Australia’s obsession with all-rounders since 2012

An all-rounder is a crucial part of any squad. From the likes of legendary Sir Ian Botham to the prodigy Ben Stokes, all-rounders have turned the game for their team with both bat and ball. Their contribution to the team is immense and priceless and their impact on the game is beyond measurements.

While teams like England, South Africa, West Indies, India, Sri Lanka are producing quality all-rounders in at least one format, Australia’s luck with quality all-rounders was limited to Shane Watson and to an extent, James Faulkner.

From when did Australia start becoming obsessed about all-rounders?

Since 1989, England didn’t win a single Ashes trophy for about 16 years. In 2005, we witnessed one of the best Test series ever, where England won 2-1 and lifted the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. And the immense contribution from Andrew Flintoff earned him the player of the series award (along with Shane Warne).

The impact of Flintoff in the series was so high that it reflected Australia the need to have an all-rounder, especially a seam bowling all-rounder, in the squad. Thus, they started their search for an all-rounder.

Shane Watson has performed exceptionally well for the side in the shorter formats, with both bat and ball, making him a suitable candidate as a Test all-rounder. He was called back in the Test team during the 2008 Indian tour where he was good with the ball but mediocre with the bat. However, Watson was given the long rope by the Aussies selectors and their faith paid off when he contributed largely in 2009 and 2010.

From 2012, his test form (both batting and bowling) took a huge dip. His weaknesses in foot movement were exposed, making it easy for the bowlers to trap him in front of the stump. Watson’s dip in Test form really worried the Aussies.

Since then, The Kangaroos desperately tried many all-rounders in each format of the game. They even sacrificed the position of a specialist batsman so that they could sandwich an all-rounder and quite deservingly paid the price for such tactics at crucial instances.

Here is a list, in no particular order, of 5 all-rounders tried by Australia since 2012, which reveals their clear cut obsession with all-rounders. Some of these selections turned out to be a boon, while some turned out to be disastrous.

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#5 Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh hasn’t yet turned out to be the all-rounder Australia was hoping for

Mitchell Marsh is the younger brother of the southpaw Shaun Marsh. Marsh is turning out to be a wonderful limited-overs all-rounder, contributing with both bat and ball at crucial situations. The lower middle order batsman, known for his lusty hits and ability to contain run rate during middle overs of the game with his gentle pace.

The 24-year-old made his test debut against Pakistan in their disastrous tour of UAE in 2014, scoring a gritty 87 in just his second test. Since then, it took 25 innings for the Perth all-rounder to get to the half-century mark. He has played 18 tests for Australia, scoring 600 runs in 29 innings at an average of just 24, with just two 50s to his name. The youngster has an equally unimpressive bowling stats as well, scalping just 27 wickets in 33 innings, at an average of 36.33.

Mitchell Marsh hasn’t yet turned out to be the all-rounder Australia was hoping for. At the moment, it’s time for Australia to look other options beyond Mitchell Marsh.

#4 Daniel Christian

Daniel Christian couldn’t grab the limited opportunity he got

Daniel Christian, a hard-hitting batsman and a handy seamer from New South Wales made his international debut against the West Indies in 2010 but had to wait until 2012 to be a part of the Australian ODI squad. Daniel Christian was included in Australian squad because of his reputation as a hard hitter. His domestic stats clearly indicated his intentions as a batsman, with an average of 34 at an amazing strike rate of 102 in his list-A career.

However, the 33-year old never got chances to bat in his short T20 international career and his bowling performances in the format were below par. Christian’s ODI career was a mixed one, though.

Christian had some brilliant cameos under his name in his short career and his clever bowling was appreciated all over the world. His brilliant use of slow bouncers fetched some wickets as well. However, the Aussie’s inconsistency paved his way out of the team back in 2014 and was never looked as an option again.

Christian has a T20 century under his name against Kent in the inaugural season of NatWest T20 blast, batting at number 5. The contributions he could have made to the Australian limited-overs side would have been much more, had his batting position in the national team a bit elevated.

But with the firepower possessed by the Australian limited-overs squad, there was not much room for error and Christian had to pay for his inability to grab his opportunities

#3 Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques would not be glad about his international performances so far

Moises Henriques made his mark in world cricket when he helped New South Wales Blues lift the inaugural Champions League T20. He was soon inducted to the Australian limited0over squads but failed to shine.

The Portugal-born all-rounder was included in the Test squad for the 2013 Border-Gavaskar trophy stating he had good experience of playing in India. Although Australia lost the first Test by 8 wickets, Henriques ended up with the scores of 68 and 81* and the wicket of Harbhajan Singh in the game.

However, the next two Tests were disastrous for him. Henriques could just belt in 7 runs in the next 4 innings, including a couple of ducks. He was eventually dropped from the squad.

Three years later, the 29-year-old was recalled to the national Test team because of his good stints with the defending IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. His return was also a big failure, scoring just 8 runs in 2 innings. Henriques also has a miserable bowling average of 82 in tests.

Even after making his limited overs debut seven years ago, Henriques has played only eight ODIs and six T20Is for Australia and has some very unimpressive stats here as well

Henriques is an excellent all-rounder to have in a limited-overs team. His ODI stats could improve over time but his First-class stats suggest that Moises doesn’t have a strong enough temperament to be successful in the longer format of the game. Including him to the Test squad only shows how desperate the Aussie selectors are to include an all-rounder into the squad

#2 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell is one of the best in limited overs cricket and would try to do the same in Test cricket as well

Maxwell is one the most dangerous batsmen in world cricket at the moment. On his day, the Australian can tear apart any bowling lineup to all parts of the field. The Victorian all-rounder is also handy with his part time finger spin.

Pakistan fans will always remember his heroics with the ball when he defended just two runs in the last over of a 50-over game, denying Pakistan an easy win. Considering only limited-overs cricket, Glenn Maxwell is an absolute beast.

Maxwell made his Test debut in the same test series as Henriques. He wasn’t impressive with the bat but stood out with the ball by scalping four Indian wickets. The 27-year old was given a go in UAE Test series as well, where he failed again and was dropped from the squad.

However, owing to his excellent First-class stats, Maxwell could be given a longer rope in Test cricket. What Australia did wrong was the premature induction of Maxwell into the Test squad. He could be tried again for the longer format if he could manage to control his ruthless aggression

#1 James Faulkner

James Faulkner has everything that it takes to become a successful test cricketer

James Faulkner is the closest thing Australia have to a great all-rounder since 2012. He can bat well under pressure, muscle away a few boundaries at the end, bowl economically during middle overs and can bowl clinical yorkers at the death as well.

Faulkner donned the baggy green only once, against England, and did reasonably well with the ball. However, the Tasmanian all-rounder wasn’t given any more chances by the selectors and it might be difficult to see him in Australian whites again as Australia currently boasts one of the best pace battery with the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

If Australia is planning to look for an all-rounder beyond Mitchell Marsh in Tests, James Faulkner will be the perfect option for them.