canning & James Franklin who have hardly played any international cricket.
Errrm, Chris Cairns and Kyle Mills could definately be called allrounders but I think calling Oram, Adams and Franklin the same is stretching the truth a bit. Oram and Adams can hold a bat a bit but they are (especially considering their records) bowlers for most intents and purposes. Good hitters of the ball but not allrounders under most definitions. Franklin is even less of a bat than those two. I'd never have any of them bat above number 8 in any NZ side.
Compare that to Pollock, Kallis, Hall, Flintoff and White and you see the distinction between 'allrounders' and 'guys who are bowlers but show some hitting potential with the bat'.
If anything, NZ's own over-inflated views of players they call 'allrounders' has been a big reason why they tend to struggle, especially in Tests. Guys are picked to play roles they simply can't do and this results in too many bits and pieces players and not enough specialists. I mean Jacob Oram batting at 7 in his Test career thusfar is ludicrous. As I said, he hits the ball VERY well but he's a number 8 at best. If you put him at 7, you effectively say he's a better batsman than Craig White or Andrew Hall. Anyone who's seen them bat would know who has the greater batting talent.
Also, some will point out that Oram has hit a couple of international 50's but so have Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Paul Reiffell and Andy Bichel (to use an Aussie example). Would anyone call them allrounders? Go ahead, I double dare anyone to do it and be credible!
I've also heard of Bond being mentioned in the potential allrounders category. Yah, whatever.........Again, he hits the ball well but he's firmly a bowler. This obsession with having more allrounders than anyone else I damaging to NZ cricket.
Chris Cairns has been the only allrounder of note in NZ since Hadlee and these guys don't look like they're going to change that much at all. If I were coach, I'd be advising Oram, Bond and Adams to work on their bowling because they have shown thusfar that they are very good BOWLERS and could potentially be quite a potent bowling attack if allowed to develop properly. But no, instead people want to ****fart around with these guys and turn them into allrounders, like the Aussies have finally given up on doing with Symonds. Adams particularly has some real talent with the ball and it's being wasted.
So yeah, enough of the "we've got more allrounders than anybody else" stuff because whilst there are guys who are considered allrounders in their country, when it comes to the crunch, they get found out and it's hampering the development of a team which has so much potential.
