Lance Klusener and 10 Great Strongman All-Rounders

The term “all-rounder” can sometimes be fairly subjective. In a utopian world, it would mean a player who can bat, bowl and field equally well. But very few players are that talented and very few players will ever be.

This list will most likely cause some controversy, mostly because there is no Jacques Kallis. While he is arguably one of the best all-rounders to ever play the game, Kallis usually favoured a more modest and subdued approach. He was never going to come in lower down the order and hit you all over the park.

While he did have his moments of being destructive, they didn’t occur frequently. For this list, we tried to keep the focus on the all-rounders who often had an impact in one discipline at any given time, instead of being consistently relied on to do both.

Lance Klusener

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This man is the whole reason this list sprung up in the first place. Lance Klusener is celebrating his 44th birthday on Friday.

When great all-rounders are spoken of, Klusener isn't usually mentioned. His fellow Durbanite Shaun Pollock is usually way ahead of him, but Klusener was the typical, dogged all-rounder who would fight like a badger for his side.

His impact was most impressive in the one-day format, where he took 192 wickets and scored over 3,500 runs at an average of 41.10. His ability to play a lower-order blitz got South Africa out of trouble on more than one occasion.

Garry Sobers

You might be asking yourself why Garry Sobers is on the list but not Jacques Kallis. Well, being the first player to hit six sixes in an over goes a pretty long way in securing you a spot on any power-hitters list.

Sobers also played in an era when bowlers dominated. For many, Sobers is the greatest all-rounder to have played the game.

Andrew Flintoff

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Andrew Flintoff was not only a decent all-rounder, he was entertaining, too. Best known for his 2005 Ashes heroics, Flintoff bowled quick and hit big when his team needed it.

Perfectly adept in all formats of the game, Flintoff epitomises the “strong man” all-rounder.

Kapil Dev

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Part of the great all-rounders club of the 1980s, Kapil Dev is probably India's best-ever fast bowler.

As the first Indian captain to lift the World Cup, when he scored an unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe, and the second bowler in history to take 400 wickets, Dev did it all and did it well.

Richard Hadlee

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Richard Hadlee was the man who made all the difference to the New Zealand team in his playing days. As the first-ever bowler to take 400 wickets (eventually finishing with 431 at an average of 22.29), he was a very useful lower-order batsman.

With a respectable average of 27.16 and 15 half-centuries to show for his efforts, Hadlee wasn't exactly the most elegant batsman, but he got the job done.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan revolutionised the game in Pakistan and is one of the great fast-bowling all-rounders—a breed that is becoming increasingly rare in modern-day cricket.

As a genuine quick who opened the bowling for Pakistan, he was useful with the bat, too. With 18 half-centuries in Tests and 19 in ODIs, many consider him to be the second-greatest all-rounder to have played the game.

Shakib Al Hasan

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One of just two current cricketers to make the list, Shakib Al Hasan is one of the best players to come out of Bangladesh.

His ability to be destructive lower down the order is matched with enough grit to dig in when his side is in trouble in Tests

He is also one of the modern day Twenty20 greats who will go on to become a legend, if he’s not one already.

Shahid Afridi

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Shahid Afridi is a weird and wonderful all-rounder who was most impressive in one-day cricket. With 395 wickets and over 8,000 runs, Afridi could bamboozle any side.

He was often touted as unpredictable, yet he scored eight fifties and five hundreds in the 27 Tests he played and took 48 wickets in that same time.

Afridi will forever be one of the mysteries of the cricket world—an obviously talented player who divided opinion like few others can.

Ian Botham

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As the fastest to the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, Ian Botham spared no one during his playing days.

While his averages were, well, average, he was dominant in both disciplines in a career that saw mega highs and super lows.

Off the pitch, Botham can be considered England’s first-ever “tabloid” sporting celebrity, and on the field, he made sure the crowds got their money’s worth.

Andrew Symonds

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Andrew Symonds probably won't make any of the "all-time great" all-rounders lists, but he was an immensely powerful batsman and a tidy bowler.

Although his reputation probably preceded him slightly, many will be wondering what if he had been born just a few years later and could have benefitted from the T20 revolution that sprang into action just as his career was winding down.