I am against comparing players of different era. And when you are comparing all-rounders of different eras, how can we bypass George Giffen, Monty Noble, Jack Gregory, Keith Miller, Vinoo Mankad, Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Flintoff…?
But the discussion becomes relevant in view of Kallis’s great form with the bat in the just-concluded Test series against India when he amassed 498 runs at 166.00. This is even a higher batting average than England’s prolific opener Alastair Cook’s of 127.66 in the recent Ashes series.
Kallis followed his unbeaten 201 in the Centurion Test with 10 and 17 at Durban and 161 and 109 not out in the final Test at Cape Town to become Player of the Series.
His unbeaten 109 was responsible for South Africa saving the Cape Town Test and drawing the engrossing series 1-all.
South Africans were on their knees at 5-98 and then 6-130 but a far from fit Kallis batted gallantly to take them to 341. In the process he became the second highest century maker in Test annals. It was his 40th Test hundred, overtaking Ricky Ponting. Now only Sachin Tendulkar with 51 Test centuries is ahead of him.
There is no doubt about the greatness of Kallis as a batsman. Having scored 11947 runs at 57.43 in 145 Tests he is the fifth highest run-getter in Test history after Tendulkar (14692 at 56.94 in 177), Ponting (12363 at 53.51 in 152), Rahul Dravid (12063 at 52.44 in 150) and Brian Lara (11953 at 52.88 in 131).
But is Kallis a great bowler? He has taken 270 wickets at 32.01 and is 28th on the list of top wicket-takers. Useful, yes; great, certainly not.
Great batting all-rounder? Perhaps yes. As the controversy revolves round who is the greater all-rounder — Sobers or Kallis, let’s compare their numbers:
In 93 Tests, left-handed superstar Sobers scored 8032 runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries (top-score 365 not out). He took 235 wickets at 34.03 with six 5 wickets per innings hauls (best 6-73) and 109 catches.
In 145 Tests, right-handed Kallis has scored 11947 runs at 57.43 with 40 centuries (top-score 201 not out). He has taken 270 wickets at 32.01 with five 5 wickets per innings hauls (best 6-54) and 166 catches.
Thus their batting and bowling averages are amazingly similar. As Kallis played 1.6 times more number of Tests compared with Sobers, their number of runs scored per Test and catches taken per Test are also almost identical. But Sobers took more wickets per Test (2.5) compared to Kallis (1.9).
However much I admire Kallis, I somehow cannot place him in the same class as Sobers, the supreme all-rounder.
Sir Garfield Sobers had style, fluency and charisma no cricketer had when batting, bowling and fielding. Don Bradman called him a five-in-one cricketer; batsman extraordinaire, versatile fielder and a three-in-one bowler — fast-medium, finger-spin and wrist-spin.
He was a genius who batted like a maestro and bowled his Chinaman (left-arm googly) to confuse most batsmen.
A match-winner, Sobers was indeed a freaky cricketer. Did you know that he was born with 12 fingers, six on each hand? In first-class cricket, he was the first to hit six sixes in a 6-ball over. This was for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in 1968, Malcolm Nash being the victim.
Forget Sobers, I would place Miller, Mankad, Botham, Kapil and Imran above Kallis as an all-rounder. Just as Benaud, Davidson and Hadlee were bowling all-rounders, Kallis, like Wally Hammond, is a batting all-rounder.
But statistically the top three all-rounders are Sobers, Botham and Kallis.
Only four players have achieved the Test double of 5000 runs and 200 wickets, and four the Test triple of 2000 runs, 200 wickets and 100 catches. The common players in the two exclusive lists are Sobers, Botham and Kallis.
The four who achieved the Test double of 5000 runs and 200 wickets are Sobers 8032 runs and 235 wickets in 93 Tests, Botham 5200 and 383 in 102, Kapil Dev 5248 and 434 in 131 and Kallis 11947 and 270 in 145.
The four to do the Test triple of 2000 runs, 200 wickets and 100 catches are Sobers (8032 runs, 235 wickets and 109 catches), Botham (5200, 383 and 120), Shane Warne (3154, 708 and 125 in 145 Tests) and Kallis (11947, 270 and 166).
What, Warney in this elite group! Wonders will never cease.
