Is Jacques Kallis the greatest all-rounder of all time?

By Gaurav Kalra

Cricketers make their living as practitioners of one primary skill. Batsmen make runs- bowlers take wickets. On occasion they wander into the other’s territory- batsmen break partnerships, bowlers score defiant runs. Those moments are stored away in memory and watched with delight when highlights reels are replayed.

The All-Rounder though is a unique cricketing animal—able to bat with authority and bowl with penetration. He is two players in one—a captain’s delight and worth his weight in the proverbial gold. Of the 2734 players who have earned caps in Test history, only a handful can truly claim that precious tag- the genuine Test All-Rounder.

With the retirement of Jacques Kallis, a rumbling debate has ignited again. Is Kallis the greatest all-rounder of all time? Or does he shade when compared to the genius of Sir Garfield Sobers? Or the impact made by heroic figures such as Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee? Cricket would be sterile if achievementsare merely gluttonous statistical feats, but to ignore them altogether would be foolhardy.

A wise man suggests a reasonable formula as insight into an all-rounder’s efficacy. Averages are a widely accepted measure of a cricketer’s success. Batsmen aspire for the highest possible average, bowlers aim for the lowest. Subtract a player’s bowling average from his batting average- the higher the number, the greater the all-rounder!

This simple mathematical equation embellishes just why Sobers stands out as royalty even in this elite club. He averaged 57.78 with the bat and 34.04 with the ball. The difference between those numbers, an All-Rounder index for want of a better word, is 23.74. Kallis averaged 55.12 with the bat and 32.53 with the ball at the start of his final Test. His All-Rounder index: 22.59.

Dig deeper and it is hard to look beyond these two men as claimants to the tag of the game’s ‘greatest ever’ All-Rounder. Among the most frequently mentioned members of the club, Imran’s All-Rounder index is a striking 14.88. And then a sharp fall. Botham-5.15. Hadlee- 4.87.Kapil- 1.4.

In more recent times, Kallis’ pedigreed team-mate Shaun Pollock is at 9.2. The supremely gifted New Zealander Chris Cairns 4.14. The robust Andrew Flintoff is infact in the negative, i.e. his bowling average is higher than his batting, at -1.01. Delve deeper into history- England’s Tony Greig is an impressive 8.23. The much revered Australian Keith Miller is a splendid 13.99.

Some may argue this is a simplistic and even a flawed measure to arrive at a cricketer’s all-round ability. Perhaps so as impact is often felt beyond cold numbers. Playing conditions have changed over years and the game has evolved. But even with those concessions, the stark contrast between everyone else and Sobers & Kallis is revealing. Sobers’ index at 23.74 is perhaps the Bradman standard of Test batting average of 99.94. No batsman since Bradman has come within sniffing distance of that astounding number

Kallis at 22.59 is merely 1.15 behind Sobers. Imran is the next best at 8.91. Clearly, Kallis alone has any claim to this Soberseque pedestal. Those who watched Sobers in the flesh were mesmerised for life. Kallis was the polar opposite. Solid.

Unspectacular. Almost robotic. He played in an era littered with superstars and eschewed the limelight. But what he might have lacked in dazzle, he made up by sheer weight of performance. Cricket owes Jacques Kallis a debt of gratitude.