5 cricketers who were equally comfortable bowling pace and spin

The Indian-origin Australian fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu recently made news bowling spin in an unofficial Test match against India A where he even picked four wickets. Fast bowlers resorting to bowling spin because of unhelpful fast bowling conditions has quite a few examples in cricketing history.One such example that vividly stands out in the Indian collective memory is a flustered Manoj Prabhakar bowling spin after having been hit to all parts of the ground by Sanath Jayasuriya in the 1996 World Cup.Yet there were a few cricketers for whom versatility was a natural thing and they could effortlessly make the transition from spin to seam or vice versa. Let us look at five such great cricketers who were equally comfortable bowling seam and spin.

#5 Sohail Tanvir

Sohail Tanvir resorting to spin bowling took the cricketing world by surprise

One of the finest fast bowlers who swung the ball, Sohail Tanvir was also difficult to play because of his unorthodox, wrong-footed bowling action. Also a hard-hitting batsman who came in lower down the order, it was sad to see Tanvir's career cut short due to a plethora of injuries.

A promising new ball bowler, the entire cricketing world was surprised to see Tanvir resort to bowling spin against India at a Test match in the Eden Gardens in 2007.

It is actually a little known fact that Tanvir was immensely comfortable bowling left-arm orthodox spin as was evident in the few overs he bowled in that match. Seeing that conditions did not favour the faster bowlers in that match, Tanvir had no reluctance to bowl spin and try something new.

#4 Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh was a fast bowler in the early part of his career

Everyone remembers the prolific 1996 World Cup that Mark Waugh had where he hit three centuries making him the only batsman at that time to achieve that feat. He was widely considered to be the more talented of the Waugh brothers and one of the best Australian batsmen during this time.

Mark Waugh is also famously remembered as a more than useful off-break bowler and a brilliant slip fielder.

But what seems to have quietly passed into oblivion was that he was an impressive fast medium bowler in the early phase of his career who later switched to bowling spin only because of his injuries. As a matter of fact, Mark Waugh was first selected as a fast bowling all-rounder who went on to pick many crucial wickets in Test matches with his fast bouncers.

#3 Andrew Symonds

Andrew Symonds could make a seamless transition between seam bowling and spin bowling

Known for his explosive batting down the order and his maverick personality, Andrew Symonds for a few years epitomized the Aussie brand of aggressive cricket. His destructive batting is of course well known but he was also a more than useful all-rounder.

With his slow off-break bowling with a disciplined line and length, Symonds helped build the pressure on the opposition and bagged many-a prized scalp at crucial junctures. He also looked immensely confident bowling seam up in helpful conditions and could perhaps make the transition from spin to seam the most naturally among all the players in the modern game.

An immensely gifted cricketer whose illustrious career was curtailed towards the end because of persistent disciplinary issues.

#2 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar started out as an aspiring pace bowler but was later more effective with his leg breaks

Everyone knows the famous story of Tendulkar having been rejected as a pace bowler by the legendary Denis Lillee in the MRF pace foundation. Even though the maestro went on to become one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era, he was more than a handful with the ball.

Tendulkar was one of the most versatile bowlers who could bowl leg-break, off break and even seam up at times. His extraordinary ball yorking out Moin Khan in the last over of the day in the Multan Test in 2004 is still indelibly etched in our memory.

He bamboozled the batsmen with his spin bowling in the 2001 Test match against Australia when he dismissed Gilchrist, Hayden and the pick of them being Warne's dismissal. As Warne trudged back, Ian Chappell commented live on air: "Well, he's the one man you'd expect to pick a wrong one."

But he was also a more than decent seam up bowler. No one has forgotten the famous last over in the 1993 Hero Cup semi-final when Tendulkar successfully defended 6 runs bowling seam up and won India the match. In the final, Tendulkar dismissed Lara for the first time with a seam up delivery turning the match on its head.

#1 Garry Sobers

Gary Sobers bowling against England, 1973

As the saying goes, if Don Bradman was the best batsman to have played Test cricket, Garry Sobers was the best all-rounder. The first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket, the legendary Bradman had called Sobers the 'five-in-one cricketer' because of his versatility with the ball -- he could bowl left-arm seam and swing, slow left-arm orthodox, and left-arm wrist spin.

Sobers found his place in the team solely as a slow left-arm bowler but he developed his batting and soon went on to open the innings for West Indies. He then went on to become a deadly fast bowler though whenever the situation demanded, he could resort to bowling disguised spin in the shape of a chinaman.

He finished with over 8000 runs and 235 wickets and was truly one of the greatest of the greats that cricket has ever witnessed.