Steve
Guest
No Curtly, no list..........., honestly I can't belive that, you put Sehwag on the list but not Ambrose, I hope that was a mistake.
Steve
Guest
Knott: 95 matches: 250 cathes, 19 stumpings Gilchrist: 96 matches: 379 catches, 37 stumpings. Gilly obviously didnt ground many, and he holds the record for most dismissals in ODI cricket, I have no idea why people so commonly doubt Gilchrist's keeping abilty when he kept to Shane Warne, and did it exceptionally well. Gilchrist should walk into any team at number 7, not because of how many runs he scores but how quickly he scores them, all you need after guys like Bradman, Tendulkar and Hobbs is acceleration, and Gilchrist is one of the best at that. Gilly has such a better keeping record than Knott that its not even funny.
Steve
Guest
Ha, I picked excactly the same side and have excactly the same opinion on the matter of Akram and Ambrose, and let me geuss, Lillee is the one that would be replaced by either of those two. I think Benaud was pretty spot on, except for SF Barnes, i just cant put him above Marshall, not when you consider the pitches he bowled on. oh and in the next few years to me, Dale Steyn might overtake Lilee in my team.
Matthew Haulman
Guest
Yes both kallis and Sobers are great player . But i goes with kallis because its not easy to ball fast and bat because you need to burn much energy .but for a spinner he does not burn much energy as like a fast baller. But i admin that sobers has done the both. When his muscle get fetigue he goes with spin . But its with kallis the bowling avg is less than sober. And kallis got a good avg when it comes to batting but just points below sobers but when you look at the matches played by both its with kallis so i think kallis is the greatest allrounder in the history of the game
CJ
Guest
Yes lets just think for a moment, whilst Kallis is one of the greats of all time. Kallis has had the fortune of greater bats, 100% covered pitches, smaller fields and more matches against minnow opponents. Just look how batting averages have grown over the years. Sobers' average of 57 through 90 + tests between the 1950's to early 70's is more like a current day average of mid 60's. Now the term all rounder is for one to be able to do it all in the sport of cricket. Whilst no argument that both Kallis and Sobers are the best of all time, Sobers took it a step further by also mastering spin bowling as well as fast bowling. That is a true in depth all rounder. If I was to choose one for a limited overs clash I'd select Kallis, however for a test I'd select Sobers. Ideally both would be nice :P
glenn devilliars
Guest
Ricky Ponting averages very poorly against Bangladesh under 20 if i remember correctly. So how do allow for that in your equation.
glenn devilliars
Guest
Yet he has more man of the match awards than any one in the history of the game.
glenn devilliars
Guest
So true my Grandad is probably the greatest allrounder purely by his presence.The fact that Kallis has carried a nation for a decade yet been so modest does not work in his favor. His bowling in ODIS in the first 200 matches ( wow that`s an achievement in its self how man did Sobers play) was awesome. Kallis makes Sobers look average and that seems to upset people, saying stats do not matter is like going to the bank and wanting to draw out more than you have. The manager will say no but you can go on about how figures do not matter its the way you entered the bank.
