Cameron Green’s emergence on the national stage has left many Australian cricket fans very excited about the future and what he can achieve as a pace-bowling batsman.
The great Keith Miller – him of the “pressure is having a Messerschmitt up your arse” fame – was Australia’s last genuine all-rounder.
As well as being a WWII fighter pilot, national sex symbol, and an Australian rules player in the VFL for St Kilda, Miller was a fixture in Australia’s XI from 1946-56.
With his ability to bowl with genuine pace and bounce, as well as bat high up the order when the situation required it, Miller possessed the rarest of cricketing combinations: the capacity to be picked in Australia’s best XI on the strength of one of his skills alone.
(Photo by Topical Press/Getty Images)
Since his time, the Australian selectors have periodically tried to unearth the next great all-rounder, to varying degrees of success.
Here are some of the most notable attempts. With the focus on Green, I have excluded spinning all-rounders such as Richie Benaud and Greg Matthews.
Alan Davidson (New South Wales)
1328 runs at 24.59, 186 wickets at 20.53
Alan Davidson’s hard hitting down the order, and his ability to swing the ball late as a left-armer, meant that he was a valuable commodity in the Australian side.
Kept out of the News South Wales side by Miller and Ray Lindwall early in his career, Davidson – a strapping young lad from Lisarow – eventually forced his way into the side off the back of his performances in the 1952-53 Sheffield Shield season.
On his first tour of England in 1953, Davidson showed signs of promise, taking eight wickets at 26. Over the next three years, though, he struggled with injuries and only played seven Tests, picking up eight wickets in that time.
With the retirement of Miller and the dropping of Ray Lindwall in 1956, Davidson seized his chance to cement his place in the Australian line-up. As the most experienced bowler on the youthful 1957-58 tour of South Africa, Davidson flourished, picking up 25 wickets at 17.00.
After this performance, Davidson became a regular in the Australian line-up until his retirement in 1963. His most notable performance was in the 1960-61 series against the West Indies, where he scored 212 runs at 30.28 and took 33 wickets at 18.55.
A famous knock of 80 in the second innings of the Tied Test at Brisbane, where Australia just failed to get over the line, was his highest Test score.
Davidson never quite reached the full batting potential that his first-class average of 32.86 might suggest. Despite scoring nine hundreds for New South Wales and Australia in tour games, his 80 in the tied Test was his highest in Test cricket.
Verdict: He couldn’t convert his Shield batting form to Test cricket.
Eric Freeman (South Australia)
11 Tests, 345 runs at 19.16, 34 wickets at 33.17
With his untimely death this month, Eric Freeman came back to the forefront of the minds of Australian cricket fans.
As a player, the South Australian had been an enterprising all-rounder. He opened the bowling for Australia as a fast-medium pacer, and hit the ball hard as a lower-order batsman.
Freeman first came into the side in the 1967-68 series against India in Australia. His first scoring shot in Test cricket was a six in the third Test of that series at the Gabba.
Despite a solid performance with the ball in that series, Freeman never quite managed to secure a long-term spot in the side.
He bowled solidly at Edgbaston in the only Test he played in the 1968 Ashes and had his best run in the side during the 1968-69 series against the West Indies, where he took 13 wickets and scored 180 runs.
His best innings was 76 runs off just 89 balls in 1969 at the SCG, with three sixes. He was dropped after a diabolical series for the Australian team in 1969-70 against South Africa.
Verdict: His batting was not up to Test standard.
(Steven Paston – EMPICS/Getty Images)
Gary Gilmour (New South Wales)
15 Tests, 483 runs at 21, 54 wickets at 24.03
A man who really should have played more Test cricket, Gary Gilmour was a stocky left-arm swing bowler and hard-hitting batsman from Newcastle.
Best remembered these days for his performance in the 1975 World Cup semi-final, where he took 6-14 against England on a sticky wicket at Edgbaston, Gilmour is sadly less recognised than he should be for a man of his many talents.
After impressing in the 1972-73 Sheffield Shield season, and following that up in the lead-up New Zealand’s first visit in 1973, Gilmour took to Test cricket like a duck to water.
In his first Test, he took four wickets and made a 50 against the Black Caps, impressing despite having been told by Don Bradman: “If I was a selector you’d never play for Australia. You eat too many potatoes.”
