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Throughout the summer, TV viewers have been treated to the pulsating Cricket World Cup advertisement featuring cricket royalty in Mitchell Johnson and Brendon McCullum.
Undoubtedly the Kiwi captain and Australia’s pace spearhead are a marketers dream, and will be two of the most watched (and scrutinised) players over the next two months.
But cast your mind back to the 2011 World Cup held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The standout player wasn’t Sachin Tendulkar or Zaheer Khan, who both played exceptionally well. It was the performance of their fellow countryman and star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh that won India the title.
Singh picked up 15 wickets and belted 362 runs across the tournament. He became only the third player to receive four man of the match awards in one World Cup as well as becoming the fourth player to amass 300 runs and 10 wickets at a World Cup.
This performance signalled a shift in the way all-rounders played the 50-over game. No longer were they just relied upon to score a few quick runs in the death overs and slow down the run rate with the ball in hand. All-rounders are now the match winners.
Looking at the recent results of ODI series across the world, all-rounders have become entertainers and powerhouses, hitting form at the right time with the willow and the cherry.
Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson and Glenn Maxwell have each won man of the match awards in the last month. James Faulkner has earned the title ‘The Finisher’. The West Indian Andre Russell averaged 30 with the bat and took seven wickets in a series against a South African team that was smashing records. Moeen Ali has become the reliable partnership breaker with his crafty off-spinners. Experienced campaigners Shahid Afridi and Tillakaratne Dilshan are proven match winners.
The news is not so cheerful for tournament front-runners South Africa and current World Cup holders India. A quick view at their squads and it’s noticeable that in form all-rounders are scarce.
Jean-Paul Duminy sat out South Africa’s series loss to Australia in November and is slowly being eased back into the team. Yuvraj Singh has retired and India has since struggled to plug the gaping hole left by him. Ravindra Jadeja’s statistics suggest he is the heir to the Indian all-rounder throne, however he has had limited game time, only playing two international matches this year.
On the other hand, Australia’s squad is brimming with all-rounders. Maxwell, Faulkner and (dare I say) Shane Watson have established themselves in the Aussie arsenal while Mitchell Marsh has performed well with the bat and economically with the ball.
With the advantage of playing on home turf, these four, along with New Zealand’s Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott, are on track for a huge tournament and possible contenders for man of the series honours.
Follow Harry on Twitter @harryeaston1
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