Harsh Thakor
Guest
I have reassessed my analysis and made the following all time cricket elevens with changes. 1st xi 1.Jack Hobbs 2.Sunil Gavaskar 3.Don Bradman 4.Sachin Tendulkar 5.Garfield Sobers 6.Adam Gilchrist 7.Malcolm Marshall 8.Shane Warne 9.Wasim Akram 10.Dennis Lillee 11.Sydney Barnes 2nd xi 1.Len Hutton 2.Barry Richards 3.George Headley 4.Viv Richards 5.Brian Lara 6.Jacques Kallis 7.Imran Khan 8.Alan Knott 9.Ray Lindwall 10.Glen Mcgrath 11.Muthiah Murlitharan 3rd xi 1.Arthur Morris 2.Herbert Sutcliffe 3.Walter Hammond 4.Greg Chappell 5.Graeme Pollock 6.Sangaakara 7.Keith Miller 8.Richard Hadlee 9.Fred Trueman 10.Curtly Ambrose 11.Subhash Gupte 4th xi 1.Gordon Greenidge 2.Graham Gooch 3.Ricky Ponting 4.Denis Compton 5.Everton Weekes 6.Ian Botham 7.Rodney Marsh 8.Waqar Younus 9.Michael Holding 10.Alan Donald 11.Bishen Bedi Sachin Tendulkar's domination of cricket at the top for a period of 22 years scoring 100 centuries wins him a place in the top 11 although at their best Viv Richards and Brian Lara made a bigger impact.At their best both were better than Sachin ,particularly in winning matches but they lacked the same consistency.Bradman had a phenomenal statistical record averaging 99.94.Lillee and Marshall were more complete than any pace bowlers of all combining swing,cut,pace,control and agression more than any paceman.Shane Warne was simply the best spinner of all.Sydney Barnes figures make him the best bowler ever taking 189 wickets in 27 test matches.Gary Sobers was the greatest ever allrounder and no cricketer could ever turn the complexion of agame more than Gary.Sunil Gavaskar's test record speaks for itself,puls the fact that he scored heavily against the best bowling attacks.Jack Hobbs phenomenal record on wet pitches and 197 first class hundreds wins him the vote. Wasim Akram'sposessed more natural talent and variations than any great paceman and his left arm variety would be an asset.Adam Gilchrist was the greatset match-winner of his era could turn the course of a match in spectacular fashion.Barry Richards was more talented than any opening batsman ever but never proved himself at the test level,although he was the best batsman in World series cricket ,topping the averages.In pure batting prowess he was arguably the most perfect batsman ever with Bradman and Tendulkar. The decisive elements in the 1st 11 would be Sobers and Bradman.
Ranvir Singh
Guest
Imran's bowling is much better - 23 compared to Botham's 34, and batted for 38 compared to Botham's 34. Early Botham might be comparable but not if you look at both of the careers dispassionately. You would select Imran as a bowler in any team. How about as a batsman? Well, his 38 is higher than Gatting, Lamb, Atherton and Hussein who all played for England as batsmen. No doubt, Sobers and Kallis are really outstanding batsmen, but Kallis would not be selected as a bowler. Imran could be selected in either category. So I think he is better than Kallis. Howver, Sobers could be selected as a bowler due to the variation he could bring. Also, Sobers over Imran as a fielder, but Imran over Sobers as a captain. Remember, Pakistan drew three series with the West Indies when they were thrashing everyone. Different eras but choice boils down to wanting a batsman who can offer a range of bowling or a bowler who is handy with the bat. Just throwing it into the mix.
abhijeet
Guest
let me tell you my dear friends kallis>>>>sobbers>>>>tendulkar infact kallis deserves to be called as god of cricket not srt
wWw.KoTuWa.Tk
Guest
Sanath Jayasuriya is a good Candidate :) Take a look at his Stats! http://sac.freehostia.com/lol/1969_Stars_vs_Sanath_Jayasuraya.jpg http://www.turboimagehost.com/p/12044380/1969_Stars_vs_Sanath_Jayasuraya.jpg.html Here a Picture/Meme :D
ABHIJEET
Guest
just type *Jacques kallis take a bow * then compare him with your cheap ideal. And please keep your mouth shut on JACQUES KALLIS PLEASE
ABHIJEET
Guest
you are nt fan of cricket you have jelousy on kallis. But he dnt need people like u he will break all records
ABHIJEET
Guest
just talk to me. you dnt have that much of braveness that u can talk with me. Cheap indian jelousy cant let you go. U are hater of kallis so just write that only you dnt need to talk about comparison
ABHIJEET
Guest
just talk to me
Harsh Thakor
Guest
