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Who is currently the best all-rounder in Test cricket?

Who is currently the best all-rounder in Test cricket?


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Abdullah719

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A few contenders for this, with Jadeja just recently climbing to the #1 spot in the ICC rankings for all-rounders. He has been virtually unplayable at times in Asia and makes handy contributions down the order.

Shakib is the current #2 has previously also been the #1 for an extended period of time and has been pretty consistent in terms of his performances with bat and ball over the course of his career.

At #3 is Ashwin who has done superbly in Asia with the ball recently and also generally bats at #6 for India and has made some crucial runs for India.

Moeen Ali is currently ranked at #4 after an excellent series against South Africa where he became the first ever cricketer to aggregate 250+ runs with 25+ wickets in a four-match Test series. He was, of course, the Man of the Series.

Rounding out the top five is Ben Stokes who has received a lot of praise and is undoubtedly the best pace-bowling all-rounder at the moment. He has played some crucial knocks with the bat, including a fantastic hundred in the recent series against South Africa while he also bowls important spells. The main thing lacking in his game is consistency at the moment.

Who is the best of the five?

There is only one right answer. :moali
 
Ashwin and Shakib are miles ahead of everyone else.
 
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Shakib has 2 double hundreds and 15 5-fers. It's not even a contest.
 
1) Moeen Ali
2) Shakib al Hassan
3) Ben Stokes
4) Ravi Ashwin
5) Ravindra Jadeja

Moeen is #1 because he's a true all-rounder in the sense that he'll get into his team (and a few others) on either of his skill-sets. He's the best spinner in England and has won them matches with the ball and he's one of the best batsmen in England and has won them matches with the bat. Also because he's in excellent form and just took down the #2 ranked team in the world.

Shakib is similar to Moeen in that he's one of the best in Bangladesh in batting and bowling. Playing for a minnow team has hurt him otherwise he'd be #1 given that he's done it longer than Moeen and would get more chances to show his ability against better teams.

Stokes, unlike the other two, can also field pretty well granting him another arrow to his bow. However, he has yet to win England a match with the ball and will he make the team on his bowling ability alone? I doubt it.

Ashwin and Jadeja are bowlers who bat a bit. The latter more than the former. Probably the best bowlers out of this group but also the poorest batsmen. Wouldn't make their team on their batting alone and have yet to make some truly substantial scores with the bat.
 
I think the key word in this is CURRENTLY. Comparing Moeen and Stokes is easy, and Moeen is the better player (mostly due to he is England's only spin option and threat), and will steady the ship most often than not. So in that regard, seeing he did exactly this vs SA, he's better than Stokes.

Shakib hasn't played many tests and recently I can't recall much. Mooen would again be ahead of him due to the fact that he plays more tests, and despite Shakib getting 15 fifers etc, that is not current. Right now I'd take Moeen.

Ashwin is a decent bat, along with Jadeja, but aren't as good as Moeen. Moeen you can say has as much as impact as these two with the ball, so it's again an easy choice.

Moeen win hands down.
 
I think the key word in this is CURRENTLY. Comparing Moeen and Stokes is easy, and Moeen is the better player (mostly due to he is England's only spin option and threat), and will steady the ship most often than not. So in that regard, seeing he did exactly this vs SA, he's better than Stokes.

Shakib hasn't played many tests and recently I can't recall much. Mooen would again be ahead of him due to the fact that he plays more tests, and despite Shakib getting 15 fifers etc, that is not current. Right now I'd take Moeen.

Ashwin is a decent bat, along with Jadeja, but aren't as good as Moeen. Moeen you can say has as much as impact as these two with the ball, so it's again an easy choice.

Moeen win hands down.

Moeen has as much impact with the ball as Ashwin and Jadeja?

Moeen hasn't done anything away from home. He is not even close to the best.
 
I think the key word in this is CURRENTLY. Comparing Moeen and Stokes is easy, and Moeen is the better player (mostly due to he is England's only spin option and threat), and will steady the ship most often than not. So in that regard, seeing he did exactly this vs SA, he's better than Stokes.