Picked for the return series in New Zealand, Gilmour took 5-64 and 2-62 to help Australia avoid an embarrassing series loss.
Picked only three times in England in 1975, he took nine wickets in the abandoned Test at Leeds, and 11 wickets in the World Cup knock-out games.
Later, he impressed on the 1975-76 series against the West Indies, taking 20 wickets at 20.3 in the famous 5-1 series win over Clive Lloyd’s side.
Gilmour’s loss of form with the ball following a bone injury meant he was dropped from the Test side in the 1977 Centenary Test.
His swansong was on the 1976-77 tour of New Zealand where he scored his only Test century, a swashbuckling 101 at Christchurch, followed up with 64 at Eden Park.
Verdict: He was an impressive talent, and should have played more.
Simon O’Donnell (Victoria)
Six Tests, 206 runs at 29.42, six wickets at 84.00
A noted one-day specialist, Simon O’Donnell enjoyed a brief spell in the Test team as a pace-bowling all-rounder, batting at number eight.
Picked during a turbulent time in Australian cricket, O’Donnell never really found Test cricket to his liking.
O’Donnell was picked for the 1985 Ashes after an exceptional Sheffield Shield in 1984-85 with the bat, hitting 528 runs at 66.00 for Victoria and taking 15 wickets at 38.23 with his consistent medium pace.
He came into contention for a place in the first Test after scoring a hundred against the MCC in a lead-up game, mauling ex-England spinner Derek Underwood.
Although he scored useful runs, the English batting dominated O’Donnell’s bowling. A bowling average of 81.15 in that series highlighted his ineffectiveness at Test level.
After being left out of the side for Greg Matthews, O’Donnell played only one Test on home soil, hitting the winning runs against New Zealand at the SCG and never playing again.
Verdict: He was a Test failure as a bowler. He should have batted higher up the order.
Paul
Roar Guru
gee there was some unrealised talent in the 2nd XI you named. So many of these guys had tons of ability but just couldn't translate that into outstanding Test results.
sheek
Roar Guru
Paul, Chappelli's XI circa 1974-76 might not have been our very best, but it was my favourite XI, myself being young & carefree (having just left high school, going to uni, falling in & out of love every month, etc). The front-4 bowlers were of course Lillee, Thomson, Walker & Mallett. There was no dedicated 5th bowler but Chappelli could fall back on Freddie & GC as medium pacer backups, & himself as 2nd spinner. Chappelli underrated himself as a leggie. He had some talent, but didn't develop himself sufficiently. Ian Chappell 1st XI, 1974-76: I.Redpath(vc), R.McCosker, I.Chappell(c), G.Chappell, R.Edwards, D.Walters, R.Marsh(wk), M.Walker, D.Lillee, J.Thomson, A.Mallett. Ian Chappell 2nd XI, 1974-76: A.Turner, W.Edwards/B.Laird, I.Davis, G.Yallop, G.Cosier, R.Robinson(wk), G.Gilmour, T.Jenner/K.O'Keeffe, G.Dymock, A.Hurst, J.Higgs. J.Maclean rounds out top 25 as 3rd keeper.
Paul
Roar Guru
with a golden arm like his, you don't what it wasted bowling too many overs. Leave that to those other guys who do that sort of thing for a living. You know? Blokes like Lillee 'n Thompson.
sheek
Roar Guru
Yes, I understand the motivation behind mentioning Freddie. I was just concerned the gullible might swallow it!
sheek
Roar Guru
True Paul, But there is a reason why he was used sparingly.
Paul
Roar Guru
but they were all quality wickets, sheek. :stoked:
Paul
Roar Guru
Depends on what criteria's used to define an all-rounder, does it? Ad-O provided one he thinks fits the brief and I simply provided an example. Not disagreeing with you, by the way, but if people use that as a definition of an all-rounder, Dougie fits the bill.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Hopefully Green will be better than that. By the time he's 23/24 his body should be ok to handle the heavier bowling loads.
