Steyn 150, Kallis 250

[Bumper]

Steyn just completed 150 wickets in 30 Tests. This on top of a well made 50, that put SA in command. His wickets have come at roughly 22.66 a piece. Given his age and overall fitness, this is an all time great speedster in the making. Kallis completed 250 wickets today. With almost 10K runs @ 55 and 250 wickets @ 30 a piece (which is better than Zaheer Khan's career record), Kallis makes a strong case for toppling Sobers as the greatest all rounder ever. Add another potential great Graeme Smith to the mix, SA has at least 2 potential + 1 sure shot all timer in its team. This SA team is destined for a great run in the next 2-3 years.

[Desi Cartman]

IMO Freddie and Kallis are the 2 top current all rounders. This is where Aussies missed the trick as they also have a good all rounder available in Watson but stupid Ponting picked Symo.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[Bumper]

I dont reckon Ntini or Boucher are all time greats, Boucher's keeping record not withstanding. Ntini has a lot of wickets, but these days most pacers have 350 odd wickets and SA pacers bowl mostly in juicy/bouncy home pitches. Boucher is a great keeper and a clutch batsman. Regardless of his avg, he always makes runs when his team needs it most. Both are vital parts of the team, but not all timers. I was trying to draw a parallel with the dominant Aussie team with McG, Warne, Hayden, Ponting, Gilly et al. SA certainly seem to have most of the ingredients.

[bharat297]

Kallis is definitely one of the greatest all rounders to have ever graced the game. The only thing about Kallis is whether he has it in him to match the out and out aggression that Sobers often showed. Also, Kallis hasnt had a massive landmark innings (yet) such as Sobers 254 or hasnt had a career defining spell of bowling like Hadlee's 9/52 or Imran Khan's 8/58. I rate Imran Khan as the best all rounder I have seen (mind you, I never saw Sobers play)

[chanakya]

Kallis is definitely one of the greatest all rounders to have ever graced the game. The only thing about Kallis is whether he has it in him to match the out and out aggression that Sobers often showed. Also, Kallis hasnt had a massive landmark innings (yet) such as Sobers 254 or hasnt had a career defining spell of bowling like Hadlee's 9/52 or Imran Khan's 8/58. I rate Imran Khan as the best all rounder I have seen (mind you, I never saw Sobers play)

Kallis biggest drawback is unlike the other all rounders he is a quiet accumulator. We dont see great match defining performances from him, nor do we expect. All the all rounders we speak in awe are invariably swashbuckling batsmen who could change the game around single handed in a few hours. Kallis even though has the stats to speak for him does not inspire the same

[cochise]

Kallis even though has the stats to speak for him does not inspire the same

He is not a player of the inspirational mould. However, he is a thoroughbred workhorse.

[Sachinism]

Steyn is legendary If he doesn't have any major injuries, other teams better watch out

[Lord]

i still feel steyn is not as good as his figures suggest.he has an unbelievable amount of luck.even today he got katich wen he played to a wayward one. n clarke just hit a short n wide delivery to a fielder.he only deserved wickets of symmo n hayden.rite thru his career,he mostly has picked up inferior qualty batsman or tailenders. ishant is a much better bowler IMO

[Dhondy]

I find it just laughable when people like Tony Greig or Ian Chappell write that India has a better bowling attack than SA or that the Saffie attack lacks bite. Steyn is clearly the best bowler in the world today, Morkel's figures are like Sharma, Kallis the part timer has a better average and more wickets than Zaheer, and Ntini, even in decline, has an average of around 27.

[CSK Fan]

I find it just laughable when people like Tony Greig or Ian Chappell write that India has a better bowling attack than SA or that the Saffie attack lacks bite. Steyn is clearly the best bowler in the world today, Morkel's figures are like Sharma, Kallis the part timer has a better average and more wickets than Zaheer, and Ntini, even in decline, has an average of around 27.

But they do lack a better spinner. Indian attack is a bit more rounded off for the same reason

[Mr. Wicket]

Harris has bowled better this series than Harbhajan did in Australia.

[Lord]

I find it just laughable when people like Tony Greig or Ian Chappell write that India has a better bowling attack than SA or that the Saffie attack lacks bite. Steyn is clearly the best bowler in the world today, Morkel's figures are like Sharma, Kallis the part timer has a better average and more wickets than Zaheer, and Ntini, even in decline, has an average of around 27.

u r looking at stats too much.dont forget sa pacers bowl most in sa so naturally thier figures would be gr8.indians pacers bowlon flat pancakes of india,so figurees suffer and one more thing-SA doesnt have a quality spinner.india has plenty. so india IS a much better bowling lineup

[Lord]

Harris has bowled better this series than Harbhajan did in Australia.

no i dont think so.its just that we expected lot more from bhajji that makes us think so.

[Mr. Wicket]

Harris' average so far this series is around 20 runs less than Harbhajan's average from the last tour of Australia. Bhajji took 8 wickets in 3 games, with a best match performance of 4/200. Harris has 6 in 2 games, best of 5/155.

[Lord]

Put differently' date=' Sachin's batting average is inflated because of those flat pancakes. Sachin SUX :([/quote'] sachin has made runs all over the world,dude.he almost averages the same in every country. get ur facts rite first

[Lord]

Harris' average so far this series is around 20 runs less than Harbhajan's average from the last tour of Australia. Bhajji took 8 wickets in 3 games, with a best match performance of 4/200. Harris has 6 in 2 games, best of 5/155.

stats dont tell anything.bhajji bowled a lot more overs.also he was bowling aggressively,trying to take wickets whereas harris is doing a holding job i'm not saying bhajji bowled fantastically.but he bowled better than harris

[Mr. Wicket]

Do you even watch the games, or do you just cover your eyes and make excuses when you see favourites failing? Compare the avg number of overs bowled per game between each bowler, or better yet, try watching some spells - Harbhajan in any of the tests compared to Harris in both these two games. Hint: The guy without the turban actually gave it some air and rip consistently and troubled more batsmen. Christ, the apologists on this board get blinder and blinder each day.

[Anakin]

um, facts tell me that Sachin averages less than 40 in South Africa, 40 in Pakistan and 41 in New zealand - averages the same everywhere you said? Sachin SUX so bad! :winky: But this isn't about facts - i just took your logic a step further. If Indian bowlers are suffering cuz of flat pancakes then by implication the batsmen are getting cheap runs, innit?

Look at the bowling lineup when SRT played in SAF and Pak. Stats could be so misleading without context. On the debate on hand, Harris is bowling very well and better than Bhajji did imo. But his real test will be when playing against India, OZ team is in bad shape right now, can't really compare this OZ team with the one Bhajji played against, and of course the umpiring.

[Lord]

Do you even watch the games, or do you just cover your eyes and make excuses when you see favourites failing? Compare the avg number of overs bowled per game between each bowler, or better yet, try watching some spells - Harbhajan in any of the tests compared to Harris in both these two games. Hint: The guy without the turban actually gave it some air and rip consistently and troubled more batsmen. Christ, the apologists on this board get blinder and blinder each day.

i'm not a bhajji fan.hes not my favourite. but i did watch the games,i'm not talking taking wickets or averages.i'm just talking about quality o bowling.bhajji also gave it rip particularly in sydney n troubled batsmen.but he wasnt helped by the fact that hayden n symmo,two fantastic players of spin were in awesome form.bhajji was attaked by them n he as usual went flat.thats his usual problem.as i said he wasnt gr8 on that series.in fact he was below average.but harris isnt much of a bowler either