All Rounder - An Endangered Species.

Cricket is a beautiful game comprising of a variety of players adept at different skills like  great batsmen who  score tons of runs and majority of   these  great batsmen score runs at crucial juncture of the game when the game could go either way.  These batsmen have the nerve  and the temperament to seize the vital moments and help win the games for their country. Then there are the bowlers whether it be fast bowlers who hurl the ball at lightning speed and  take crucial wickets and strike terror in the opposing camp. Even the spinners have a huge influence on the outcome of the game. These slow bowlers lull the batsman into a fall sense of security and spin a web around them. Besides all these different breeds of players who have  excelled  in one dimensional skill there are a very few  select breed of cricketers who excel in multidimensional skill. These are the all rounders who are the players providing  the right balance to their side. If we have a look at the great teams, all these teams have had at least a couple of all rounders, who have contributed with the bat and the ball at some point or the other. The Indian team  would give anything for a half decent all rounder as it   has been looking for a quality all rounder ever since Kapil Dev’s retirement  and has been unable to find a suitable replacement since. The entire balance of the Indian team goes awry. Even the likes of Irfan Pathan have been tried out but to no avail. An all rounder needs to do justice to at least   one primary skill and be half decent at the other skill.

A quality all rounder according to me is the one who can command a place in a side either on his bowling or batting prowess alone. There are different kind of all rounders. There have been the batting all rounders whose primary forte has been   batting  . The likes of Jacques Kallis, Gary Sobers   and so on. Then there have been the bowling all rounders, the likes of Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Ian Bothom whose primary forte was bowling. The era of 70’s and 80’s especially saw the emergence of some great all rounders who won their teams several matches   both with the bat and ball. Who can forget the 1981 ashes series which was called   ‘Bothom’s Ashes’, when at Headingley he scored a whirlwind hundred and contributed with the ball to single handedly win a match which was lost for all money. Now that kind of performance is what adds value to the team and helps in striking the right balance in the team. Unfortunately since the 90’s and the early decade of this new millennium there has been a dearth of quality all rounders on the world stage. Jacques kallis, Shane Watson are some of the few quality all rounders left on the scene. The question arises as to why has there been such a dearth of all rounders especially in this decade. Quite frankly it is not rocket science to point out that too much of meaningless ODI tournaments and the emergence of T20’s which is a money spinner has contributed chiefly to this rare breed of species called all rounders being on the verge of being extinct. Imagine a batsman like Kevin Petersen announcing his retirement from ODI’s because of the toll his body has taken over the 7 odd years since making his debut by the sheer volume of matches he has played although he is likely  to reconsider his decision and play ODI’s again. But still this trend of players opting for one form of the game rather than being available for all 3 formats is going to become an ongoing trend.

When a batsman like Peterson or a bowler like Lasith Malinga opts to play only a certain form of the game, imagine the plight of the all rounder when he has to concentrate on at least 2 out of the 3 skills to survive in the game .Now a days there are different kinds  of all rounders which are emerging, like the wicket keeper is expected to contribute substantially with the bat besides being an efficient man behind the stumps. Like a Sangakkara or a MS Dhoni who are decent wicket keepers but are known more for their consistent contribution with the bat.  Then there are the kind of semi - all rounders who can do a part time job with the bat or ball. The likes of Shahid Afridi, Irfan Pathan and Anjelo Mathews are players who are not exactly specialists in any one skill but still prove to be effective when the overall balance of the team is concerned. The demands of modern sport are   such that it is very difficult for a quality all rounder  to play all round the year and that is why it is even more noteworthy that a player like Jacques Kallis regularly plays all the forms of cricket seldom  missing any series due to injury or does not even opt for any rest over a period of 15 odd years.. Being a performing and consistent   all rounder in the current scenario of hectic cricketing calendar is a rarity these days. That is precisely the reason why the breed of multi skilled cricketers needs to be preserved and nurtured for the future.