Who is the best Test all-rounder right now?
Judging all-rounders has always been a contentious issue in cricket. You can compare batsmen and bowlers using simple averages, but what about players who do both?
The easy answer is that you have to find a way to combine both batting and bowling averages. And a common stat used in this regard is the average differential (batting average - bowling average).
However, this metric heavily favors batsmen who can bowl a bit. For example, Kane Williamson has an average differential of 11.2, while Ben Stokes has a differential of 3.7.
In that context, I have come up with a formula that I believe can quantify the all-round Test record of a player with reasonable accuracy, by assigning them an All-Round Rating (AR). To get this value, each player must first be assigned a bowling rating (BowlRat) and a batting rating (BatRat).
It should be noted that this metric will not give a definitive answer on who the best Test all-rounder is. It does not measure opposition quality, the difficulty of the pitch, and other intangible factors.
The batting rating is determined by two variables - batting average and Runs Per Innings (RPI). Although RPI is strongly correlated with batting average, I have used it here to account for bowlers who can bat a bit. These players often have decent averages, but score very few runs per innings and thus provide little value with the bat for the team.
The formula for the batting rating is just the geometric mean (square root) of the batting average and RPI.
BatRat= √ (Batting Average* RPI)
The bowling rating is determined by the bowling average and the Wickets Per Innings (WPI). Similar to RPI, WPI shows the actual contribution the player is making to the team with the ball.
The formula for BowlRat is the square root of the WPI divided by the bowling average.
BowlRat=√(WPI/Bowling Average)
The All-Round Rating is just the square root of the BatRat times the BowlRat. But I have put in an additional requirement: each player must have a batting average above 25 and a bowling average below 35 to be considered an all-rounder.
AR=√BatRat*BowlRat
Test all-rounders ranked, based on overall record
Using the formulae given above, I have arrived at a list of all-rounders arranged in descending order of their AR.
Note: I have considered only those players that have at least 100 wickets and 1000 runs. Also, I have only included players who currently play Test cricket.
Needless to say, this is a great era for all-rounders. There are at least five world-class all-rounders on this list.
Among these players, Shakib Al Hasan has the highest batting rating, while Ravichandran Ashwin is the best bowler. Despite the tight competition, Shakib comes out on top.
That is not surprising when you look at the left-hander's record. Shakib averages nearly 40 with the bat and a little over 30 with the ball.
Ravindra Jadeja was a close contender as well, but his low RPI hindered him. Ashwin, on his part, is ranked above Ben Stokes, mainly because he is a better bowler than Stokes is as a batsman.
Ranking based on record away from home
This time, I'm only looking at records away from home.
Minimum Qualification: 500 runs, 30 wickets
Shakib, yet again, comes out on top. He has the highest batting and bowling rating on this list.
However, Stokes is ranked higher than Ashwin and Jadeja here. Taking into account his away record, it’s clear that Stokes is a better all-rounder than Ashwin and is on par with Jadeja.
Jason Holder and Chris Woakes are not even considered all-rounders away from home, based on my criteria. However, I’ve still assigned them a ranking for comparison.
Holder and Woakes are clearly a cut below the rest if we take into account their away averages. They are both incredible at home and subpar away from home.
Ranking based on performances in the last 3 years
Minimum qualifications: 400 runs, 30 wickets
Note: Shakib doesn’t meet the minimum qualifications for this list, having only played four games. Ashwin and Woakes also do not meet the minimum requirements for batting average, but I've included them anyway for comparison.
Over the last three years, Ben Stokes has been the best Test all-rounder. He is, surprisingly, followed by Mitchell Starc.
Before taking this ranking at face value, we should understand the context of Starc’s record, especially his batting. He has only played one game away from home in this period, and has performed well primarily against England.
I tried to avoid circumstances such as these by adding the RPI metric. Unfortunately, however, issues like these are common when dealing with relatively small sample sizes.
Jadeja has been very good with the bat of late, but his bowling has also declined a bit. That said, if we take into account the away record, it is clear that Jadeja should be ahead of Starc and arguably Stokes too. He averages 35 with the bat and 29 with the ball, while Stokes averages 32 and 34 with bat and ball, respectively.
While Holder's overall record is excellent, his away record in the last few years is still poor; he has an average of 21 with the bat and 48 with the ball. Ashwin and Woakes also do not qualify as all-rounders, given their low batting averages.
While Ashwin is by far the best bowler on this list, his batting has dipped considerably over the last few years. I will not be looking at away records during this period, since most players’ sample size is too small.
Kyle Jamieson, Kyle Mayers, Faheem Ashraf and Cam Green have also been very good, but they did not meet the minimum criteria for runs and wickets.
Conclusion
The last decade or so has seen Test all-rounders come into their own, with quality players like Stokes, Shakib, Jadeja, Ashwin, Holder and Woakes all flourishing. Based on my analysis, Shakib Al Hasan is the best current Test all-rounder. He is followed closely by Ravindra Jadeja and Ben Stokes.
While Jason Holder and Chris Woakes have excellent records at home, they have struggled overseas.
Over the last three years, Stokes has been the best Test all-rounder. And while my analysis shows that Mitchell Starc has been the second-best all-rounder over the last three years, this shouldn't be taken at face value.
Although Jadeja has had a renaissance with the bat, his bowling has dipped a bit recently. Ashwin and Woakes, on the other hand, have suffered from batting declines. Holder has excellent numbers, but he continues to struggle away from home.