All-rounder

In cricket, an all-rounder is a player who is good at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat at some time, many of them are not very skilled and most are not considered to be all-rounders. However, wicket-keepers who are also very good batsmen (such as Adam Gilchrist) are considered by some to be all-rounders.

Related Topics:
Cricket - Batting - Bowling - Wicket-keeper - Adam Gilchrist

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There is some confusion as to the precise definition that a player needs to fit in order to be considered an all-rounder. The generally accepted criterion is that a genuine all-rounder is someone whose batting or bowling skills, considered alone, would be good enough to win them a place on a cricket team. By this definition, true all-rounders are quite rare, and extremely valuable to a team since they can effectively count as an extra player. One commonly used statistical rule of thumb is that the batting average of an all-rounder should be higher than the bowling average; for example, Ian Botham had averages in Test cricket of 33.34 with the bat and 28.40 with the ball.

Related Topics:
Batting average - Bowling average - Ian Botham - Test cricket

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Because all-rounders are so useful, a number of players have made a name for themselves who exhibit slightly below-par batting and bowling skills, such as Abdul Razzaq, and these are usually referred to as all-rounders even though they fall short of the 'classic' definition. At domestic level, such players are sometimes called "bits and pieces" players. To confuse the issue, there are many specialist batsmen and bowlers who exhibit some degree of skill in the opposite department. For example, the Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne is a very good batsman, but not quite good enough to be selected as a Test batsman in his own right. Debate continues as to whether players in his class, including batsmen who can bowl a few useful overs such as Sachin Tendulkar, are to be considered all-rounders.

Related Topics:
Abdul Razzaq - Leg-spinner - Shane Warne - Sachin Tendulkar

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One of the most amazing all-round feats was that of E.M.Grace on 15 August 1862. He carried his bat through the entire MCC innings, scoring 192 not out of a total of 344. He then took all 10 wickets in the Kent first innings for 69 runs. However this is not an official record as it was a 12-man game, one of the Kent batsmen was missing, and furthermore he bowled underarm.

Related Topics:
E.M.Grace - 15 August - 1862 - MCC - Batsmen - Underarm

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