6 all-rounders from the past who would have been a big hit in T20 cricket
Cricket has evolved over the years and so have all-rounders in the sport. The advent of T20 cricket has brought in novelty and flair to the game more than ever. With more sixes, fours and power-hitting, T20 cricket has grown into an unprecedented gradeur.
Over the years, batsmen and bowlers have changed their style of play and have upscaled it to match the fast pace of the shortest format of the game. All-rounders, a rare breed of cricketers, have done the same. They excel in both batting and bowling departments and provide stability and balance to the team.
Although cricket in the present and past are of a contrasting nature, there were a few all-rounders in the bygone era who had everything to match and excel in T20 cricket in the present times.
The list comprises of all-rounders who have little to no experience of playing T20s, but have delivered splendid performances in limited-overs cricket.
#6 Heath Streak
Heath Streak is probably the finest bowler produced by Zimbabwe. He played in the golden years of Zimbabwean cricket alongside match winners like Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower, and Grant Flower. He fortified the fragile-looking Zimbabwean bowling attack single-handedly. Streak's figures of 216 wickets in 65 Test matches and 239 wickets in 185 ODI matches are testimony to his bowling prowess.
He was quite effective with the bat too. His capability to flourish the run flow in the ultimate overs and even tonk the bowlers out of the ground provided stability in the lower-batting order. Streak amassed 2943 runs in 159 ODI innings with 48 sixes to his name.
Although he featured in a few T20 games in the initial years of this format, he never really participated in a fully-fleged competitive T20 tournament.
#5 Neil Johnson
Another bright star who showed promise of turning into a prominent all-rounder was Neil Clark Johnson from Zimbabwe. Although he retired very early in career, he shone in a bright light during his brief stint in international cricket.
He was a naturally gifted player who batted aggressively and forged the same energy in bowling. He made his Test debut against India in October 1998 in Harare and left a strong impression after dismissing Sachin Tendulkar in both innings. He couldn't contribute much with the bat though.
However, Johnson exuberated his brilliance as an all-rounder in the 1999 World Cup by becoming the leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker for Zimbabwe. He stamped his class in tough games against Australia and South africa. Johnson scored an unbeaten 132 in an unsuccessful run chase against Australia and a gritty knock of 76 runs alongside bowling figures of 3/27 to defeat South Africa.
#4 Chris Cairns
When Sir Richard Hadlee finished his illustrous career, New Zealand were in dire need of an all-rounder who could fill his shoes. That is when the dawn of Chris Cairns happened. Although the stature of Hadlee was hard to scale, Cairns obliged the role of an all-rounder quite fittingly.
He is one of the best all-rounders to grace the game. At the start of his career, Cairns was primarily a bowler who tonked the ball high and long. However, due to several back injuries, he shifted his focus to batting and reinvented his bowling to match the needs.
His peak came in the 1999-2000 season when after shining in Tests, he starred in New Zealand's title win in the 2000 ICC Knockout trophy with his all-round performance.