Shakib hasn't played many tests and recently I can't recall much. Mooen would again be ahead of him due to the fact that he plays more tests, and despite Shakib getting 15 fifers etc, that is not current. Right now I'd take Moeen.

Ashwin is a decent bat, along with Jadeja, but aren't as good as Moeen. Moeen you can say has as much as impact as these two with the ball, so it's again an easy choice.

Moeen win hands down.

Ali's best ever rank is 18th with 625 peak rating.

Ashwin/Jadeja have been ranked 1 with peak rating of around 900.

I see a huge difference between Ashwin/Jadeja and Ali when it comes to bowling impact.
 
Right now, it has to be Moeen - 250+ runs @ 40 & 25 wickets against SAF means, he can get into almost any team either as bowler or batsman. While, Jadeja is officially ranked 1, hence he deserves to be considered as the best.

Overall, I tend to pick Shakib & Ashwin.
 
Moeen has as much impact with the ball as Ashwin and Jadeja?

Moeen hasn't done anything away from home. He is not even close to the best.

Yep, evidence was vs SA. I didn't say he was the best, I just said he has the same impact. That also doesn't mean he's better than them.
 
Ali's best ever rank is 18th with 625 peak rating.

Ashwin/Jadeja have been ranked 1 with peak rating of around 900.

I see a huge difference between Ashwin/Jadeja and Ali when it comes to bowling impact.

The impact of a game is how they shift it towards their side. Moeen has done that, and is a vital cog to England. Like I said I never said he was better than these two but I said he's made the same impact in terms of breakthroughs and keeping pressure.

He's the best AR due to the impact with both bat and ball.
 
The impact of a game is how they shift it towards their side. Moeen has done that, and is a vital cog to England. Like I said I never said he was better than these two but I said he's made the same impact in terms of breakthroughs and keeping pressure.

He's the best AR due to the impact with both bat and ball.


Breakthroughs and keeping pressure is one thing, but being main bowler to win games after games is another. I agree with all rounder comment. I was just commenting about impact as a bowler. That is not comparable.
 
Why is there no option for Shadab Khan ?? OP please add Shadab Khan as he's the best Test Alrounder at the moment.
 
Why is there no option for Shadab Khan ?? OP please add Shadab Khan as he's the best Test Alrounder at the moment.

Shadab Khan has played one test match and performed very mediocre in that match
 
Shadab Khan has played one test match and performed very mediocre in that match

Given his potential I believe he should be included in the list, he is as gifted as they come (even more so than Amir) and I firmly believe that on potential alone he is far ahead in comparison with any of the names mentioned in the OP.

Just see how's the lad performing in CPL atm. It's just a matter of time.
 
Philander is worth mentioning and a case can be made of him being one of the best all rounder in tests currently.
 
Its still Ashwin IMO. Much better than any one of them with the bowl and not much worse than Stokes or Moen with the bat.He will come good overseas with the bat this time around.

Jadeja's batting in tests is overrated.
 
Right now stokes and Moien have done really well.

Overall I would say Shakib has been the undisputed number one allrounder in ODIs and tests. Average 41 with the bat 32.5 with the ball.

A double hundred too. Has twice scored a century and taken a Fifer in the same match. Ashwin would come second. Jadeja isn't bad but his batting is nothing special. Shakib's problem is he doesnt play enough tests.
 
Can someone provide stats on the recent performance(since the world cup say) of allrounders and in terms of difference between batting and bowling average.
 
Given his potential I believe he should be included in the list, he is as gifted as they come (even more so than Amir) and I firmly believe that on potential alone he is far ahead in comparison with any of the names mentioned in the OP.

Just see how's the lad performing in CPL atm. It's just a matter of time.

Cannot consider someone based on potential. Has to be based on performance. He needs at least 20 tests under his belt before he can go on this list.
 
Can someone provide stats on the recent performance(since the world cup say) of allrounders and in terms of difference between batting and bowling average.

