Best cricket allrounder

[chickenfeet]

Here is a poll about cricket so if you know nothing about the subject and/or couldn't care less just skip it.

I want to know who people consider the best all round cricketer of the post WW2 era. Who, by his performance as both batsman and bowler, would you most want on your side?

ETA Reposted with Ian Botham included. Sorry to the people who already voted. Please have another go.


[Poll #1090810]

Comments

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I had litle difficulty settling on Sobers as number one. His figures don't tell the whole story. He could bowl three different styles, bat all day or blast the ball out of the park and was an absolutely superb fieldsman in any position. Some of the catches he took at short leg defied belief.

I never saw Keith Miller play but here the numbers do tell the story. Also he played at a time when there were a lot of superb cricketers about and impressed all of them. Besides, there is much to be said for a man who when asked how he coped with the pressures of an Ashes series replied."There's no pressure in cricket mate. Pressure is a Messerschmidt up your arse." One wonders what he might have achieved if he hadn't lost six years of test cricket to the war.

I picked Imran Khan at number 3 but I'm not at all sure I shouldn't have picked Jacques Kallis. He must be one of the most under-rated players of all time. He gets slagged off by the South African press but he turns in consistently match winning performances. he's certainly a much better cricketer than a certain over-hyped Lancashire bowler with batting pretensions.

[rparvaaz.livejournal.com]

Gary Sobers as the first choice - the man was magic.

Sanath J - he's an ornery bastard, and his presence has an effect on other players. His performances aren't too bad either. :)

Wasim Akram - another stubborn performer, who never could figure out when he was beaten... the amount of grief he gave to the Indian team [along with Qadir]

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I saw Sobers, Hadlee and Botham play. Not at the same time, unfortunately.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

The Botham factor is interesting. Statistically he isn't even close to the best all rounders but he gets votes. I think it's an English tendency to overrate overweight hard drinking cricketers with appropriately proletarian manners.

[frankie-ecap.livejournal.com]

There is also the tendency to focus on the recent - and, in the UK at least, Botham is often in the news, one way or another.

[topicaltim.livejournal.com]

As there weren't any house rules, I imposed my own, and arbitrarily decided I would only choose from players I've seen play, which ruled out quite a few. I wouldn't disagree with the general opinion that Sobers should probably be at the top, mind.

Botham-wise, I think it's easy to forget just how turgid Test cricket (or at least the bits of it played by England) could be at times during the early 80s. If you'd spent four hours watching Chris Tavare prodding and poking, a twenty minute Botham cameo was all the more memorable and welcome.