Having an effective all-rounder in a team is probably one of modern-day cricket’s primary utilities, but the different types of these specialists can define the character of the line-up, writes Marc Jacobson.

South Africa, in particular, has showcased some exemplary all-rounders over the years post-isolation, but that tale no longer rings too many bells, unfortunately.

The likes of Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock immediately spring to mind when considering not only SA’s top all-rounders of the recent past, but also the world’s.

Lance Klusener and the more recent Vernon Philander are two other notable mentions, while Brian McMillan was probably the first genuine all-rounder to light up the stage for the Proteas since they were welcomed back into international cricket.

It’s worth noting, however, that although these players form part of their own niche, they each differ in their characteristics and what they were able to contribute to the team as a whole.

Kallis, for example, was primarily a renowned batsman who bowled as his next best contribution, while Pollock was the side’s go-to bowler who batted in the middle order and scored vital runs as the innings wore on.

Philander was etched in a similar template to Pollock, having taken the lead with the ball, while having batted in number six or seven as a reliable run-scorer after the top order got picked off. He however mainly specialized in Test cricket, whereas Pollock mastered all formats.

Klusener, again, was a different mould. ‘Zulu’ was the type of middle-order batsman relied upon when the team needed to smash home the winning runs as the game hung in the balance, while also having been a solid back-up pace bowler.

McMillan, rated as one of the world’s best all-rounders in the mid-1990s, was quite similar to Klusener in that he served as a pace bowling back-up and was useful with the bat. The only exception being that McMillan usually batted higher up the order in number three or four.

Every all-rounder brings something different to the table, but they are all essential in their own rights. Today, SA cricket boast their more unconventional mould in Keshav Maharaj, an established spinner who can bat well down the order.

Maharaj, like Philander, however, is a Test specialist, with SA’s other recent spinners (Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi) being tail-enders in the limited-overs game.

Then there is Jon-Jon Smuts, who is also a spinner but a higher-order batsman. Smuts can be more likened to Proteas legend JP Duminy, granted both of them serve as plucky spinners with a more threatening batting attack.

Smuts, however, has much ground to make up to reach Duminy’s standards of accomplishments in international cricket. Duminy was more versatile and had contributed sternly in all formats of the game.

Unlike Maharaj, however, Smuts plies his trade in the white-ball formats.

The Proteas do also exhibit their trio of pace all-rounders in the form of Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius, all of whom have played in tandem for the side in T20s and ODIs over the last several seasons.

There is not much separating each player, whom all have similar batting and bowling strengths. All three players have been match-winners in the past while batting in the middle order, and all of them have had their copybook spells with the ball, too.

Consistency has been the issue and although they have played their parts in winning matches, they do not possess that x-factor that so righteously gave SA their intimidating character in the past.

In fact, neither player cracks the top 10 in the ICC All-Rounder rankings in either of the ODI and T20 formats. Phehlukwayo is the closest, ranking 11th in the ODI standings, with neither Morris nor Pretorius even splitting the top 20 in either.

Just to put into perspective as to how defining SA’s past all-rounders were, Kallis ranks third in the ICC All-Time All-Rounder Test rankings, which dates right back to the origins of the sport. On the same standings, Pollock ranks 13th and McMillan 19th.

On the All-Time ODI list, Klusener ranks a highly fifth, with Kallis in seventh and Pollock ninth.

In the shortest and newest format of the game, Duminy claims 12th spot on the All-Time T20 standings, with Kallis in 16th.
The fact that the SA all-rounders of today cannot even stake a claim in just the modern-day rankings is alarming, to say the least. It is currently a department where SA has run dry of possessing star quality.

Whether their traits contain Kallis’s classy batting finesse, Pollock’s and Philander’s explicit bowling attacks or Klusener’s and McMillan’s aggressiveness, the current fold of all-rounders lack that sharp edge in both artistries.

To answer the aforementioned question, there is no ideal type of all-rounder – they are all gifted in their own shapes and forms – but there is ‘the’ ideal all-rounder, one that masters one skill set and perfects the other, especially in more than one format.

Kallis is and was unarguably SA’s (even the world’s) best ever all-rounder, having mastered the art of batting and fine-tuned his bowling in all three formats.

Pollock did the opposite, while Klusener crafted his skills in line with his objectives for the team – that is, to get them across the line, most often through his batting expertise.

We can only hope that SA’s landscape of today can hone some much-needed all-rounder proficiencies or that the country’s current crop is still in its infancy of reaching those same sorts of standards.

After all, these players are important for the narration of a successful international outfit. We all have witnessed how pivotal Ben Stokes has been in all formats recently for England, a team that has reaped much success of late.

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