A good fantasy cricket all-rounder can make a decent Test team into a something brilliant. There are countless occasions where they’ve been able to lift their team from the doldrums or snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
History of online cricket games is littered with good all-rounders who have made a big impact with both the bat and the ball. However, there are five who are undoubtedly the cream of the crop.
In our today’s post let’s take a peek at those 5 players. And we hope, you have been privileged to choose them in your daily fantasy cricket team of 11wicket App for Android/iOS.
Gary Sobers (West Indies 1953-1974)
Sobers’ sheer longevity is impressive enough, let alone his fantastic record for the Windies. At just 21 years old Sobers hit 365 which was a test record at the time whilst also being capable of phenomenal performances with the ball.
His 6/73 was an excellent performance which helped to cement Sobers’ place as arguably the best cricket all-rounder of all time. 8032 test runs and 235 wickets give a clear indication of his overall ability and not many players can hold the claim that he has scored more runs with the bat than he has allowed with the ball!
Kapil Dev (India 1978-1994)
Wisden’s Indian cricketer of the last century is one of a select group of players who have scored more than 5000 runs and taken over 400 wickets – a phenomenal achievement. 23 5-wicket hauls and even 2 10-wicket returns give an idea of the impact that Kapil Dev had in test matches. As captain, Dev led India to the 1983 World Cup title – an achievement that cemented his place as one of the top all-rounders ever to grace a cricket wicket.
Ian Botham (England 1977-1992)
Ian “Beefy” Botham is without doubt the greatest English all-rounder of all time and he is thoroughly deserving of a place in the shortlist of greatest all-rounder in the world ever. Over 5000 test runs and 383 test wickets give a clear idea of his quality with both the bat and the ball and Botham played a significant role in the 1981 Ashes win over Australia.
His 149 not out was rated as the 4th best innings of all time by Wisden and his 5 wickets for 1 run in the next test led England to a 3-1 win. Testament to Botham’s fantastic all-round ability is his brilliant record of 5 separate occasions where he scored a century and took 5 wickets – certainly a useful man to have in your team.
Imran Khan (Pakistan 1971-1992)
Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketer is well deserving of a place in this list. Almost 4000 runs and 400 wickets give Khan a comfortable place in this shortlist and his good record as captain of the Pakistan national side with only 8 defeats in 48 tests show how important his leadership was to his national side. In one of his most memorable (and final acts) as captain, he took the winning wicket at the 1992 World Cup final to clinch it for the only time in their history.
Richard Hadlee (New Zealand 1973-1990)
One of the few all-rounders to manage over 400 wickets, Hadlee is one of the most under-rated cricketers of all time. In just 86 tests he managed to also score over 3000 runs, a great achievement, considering he often battered lower down the order and was seen as crucial to his country’s chances of victory. On 36 occasions he managed a 5-wicket haul, by far the best return of any of the all-rounders on our shortlist and all while playing for one of the less fashionable nations.
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