Starting from 2015,

Jadeja bat avg 36 & Bowling avg 20 ( diff +16 )

Shakib bat avg 50 & bowling avg 39( diff +11 )

Ashwin bat avg 29 & bowling avg 22( diff 7 )

Stokes bat avg 36 & bowling avg 35( diff +1 )

Ali bat avg 35 & bowling avg 38( diff - 3 )

Jadeja looks standout here with bowling avg of 20 and batting avg of 35. When bowling average is near 40( in case of Ali and Shakib) then I don't see it as a good all round performance. This is simply based on how their numbers look in this period.

Jadeja is rightly ranked as number 1 all rounder in the test format at this moment.
 
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Breakthroughs and keeping pressure is one thing, but being main bowler to win games after games is another. I agree with all rounder comment. I was just commenting about impact as a bowler. That is not comparable.

Yep and thats the difference. Ashwin and Jadeja are natural bowlers who you'd expect to win you matches, whereas Moeen is someone who you expect to make an impact. If you're comparing Moeen the bowler vs Ashwin/Jadeja the bowler - it's no contest the latter two win.

Just wanted to make my point about how I view Moeen being impactful rather than your front line spinner. However in time he could be a main bowler, but you can't say that after a few successful games vs SA. Needs a bigger sample.
 
Starting from 2015,

Jadeja bat avg 36 & Bowling avg 20 ( diff +16 )

Shakib bat avg 50 & bowling avg 39( diff +11 )

Ashwin bat avg 29 & bowling avg 22( diff 7 )

Stokes bat avg 36 & bowling avg 35( diff +1 )

Ali bat avg 35 & bowling avg 38( diff - 3 )

Jadeja looks standout here with bowling avg of 20 and batting avg of 35. When bowling average is near 40( in case of Ali and Shakib) then I don't see it as a good all round performance. This is simply based on how their numbers look in this period.

Jadeja is rightly ranked as number 1 all rounder in the test format at this moment.

sir ravi jay wiping the floor with other so called all rounders ...
 
Given his potential I believe he should be included in the list, he is as gifted as they come (even more so than Amir) and I firmly believe that on potential alone he is far ahead in comparison with any of the names mentioned in the OP.

Just see how's the lad performing in CPL atm. It's just a matter of time.

Question is 'currently' which is why I only included realistic contenders...

I'll add an 'other' option in the poll for anyone who might disagree with the given options though.
 
I voted Ashwin because I always see him bagging 5 wicket hauls for fun and being comfortable with the bat; always seems to score a 50 and has centuries to his name. But now when I think about it honestly I think Moeen would win because he can make it into the team with bat or ball alone. Stokes is an excellent player who's batting is the most impactful in the England squad but I don't think he can make it into the team alone with the ball. Jadeja on the other hand has not impressed with the bat at all in his entire career from what I can remember, he's an impactful player with the ball though with match winning bowling performances. Shakib is also an excellent allrounder I like to watch but England is the only top team he's bowled well against whereas most of his wickets have come from weaker teams especially likes of Zimbabwe, swelling his wicket tally. Batting wise he's bullied the weaker Tests teams but has overachieved by playing brilliantly against Pakistan who are difficult to bat against on spinning tracks. Moeen wins this debate for me with Ashwin not far behind.
 
Al-Hassan of Bangladesh. The best all rounder after Jacque Kallis. Underrated guy unlucky to be playing in a weak team. Guy is a proper batsman at 5 and bowls the maximum overs for his country. Proper all rounder.
 
But if you've watched them play, it is obvious that Jadeja is the worst batsman out of all of them.

Jadeja is certainly the least accomplished batsman here in this list, but we have to always see it in context. Jadeja batting is not up there, but he is pretty much up there as a bowler. He will keep it tight even in non-spinner friendly conditions and if there is help then he will run through sides.

Jajeja is a bowling all rounder vs some one like Ali who is a batting all rounder.
 
But if you've watched them play, it is obvious that Jadeja is the worst batsman out of all of them.
Hardly, if you've watched him play, especially the Oz series you'll know he's the best player of spin among the ones mentioned in the OP, though he struggles against quality pacers like most lower order bats. As compared to Moen who just failed badly (in India) at the start of his innings vs spin, or indeed pace, in friendlier batting conditions. Shakib is undoubtedly the best with his batting ability but throws it away far too often, doesn't seem to have a test match temperament for two innings, Stokes is the best vs pace.
 
