Ben Stokes

[Pies4shaw]

I don't think Stokes has "fanboys". There are probably just a few cricket lovers about who'd prefer that his batting output was judged against Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee or Ian Botham than against Bradman, IVAR or BradSmith.

[stui magpie]

When compared to the Allrounders he just scrapes into the top 10 on this list, which I think is pretty good.

https://cricketresolved.com/greatest-all-rounders-of-all-time-in-cricket/

I would have liked to see Keith Miller in there

Here's another one, top 25 which is probably better, has Stokes below both Keith Miller and Shane Watson.

https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/greatest-cricket-all-rounders-991716cbc15c45da

[Pies4shaw]

^ Miller was in a bit of a class of his own - he was a tearaway opening bowler (before "Lillee and Thomson", Australians spoke of "Lindwall and Miller"), as well as a punishing top-order batsman. And I doubt Stokes could have made any real fist of playing fullback for Victoria. In his first Ashes series, eg, Miller averaged nearly 80 with the bat and took 16 wickets at about 20 with the ball.

Miller tends to be be held in higher regard at home because he had a career interrupted by war and much of his greatest work was actually in the Sheffield Shield (eg, beating a NSW team that boasted Lindwall and O'Reilly at the peak of their powers). I doubt that any of the other genuine all-rounders, Sir Garfield aside, could do everything as well as Miller. Miller could open the bowling at express pace but if the wicket didn't suit pace, could tear through a Test opposition bowling off-spin (interspersed with the occasional vicious bouncer off the spin run-up) and then knock off 100 in quick time batting anywhere between 3 and 5 in the order.

He was, incidentally, also a seriously great commentator - for years, he did the special comments on the ABC TV cricket coverage and, as a young viewer, I was in awe of how astute his tactical observations were.

I'd have Stokes somewhere around Botham. Both would be behind Hadlee (who bowled better than any of the rest of them). The other one who might otherwise be in the list around about Sobers and Miller but missed out because of South Africa's status is Clive Rice. Some of his work in WSC showed him to be of similar class with both bat and ball. He won't be mentioned, though, because he didn't get to play an official international game until he was 42. Still. he did get named Wisden cricketer of the year twice for his County exploits - not too many players play until their 40s and retire with a first class batting average over 40 and bowling average around 20. That's the mark of a genuinely great all-rounder - a player who can get you out for half as many as he can make.