Akhila Ranganna**:** A question from Hasan Saed from Japan and he says that the last years of your Test career coincided with the peak of four great allrounders: Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee. He says that you must have seen a lot of them on the county circuit as well. How would you rate them as allrounders from one to four?
Geoffrey Boycott: Does he want me to make enemies with the ones I’ll put on No. 2, 3 and 4? (laughs) All of them want to be No. 1, and that is part of what makes them great. I would say Imran’s record as a fast bowler and as a batsman is good, but he has the edge with leadership. He is far and away the best, there is no doubt about that. He has a strong will, a good cricket mind, and a good cricket brain.
I would put Botham next because not only did he get a lot of wickets, he could also bat very well, like Imran. I think they rank really close together.
Between Dev and Hadlee, I think Hadlee was a slightly more destructive bowler. He is the best line-and-length bowler I have ever faced at pace - not just medium pace, but genuine pace. You would be lucky if you got one ball to hit for a four in eight overs. He carried the New Zealand attack just like Kapil carried India. India haven’t had a great seam bowler after him. They have had one or two good bowlers, but he was a great bowler. He could swing it on flat pitches, and he was a destructive batsman at times.
So I would probably rate them as Imran, Botham, Hadlee and Dev. I mean there is very little to choose between them, but if I had to make a judgment that is what I would do.
Source: Cricinfo - ‘Imran’s leadership set him apart’ - Transcript
Imran Khan what Geoffry Bycott thinks!!
‘Imran’s leadership set him apart’
August 21, 2008
Geoffrey Boycott answers readers’ queries on whether England are on the right track with Kevin Pietersen; why he rates Imran Khan over the other great allrounders; what makes him a fan of VVS Laxman; who he rates as the best all-round close-in fielder; and why videos hold the key to playing Ajantha Mendis …
Question was asked who he thinks was the best All rounder in his time out of Imran, Botham, Richard Hedley and Kapil Dev from 1 to 4. He answered.
- Imran
- Botham
- Hedley
- Kapil
Cricinfo - ‘Imran’s leadership set him apart’
Re: Geoffrey Boycott rates Imran Khan the BEST
I think Imran Khan has the edge because he was a great leader. Regarding just allrounder abilities go, its very close.
Kapil was a great bowler and a very good batsman.
Hadlee was a great bowler and a decent batsman
Ian Botham was a good bowler and a very good batsman
Imran Khan was a great bowler and a decent batsman.
If you take just take the allrounder abilities, then Kapil may have the edge over the other 3. But Imran's intangible qualities made him the leader of the pact. But still very close. I would rank them:
1.) Imran Khan
2.) Kapil Dev
3.) Ian Botham
4.) Hadlee
Re: Geoffrey Boycott rates Imran Khan the BEST
^ I am not sure how did you rate Kapil as better batsman than Imran, and a better bowler than Ian Botham
Following are some information from Cricinfo.com
Kapil Dev
Batting Average in Tests 31.05
Batting Average in ODIs 23.79
Imran Khan
Batting Average in Tests 37.69
Batting Average in ODIs 33.41
Also, let us not forget the improvement in Imran's batting as a captain
[QUOTE]
His averages (37 with the bat, 22 with the ball) put him at the top of the quartet of allrounders (Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev being the others) who dominated Test cricket in the 1980s. And whereas Botham declined steadily, Imran just got better and better: in his last ten years of international cricket he played 51 Tests, averaging a sensational 50 with the bat and 19 with the ball. Cricinfo
[/QUOTE]
In Bowling
[QUOTE]
Kapil might not have been quite the bowling equal of Imran, Hadlee or Botham at his best, and his strike rate was less than four wickets per Test. Cricinfo
[/QUOTE]