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Ashwin and Jadeja are bowlers who bat a bit. The latter more than the former. Probably the best bowlers out of this group but also the poorest batsmen. Wouldn't make their team on their batting alone and have yet to make some truly substantial scores with the bat.

Ravindra Jadeja has three triple centuries in first class cricket, the highest number of triple centuries in first class cricket by any Indian. So he is not necessarily a bowler. It is just that his batting is not needed all that much in International matches and so he regards himself as a lower order batsman in his national team. Had he been a Bangladeshi player, he would have batted higher up (in number 5 or 6) and not at number 9 and accordingly his batting record would have been better.
 
Ravindra Jadeja has three triple centuries in first class cricket, the highest number of triple centuries in first class cricket by any Indian. So he is not necessarily a bowler. It is just that his batting is not needed all that much in International matches and so he regards himself as a lower order batsman in his national team. Had he been a Bangladeshi player, he would have batted higher up (in number 5 or 6) and not at number 9 and accordingly his batting record would have been better.

Perhaps. However, we won't know for sure so the undisputed best all-rounder in the world is Moeen Ali.
 
Perhaps. However, we won't know for sure so the undisputed best all-rounder in the world is Moeen Ali.

Moeen is doing excellent job for his team with both bat and ball. However, his performance in asia is mediocre at best specially with ball. He is more of a batsman who can bowl as a part timer. In India he wasn't even leading spinner for his team. Id say he is prolly top 3 all rounder atm. Undisputed best? probably not

In my view
1. Stokes
2. Ashwin
3. Moeen/Jadeja
4. Sakib.

Hardik Pandya may join the rank if he can deliver for India on overseas series
 
I think the key word in this is CURRENTLY. Comparing Moeen and Stokes is easy, and Moeen is the better player (mostly due to he is England's only spin option and threat), and will steady the ship most often than not. So in that regard, seeing he did exactly this vs SA, he's better than Stokes.

Shakib hasn't played many tests and recently I can't recall much. Mooen would again be ahead of him due to the fact that he plays more tests, and despite Shakib getting 15 fifers etc, that is not current. Right now I'd take Moeen.

Ashwin is a decent bat, along with Jadeja, but aren't as good as Moeen. Moeen you can say has as much as impact as these two with the ball, so it's again an easy choice.

Moeen win hands down.

Agree with this, also Mo has the 2nd highest MOM awards in the same period with 5 while Smith has 6. Rieterates the impact quality, just needs to build on this and become bit more consistent. Folk also forget how Mo has never had a defined role in he team, his stats don't do him justice but England highly value him which is what matters most despite what others say.
 
Ravindra Jadeja has three triple centuries in first class cricket, the highest number of triple centuries in first class cricket by any Indian. So he is not necessarily a bowler. It is just that his batting is not needed all that much in International matches and so he regards himself as a lower order batsman in his national team. Had he been a Bangladeshi player, he would have batted higher up (in number 5 or 6) and not at number 9 and accordingly his batting record would have been better.

Fantastic point! This is how players like Shakib shine (Its all the matter of getting chance in the team combination and how the confidence flows with the responsibility) Further we can go on to say that if Jadeja played in team like South Africa or Australia, he would have been the lone spinner in the team in their home matches and probably batted at No.11
 
Moeen is doing excellent job for his team with both bat and ball. However, his performance in asia is mediocre at best specially with ball. He is more of a batsman who can bowl as a part timer. In India he wasn't even leading spinner for his team. Id say he is prolly top 3 all rounder atm. Undisputed best? probably not

In my view
1. Stokes
2. Ashwin
3. Moeen/Jadeja
4. Sakib.

Hardik Pandya may join the rank if he can deliver for India on overseas series

Ashwin has contributed nothing outside Asia with bat or ball. Moeen Ali, despite struggling with the ball, did score two centuries in India recently.
 
