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How many genuine allrounders does cricket have?

Michael Jeh: Of the game's many versatile greats, how many could command a place in their Test XI on the strength of one skill alone?

In the modern era, perhaps Adam Gilchrist qualifies as a true allrounder © Getty Images

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JULY 07, 2014

Vinoo beyond the Mankad

Stuart Wark: One of India's greatest allrounders is today unfortunately mostly remembered for a mode of dismissal that, though legitimate, is seen by many to be unfair

MAY 12, 2014

The all-round doubles

Bishen Jeswant: A look back on the players who have scored 40+ runs and taken four wickets or more in the same game, in the IPL

FEBRUARY 01, 2014

New Zealand cricket

Corey Anderson thrives on confidence

Corey Anderson began 2014 with the fastest ton in ODI cricket and has since moved from strength to strength to become something of a phenomenon. Belief forms a big part of his game and it's been cultivated ever since he picked up a cricket bat. Anderson reveals his stunning rise from backyard cricket to national hero in an interview with Alan Perrott for the New Zealand Herald

In 2006, Anderson's form saw him named secondary school player of the year - alongside current Black Cap fast-bowler Tim Southee. It also attracted the attention of the Canterbury selectors and Anderson got the first shock of his life when the provincial team's coach, Dave Nosworthy, called to offer him a professional playing contract. "That still amazes me," he says, "I hadn't even played a senior club game or anything. But I'd been tossing up which sport to follow and that kind of made my decision for me, I jumped at it." It wasn't until later that he found out the coach had already discussed the offer with his parents. At just over 16, it made Anderson the country's youngest professional cricketer in 59 years and Canterbury's youngest in 129 years, achievements that were always going to attract media attention.

JANUARY 11, 2014

Would you pick Haddin over Gilchrist for an Ashes Test?

Kartikeya Date: Haddin's record against England is better than his illustrious predecessor's, and he played for a far weaker team

JANUARY 08, 2014

Stokes is the future, the rest is dark

Jon Hotten: There has been no shortage of punditry and vitriol directed at Andy Flower and Co in the wake of the Ashes loss. They have their work cut out for them

JANUARY 02, 2014

Can Kallis really be called an allrounder?

Kartikeya Date: Jacques Kallis was among the greatest of batsmen who could bowl, but he doesn't belong to the pantheon of legendary allrounders like Sobers, Imran and Botham

NOVEMBER 09, 2013

Could Tendulkar have turned into a great allrounder?

V Ramnarayan: One can only wonder what might have been had he persisted with his bowling throughout his career

OCTOBER 25, 2013

Shane Watson and the art of self-analysis

Russell Jackson: The insularity of his approach might not necessarily mark him out as the most likeable cricketer but it makes him an endlessly interesting one

OCTOBER 02, 2013

The amazing Sobers' amazing series

Stuart Wark: In England in 1966, he glowed with the bat and toiled with the ball in a comprehensive win, but were his efforts better than Imran's against India in 1982-83?

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

When Imran walked on water

Stuart Wark: Botham's 1981 Ashes has been enshrined in legend, but was it the greatest all-round performance in a single series?

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Mitch? Dunno

Matt Cleary: Miserable or magnificent - who knows which Mitchell Johnson will turn up on any given day?

SEPTEMBER 05, 2013

The unsung micro-Botham

Andy Zaltzman: In this Ashes series, Tim Bresnan was statistically unspectacular but impactful

JULY 17, 2013

Pakistan cricket

The Mercurial Mr Afridi

Shahid Afridi marked his return to one-day cricket with the second-best bowling figures in history, to go along with a typically swashbuckling half-century that powered his side to a 126-run victory over West Indies at Providence. Aditya Iyer of the Indian Express, explores the Pakistan allrounder's previous comebacks, most of which had begun with a spectacular performance and nothing of note thereafter.

Again, you were the Man of the Match. Of course you were. In a career where you have been dropped five times, each of the returns have been marked with you being the standout player of the match. You were one of stalwarts from the 2003 World Cup squad to be axed after the loss to India. But when India visited your land in 2004, you were picked for the Rawalpindi ODI. You opened and scored a 58-ball 80 to give Pakistan a 12-run win. But you wouldn't score a total of 80 runs over your next eight innings. And that has been the true story of your comebacks.