Top 5 left-arm seam all-rounders of all time
Cricketers, who are able to chip in handy contributions with both bat and ball, often make a difference to their respective team's fortunes. While the vast majority of legendary all-rounders are usually right-handers, there have also been quite a few left-handed players capable of changing the game from multiple departments across all three formats.
Also Read: Top 5 spin bowling all-rounders of all time
In this particular segment, let us take a close look at five of the best left-arm seam bowling all-rounders in the history of the game. In order to encircle the focus on just southpaws, only those exalted players who bat left-handed and bowl left-arm seam-up are taken into consideration. Greater priority has been placed on Test cricket and performances against the best teams of the various eras.
#5 Chaminda Vaas
Unlike most long-serving fast bowlers of other teams, Chaminda Vaas operated with negligible seam support from the other end. While the presence of the iconic Muttiah Muralitharan bolstered the bowling attack significantly, the left-arm seamer often found himself having to shoulder Sri Lanka's pace unit. Despite operating on low-bounce flat tracks at home, he turned himself into a workhorse and delivered numerous probing spells.
In a career spanning from 1994 to 2009, Vaas played 111 Tests and picked 355 wickets at an average of 29.58 and strike-rate of 66 with 12 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket match hauls. As evidenced by an impressive collection of 3089 runs at an average of 24.32 with one century and 13 fifties, he also possessed the ability to contribute steadfastly in the batting department too.
From 322 ODIs, Vaas garnered exactly 400 scalps at an average of 27.53 and economy-rate of 4.18 with 4 five-wicket hauls. He also scored 2025 runs at a strike-rate of 72.42. Aside from having the wherewithal to lend substantial support to the top-order specialists, the left-hander could also time the ball exquisitely.