Since 2016

Code:
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Ct	St	Ave Diff
RA Jadeja (INDIA)	2016-2017	16	663	90	41.43	0	87	7/48	23.47	5	11	0	17.96
Shakib Al Hasan (BDESH)	2016-2017	7	656	217	46.85	2	29	5/85	31.68	1	0	0	15.16
BA Stokes (ENG)	2016-2017	16	1203	258	42.96	3	40	5/73	28.82	1	20	0	14.13
R Ashwin (INDIA)	2016-2017	20	831	118	34.62	2	110	7/59	25.67	10	7	0	8.95
MM Ali (ENG)	2016-2017	21	1330	155*	44.33	4	62	6/53	37.95	3	10	0	6.38
MDK Perera (SL)	2016-2017	11	523	92*	32.68	0	37	6/70	37.94	1	6	0	-5.25
 
Since 2014 , Shakib has best record but his form off late has dipped quite a lot.
AR-list.jpg
 
His batting form has soared but bowling has been ordinary I will agree.
On potential I'd say Shakib & Stokes are the best, pure numbers - Jadeja, in the last 3 years.
 
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Jadeja has the numbers to be ranked #1 atm but in any given day it's still a contest between Shakib and Stokes. Both of them are more of an IMPACT player than Jadeja. In a couple of years, Panday will join the club for sure if he continues playing like he is atm.
 
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Chris Woakes. He is a very underrated all-rounder. He is definitely one of the best (seam) bowling all-rounder in tests at the moment (with the possible exception of big Vern).
 
Ashwin has contributed nothing outside Asia with bat or ball. Moeen Ali, despite struggling with the ball, did score two centuries in India recently.

All countries outside Asia are not the same.

Ali has mostly been a part timer at best in spin friendly conditions. Bowling avg of 52 in Ind, UAE and WI.

He averages 29 with bat in those countries.
 
Ali has mostly been a part timer at best in spin friendly conditions. Bowling avg of 52 in Ind, UAE and WI.

He averages 29 with bat in those countries.

He was playing as an opener in the UAE. Come back to me when Ashwin ever opens for his national team. He scored two centuries in India and West Indies doesn't really matter.

Ashwin has failed with bat and ball in three of the most high-profile test-playing countries and has never played against Pakistan. Him and Jadeja have inflated stats due to tailor-made home pitches and bullying weak teams away.
 
He was playing as an opener in the UAE. Come back to me when Ashwin ever opens for his national team. He scored two centuries in India and West Indies doesn't really matter.

Ashwin has failed with bat and ball in three of the most high-profile test-playing countries and has never played against Pakistan. Him and Jadeja have inflated stats due to tailor-made home pitches and bullying weak teams away.

None of this makes Ali better than him.
 
Right now, it has to be Moeen - 250+ runs @ 40 & 25 wickets against SAF means, he can get into almost any team either as bowler or batsman. While, Jadeja is officially ranked 1, hence he deserves to be considered as the best.

Overall, I tend to pick Shakib & Ashwin.

its easily shakib then ashwin...a gun bowler but again he doesnt have that much n batting...shakib as an allrounder can make his way into any team either as a pure batsaman or a bowler,although as a spin option he cant make it to asian teams...
 
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His batting form has soared but bowling has been ordinary I will agree.

it is shakib.but again it depends on conditions,in asia shakib in eng,aus and SA stokes,,,but team composition is another thing to be considered,,,i will go with stokes in non asian conditions...
 
Ashwin has contributed nothing outside Asia with bat or ball. Moeen Ali, despite struggling with the ball, did score two centuries in India recently.

England players have notoriously struggled with batting in India, those 2 hundreds are not to be taken for granted; Moeen has more hundreds then Joe Root in India, those centuries were monumental milestones.
 
England players have notoriously struggled with batting in India, those 2 hundreds are not to be taken for granted; Moeen has more hundreds then Joe Root in India, those centuries were monumental milestones.

He averages 35 with bat, Ashwin averages 33. He is marginally better batsman than Ashwin atm.
 
England players have notoriously struggled with batting in India, those 2 hundreds are not to be taken for granted; Moeen has more hundreds then Joe Root in India, those centuries were monumental milestones.
They don't & you;re talking about Aus. Before the last series England lost the least number of tests in India in the last two decades, between them & Oz/SA/NZ.