Jero
Roar Rookie
Yeah, Watto was definitely closer to the mark, given his superior batting and for reasons mentioned by Sheek below. I don't think his position in the side was ever in any doubt because of it, in spite of what the knockers had to say. It's a shame we didn't see more than a few glimpses of what his bowling might have been. But even though he didn't bag many wickets, he bowled enough overs at a respectable economy rate to fulfill the fourth seamer role.
sheek
Roar Guru
Barry Beath, Merry Xmas to you too. True, Gus was probably never fit enough. A truly wasted talent. The stories Skull O'Keeffe tells of Gus, Freddie Walters & himself on the drink are legendary. Gus was a product of his time. I don't know if he would have bucked under the current training regime. As for me, even though I never went so high in rugby, I would go crazy having a dozen different people telling me what to do each game day. Surely, that can't be healthy for pro sportsmen with so many voices inside their heads!
Tony
Roar Guru
Hey Sheek - Happy Christmas. Ella had a ridiculous amount of natural talent. I'm not sure that greater commitment would have resulted in him being any better, but probably would have kept him at the top a few more years. Gilmour was always the unfinished product for mine. Just needed greater fitness to reach his potential. I wonder how he would have developed under the current training regimes?
sheek
Roar Guru
Barry Beath, Funnily enough, both my brother & I discussed Mark Ella today, & whether he really deserved to be the all-time #1 Wallaby flyhalf. Neither of us is prepared to make the 'no' call (yet) but Ella was smart enough to retire at age 25 because he knew he didnt have the discipline to train hard. Eventually, had he continued playing, he would have been dropped, if he didn't pick up his discipline. Indeed, part of the intrigue surrounding him losing the Wallaby captaincy in 1984, came down to the wrong message he was apparently sending to younger players regarding training. Leaders have to set the example, & it was felt in some quarters Ella was failing in this regard. Which brings us to Gus Gilmour. He was outrageously talented, but ill-disciplined. It was his lack of discipline to training & preparation, preferring too much of a good time, that contributed to his falling off as a quality cricketer. Raw talent gets you so far. But discipline, as defined by character, will take you much further.
Micko
Roar Rookie
And the fact Watto could've been that special player, but relentless injuries meant his bowling wasn't as effective from a relatively young age...something they're trying to rectify with Green.
sheek
Roar Guru
Paul, Lets not get carried away with Walters' bowling. He was known as a partnership breaker, & in this respect was used wisely by his most associated captain & great mate Chappelli. But he was way short of all-rounder class. Indeed, in his early years he was considered a potential batting all-rounder, as was Chappelli. But as they matured, both concentrated on their batting.
sheek
Roar Guru
Paul, Which of course is silly, because Walters took less than a wicket per test.
sheek
Roar Guru
John Allan, In my humble view you need 5 bowlers against quality test batting. 4 bowlers is okay against weaker sides, but you need the extra bowler against quality opposition. The main reason is to keep your bowlers fresh with rotation if the pitch isn't doing much. Also, it allows the captain to maintain pressure with fresher bowlers. Having 5 bowlers also allows the selectors the luxury of choosing 2 spinners on a suspected turning pitch. All this being the case, the 5th bowler is usually a batting allrounder. That is, his batting is slightly stronger than his bowling. Whenever I pick an Aussie all-time XI, Bradman is always the first man I pick. Miller is always the second man I pick. He can act both as 6th batsman & 3rd paceman, which then gives me the luxury of picking 2 spinners. When picking all-time XIs ( best against best), the two qualities that might give you an edge, are depth & variety, in both batting & bowling. With an all-time Windies for example, I only pick 3 paceman. Gibbs is the specialist spinner, while Sobers completes both the depth of quality & variety of bowling, being able to bowl left-arm fast medium, slow left-arm orthodox & slow left-arm chinaman.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Doug Walters. a bowler who learned how to bat. When he was a junior living in Dungog he played in the local comps representing Maitland at various times and was primarily a bowler who knew how to take wickets. For many years a photo of a young Doug hung in the Maitland Police Boys' Club after he took 10 wickets in a rep game. When he made a name for himself as a batsman against the Poms in the mid sixties, scoring two centuries in his first two tests those that knew him were astounded. He probably should have been given the ball more often at senior level.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
My definition of a true all rounder is very basic- if he fails with the bat, he is more than likely to do something inspirational with the ball...and vice versa.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
looking forward to part II. I think watto will come in to discussion. back to my school days. I myself had a nice balance between batting and bowling. The only problem was that I was equally bad on both.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Like Steve Waugh, Walters was a partnership breaker with more than handy medium pace. He had a whippy action & his speed was deceptive. More than just a handy bowler.