Below is a list of my 50 top cricketers of all time in order of merit In this list I have favoured the allrounders.Originally experts like Cristopher Martin Jenkins or Woodcock or cricinfo Bradman is rated at the top ahaed of Gary Sobers and simillarly Kapil Dev below Sunil Gavaskar etc.I have favoured the all-rounders over the graet fast bolwers and batsman as in stages they have made agreater impact .I have rated Imran also considering his phenomenal leadership as a skipper while I have compared kapil Dev,Richard Hadlee ,Keith Miller and Kallis considering their utility as all-rounders as against just brilliance with bat and ball.Kallis would have been far closer to Sobers had he silmumunataneously championed the cause witgh batt and ball.Ina longer career Keith Miller could well have been Sober's equal while Botham in his peak wa sthe ultimate match-winner.What counted against Kallis was his inability to consistently win matches.Viv Richards changed the complexion of agame like no other batsman while Tendulkar was more complete than any batsman ever in both formats of the game.At his best with his unequaled creative genius.Lara was the best batsman of his day but lacked Tendulkar's consistency.Had Wasim Akran done justice to his potential he could have been the best pace bolwer of all time and even ahead of Imran and Botham as an allrounder. The most debated question is does Tendulkar rate the best cricketer after Gary Sobers,Don Bradman and W.G Grace.?Viv Richards,Jack Hobbs,Shane Warne,Imran Khan etc are his greatset rivals.Putting it in another way should we rate the graetallrounders like Botham and Imran ahead of the likes of batsman like Sachin Hobbs and Viv or bowlers like Lillee ,Marshall or Mcgrath.Some experts place Imran at 4 like Geoff Armstrong.Jenkin splaces him at 12 below batsmen like Viv and Sachin nad bowlesr like Barnes and Marshall or even Mcgrath.With the outstanding impact he has made Sachin to me could very well make top 6 if not the top4 1.Gary Sobers 2.Don Bradman 3.W.G.Grace 4. Shane Warne 5. Jack Hobbs 6. Imran Khan 7. Viv Richards 8. Sachin Tendulkar 9.Ian Botham 10. Walter Hammond 11. Keith Miller . 12. Jacques Kallis 13. Adam Gilchrist 14. Murlitharan 15. Dennis Lillee 16.Malcolm Marshall 17 Sydney Barnes 18. Brian Lara 19 Richard Hadlee 20. Glen Mcgrath 21. Wasim Akram 22 Kapil Dev 23. Graeme Pollock 24. George Headley 25 Sunil Gavaskar 26. Len Hutton 27. Barry Richards 28 Victor Trumper 29.Bill O’reilly 30... Greg Chappell 31 Ricky Ponting 32. Everton Weekes 33. Alan Border 34. Frank Worrell 35. Herbert Sutcliffe 36. Steve Waugh 37.Javed Miandad 38.. Rahul Dravid 39.Vinoo Mankad 40 . Fred Trueman 41. Ray Lindwall 42 Rohan Kanhai 43. Virendra Sehwag 44. Ken Barrington 45. Denis Compton 46. Ian Chappell 47. Ranjitsinghji 48 .Arthur Morris 49. Michael Holding 50 .Spofforth
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Here's my all-time xi: Hobbs, Gavaskar, Bradman, Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Sobers (captain), Knott, Warne, Akram, Marshal, Lillee (12th Man: Khan). I have Alan Knott as keeper instead of Gilchrist, as I don't think the team needs a keeper/batsman, and it's unfair to ask the bowlers to play with a keeper who is not the very best at keeping.
Harsh Thakor
Guest
Sheek,these are my all-timeworld teams 1st xi - Hobbs,Gavaskar,Bradman,Viv Richards,Sobers,Gilchrist,Marshall,Warne,Akram,Lillee and Mcgrath. 2ndxi - Hutton,Barry Richards,George Headley,Tendulkar,Lara,Sangakara,Imran Khan,Ambrose,Lindwall,Barnes,Murlitharan 3rd x1-Arthur Morris,Sehwag,Hammond,Greg Chappell,Graeme Pollock,Keith Miller ,,Alan Knott,Andy Roberts ,Trueman,Holding,Bill o'Reilly, The debate is whether a team needs both a batting and bolwing all-rounder or only one genuine allrounder.Remember Bradman's team had more bolwers than batsman with allrounders.I feel it is the bolwers who are the match-winners combined with atacking batsman and a great allrounder.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Fascinating. :D A few comments, and one massive question. "Barry Richards (RSA)" I take it therefore that you are judging Richards off his entire first-class career? Or do you believe that his quality was such that it overrode his quantity? "Adam Gilchrist." Considering how batting-heavy the top 6 are, wouldn't it be a better idea to select a specialist keeper? The massive question: Be warned. "Mutiah Muralitharan" Why Murali ahead of Warne? Perhaps we should be deporting you for preferring Murali over Warnie. :P