On the flattest surfaces we played on in the last 5 years, not to mention he failed almost every time we responded in second innings of the game with a massive lead, his first hundred was also very dodgy with Pujara dropping him on nought.
 
Away stats gives interesting twist to stats. Only 2 players have higher batting average than bowling avg.
AR away.jpg
 
Away stats gives interesting twist to stats. Only 2 players have higher batting average than bowling avg.
View attachment 75834

UAE matches are like away matches for many non-Asian teams

iyon81.png
 
From 2016

Code:
Player	Span	Mat	Runs	HS	Bat Av	100	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av	5	Ct	St	Ave Diff
R Ashwin (INDIA)	2016-2017	7	367	118	52.42	2	34	7/83	24.52	3	0	0	27.89
BA Stokes (ENG)	2016-2016	10	858	258	47.66	2	30	5/73	25.56	1	8	0	22.10
Shakib Al Hasan (BDESH)	2017-2017	5	550	217	55.00	2	17	4/50	41.05	0	0	0	13.94
VD Philander (SA)	2016-2017	9	383	73	34.81	0	24	5/21	30.00	1	4	0	4.81
MM Ali (ENG)	2016-2016	10	573	146	38.20	2	24	5/57	52.91	1	4	0	-14.71

Ashwin averages 50 with bat and 24 with ball. Moeen Ali has improved his batting and averages 38 with bat while averaging 53 with ball.
 
They don't & you;re talking about Aus. Before the last series England lost the least number of tests in India in the last two decades, between them & Oz/SA/NZ.

On the flattest surfaces we played on in the last 5 years, not to mention he failed almost every time we responded in second innings of the game with a massive lead, his first hundred was also very dodgy with Pujara dropping him on nought.

The fact is, Ali has more hundreds in India then Joe Root. Hundreds in India for an Englishman are golden
 
He averages 35 with bat, Ashwin averages 33. He is marginally better batsman than Ashwin atm.

Ashwin is not getting into any team on his batting alone. Moeen will get into most teams on his batting and bowling.
 
Ashwin is not getting into any team on his batting alone. Moeen will get into most teams on his batting and bowling.

Moeen would not get into a single team except England on his batting or bowling alone. He wouldn't get into India's team even as an all-rounder.
 
The fact is, Ali has more hundreds in India then Joe Root. Hundreds in India for an Englishman are golden
That;s your opinion, the fact is he didn;t follow up his hundreds with good second innings runs, in any of the tests he had a second gig in.
 
That;s your opinion, the fact is he didn;t follow up his hundreds with good second innings runs, in any of the tests he had a second gig in.

He's an A/R who's an impact individual and admittedly he's not going to come to the party every time but he always pays England back in double, easily their most valuable talent at the moment
 
Ashwin is not getting into any team on his batting alone. Moeen will get into most teams on his batting and bowling.

A batsman averaging 35 can get into any team on batting alone? Which batsman can he replace in Pakistan, Aus, Ind, NZ and SA teams?
 
Is there any doubt? :)

ONLY player in test history, (how can I say this, from the beginning of time) :)

80+ aggregated runs, plus 10 wickets, (this is the kicker) in TWO test matches.

Did I say no player before him did it? Yup, it includes Sobers, Imran, Hadlee, Kapil, and the current lot as well.

Stay in denial. He is not done writing test history yet. :)
 
Jaddu's ride to no 1 will be temporary.Shakib is going to conquer his favorite spot,which he has hold for most of the time in last few years.He is not only a no 1 all rounder,but he is a great of the game
 
Jaddu's ride to no 1 will be temporary.Shakib is going to conquer his favorite spot,which he has hold for most of the time in last few years.He is not only a no 1 all rounder,but he is a great of the game

Jadeja already displaced a few weeks ago
 
He hasn't taken more than 25 wickets abroad in the last few years. Tbh didn't play much abroad either
Now i get it. It's a pity that Bangladesh don't get invited by foreign boards.I hope it changes this time as Bangladesh is a strong force at home like other top teams.
 
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