Best Cricket All-Rounders of the Modern Era

The list of top cricket bowlers is massive. Narrowing down the prospects to the sub-section of 'all-rounders' those who are great at both batting and bowling is intriguing since most cricketers are specialist in only one area at a time. It is outstanding to find a player who performs well as a batter and a bowler on a consistent basis, making these players part of an elite group.

Cricket is the second most popular sport worldwide, bested only by football (soccer). The following countries are recognized as being the big 3 cricket countries:

1. India
2. Australia
3. England & Wales

However, there are 105 countries comprising the ICC (International Cricket Council) with standout countries such as: Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, to name a few.

There are also different types of cricket championships played during a season: Test Champions, ODI (One Day International) Champions, ICC World Cup, ICC T20, and the Indian Premier League (IPL)

It is a daunting task to chose all rounders from every existing cricket category or specialty, therefore, narrowing down the selection to the Indian Premiere League has been chosen, using the website: sportskeeda.com as the primary reference. The choice of the 5 best all rounders are as follows:

• Suni Narine
• Andre Russell
• Dwanye Bravo
• Hardik Pandya
• Shakib Al Hasan

Read about each player and what makes them stand-out in the Indian Premier League.

Suni Narine is rated in the top spot as the No. 1 all-rounder of the IPL. He is 29 years old and plays for the Kalkata Knight Riders. While he is a left-handed batsman, he is a right-arm off-break bowler.

In 2017 Narine was credited with making a half-century in only 15 balls. It was the fastest in IPL history.

Other outstanding stats are:

Wickets: 16 picked up.

Runs: 331

Strike rate: Almost 190

34-year old Bravo plays for Chennai Super Kings. He tied for 2nd place in the poll. He is a right-handed batsman and a right arm medium-fast bowler. He is reported to be best in T20 format of cricket. He has a trademark full-toss that "dips in sharply like a football free-kick, knocking over the stumps."

• Runs scored: 141
• Strike rate: 155
• Wickets; 13 wickets picked up

Andre Russell also tied for 2nd place. The Jamaican plays for Kolkata Knight Riders and is 30 years old.

Russel is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm, fast-medium bowler. He is said to be: "one of the most destructive batsmen in the international cricket scenario."

• Wickets: Picked up 13
• Runs: 200
• Strike Rate: 190.85

Pandya takes the 3rd spot. He is 24 years old and plays for the Mumbai Indians. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm, fast-medium bowler.

He plays all formats of cricket but is "a pillar in ODI's (One Day International Cricket Team) for the Mumbai Indians."

• Wickets: Picked up 18
• Runs: 260
• Strike Rate: 133.33

Rounding out the top-five list is Shakib Al Hasan. He is 31 years of age and is captain of the Bangladesh International Team. He has amassed many accolades including topping the list in all formats of crciket and is considered as the greatest cricketer of Bangladeshi decent.

He has a left-handed batting style and a controlled, left-arm, orthodox spin bowling style. Additionally he is known for his excellent athletic fielding abilities.

This triple-threat has earned trophies in top leagues, world-wide. His list of achievements are too numerous to mention which makes it proper that he is included in the top five rankings.

Wicket vs. Bases: Americans would naturally try to equate the 4 bases used in baseball with the cricket field which appears to have 2 bases. Cricket wickets are totally different. A batsman tries to prevent a ball from hitting a wicket at all costs. A bat can be dragged from one wicket to the other as well, at the batsman's discretion.

Runs vs. Home-Runs: Cricket runs are counted very differently from baseball home-runs. With the bases loaded it is possible for the batter to bring in 4 homers. With cricket the runs can go on for an extended period of time, which is why the scores are so high. One successful hit can easily be worth 6 runs. Field positioning and hitting over distant markers can accumulate runs as well.

Dismissals vs. Outs: Baseball umpires declare a runner safe or out, as does the home plate umpire. In cricket, dismissals can come about as a result of being: caught, bowled, leg before wicket, run out, or stumped.

Overs vs. Innings: There are 9-innings in baseball and overtime in case of a tie. Cricket has overs, which are counted as six legal deliveries as determined by the umpire. When 'over' is called by the umpire, the fielding team switches ends of the pitch and a different bowler takes over at the opposite end. Cricket can have as many as 90 overs or as few as 50, depending on the format played.

It is no surprise that understanding cricket can be confusing to say the least. It takes time to understand all the subtleties of cricket especially when coming from a baseball background. However, cricket is listed as the number 2 sport in the world for a reason and even the most rudimentary understanding of the game is an interesting experience. The more the sport is watched the easier it is to understand how all the pieces fit together. Listening to the commentators discuss the players and the game is also a good way to pick up on the nuances of the game.

While cricket does not receive the same coverage of football (soccer) it is covered sporadically on sports networks in the U.S. Perhaps in the future there will be more programming available in this country.

Meanwhile, be content to pick-up understanding of the sport a little at a time. Cricket authorities are a good reference source and will help those new to the sport to gradually refine their understanding of the game and correct erroneous assumptions.