Top 5 left-arm seam all-rounders of all time

Cricketers, who are able to chip in handy contributions with both bat and ball, often make a difference to their respective team's fortunes. While the vast majority of legendary all-rounders are usually right-handers, there have also been quite a few left-handed players capable of changing the game from multiple departments across all three formats.

In this particular segment, let us take a close look at five of the best left-arm seam bowling all-rounders in the history of the game. In order to encircle the focus on just southpaws, only those exalted players who bat left-handed and bowl left-arm seam-up are taken into consideration. Greater priority has been placed on Test cricket and performances against the best teams of the various eras.

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#5 Chaminda Vaas

Vaas spearheaded Sri Lanka's seam attack right throughout his career

Unlike most long-serving fast bowlers of other teams, Chaminda Vaas operated with negligible seam support from the other end. While the presence of the iconic Muttiah Muralitharan bolstered the bowling attack significantly, the left-arm seamer often found himself having to shoulder Sri Lanka's pace unit. Despite operating on low-bounce flat tracks at home, he turned himself into a workhorse and delivered numerous probing spells.

In a career spanning from 1994 to 2009, Vaas played 111 Tests and picked 355 wickets at an average of 29.58 and strike-rate of 66 with 12 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket match hauls. As evidenced by an impressive collection of 3089 runs at an average of 24.32 with one century and 13 fifties, he also possessed the ability to contribute steadfastly in the batting department too.

From 322 ODIs, Vaas garnered exactly 400 scalps at an average of 27.53 and economy-rate of 4.18 with 4 five-wicket hauls. He also scored 2025 runs at a strike-rate of 72.42. Aside from having the wherewithal to lend substantial support to the top-order specialists, the left-hander could also time the ball exquisitely.

#4 Alan Davidson

Davidson was one of the most economical seam bowlers of his era

Upon spending his childhood years on the farmlands of Lisarow, Alan Davidson grew up into a sturdy sportsman possessing immense fitness levels. Although he initially bowled chinaman, circumstances conspired to convert him into a lethal fast bowler. A lithe run-up and an easily repeatable bowling action enabled him to deliver numerous economical spells. Apart from his prowess with the ball, he was also a handy batsman lower down the order as well as a remarkable close-in catcher.

Since making his Test debut during the 1953 Ashes series on English soil, Davidson enjoyed a productive career spanning nearly ten years. From 44 Tests, he picked 186 wickets at a splendid average of 20.53 and strike-rate of 62.2 with 14 five-wicket hauls. The left-arm seamer's stunning economy-rate of 1.97 compares favourably with the best in the game. He also scored 1328 runs at an average of 24.59 with five half-centuries.

#3 Trevor Goddard

Goddard was an extremely underrated performer for South Africa

Despite their relatively shorter history (induced by the Apartheid Era) when compared to the other giants of the game, South Africa have produced some of the best all-rounders in the history of cricket. While the likes of Aubrey Faulkner, Mike Procter, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener are all popular names, the unheralded Trevor Goddard usually slips by unnoticed during discussions pertaining to the great all-rounders from the Rainbow Nation.

In a career spanning from 1955 to 1970, Goddard played 41 Tests and played an instrumental role in shaping South Africa's early destiny. His sparkling capacity to swing the new ball fetched him 123 scalps at an average of 26.22 and economy-rate of 1.64 with 5 five-wicket hauls. An opening batsman in the classical mould, the left-hander also amassed 2516 runs at an average of 34.46 with a century and 18 fifties.

#2 Wasim Akram

Akram is unarguably the best left-arm pacer of all time

Plenty may have hogged the limelight before him and several may have emerged in his wake. However, Wasim Akram continues to remain the gold standard for left-arm seam and swing bowling. Blessed with innate ability to move both new and old ball at sharp pace, he wrecked batting lineups on a regular basis during his memorable career. Aside from his jaw-dropping skills with the ball, Akram was also a hard-hitting batsman in the lower-order.

Akram scalped 414 wickets from 104 Tests at a stellar average of 23.62 and proficient strike-rate of 54.6 with as many as 25 five-wicket hauls and 5 ten-wicket match hauls. His tally of wickets is the highest among all types of left-arm bowlers in the illustrious history of the traditional format. 2898 runs at an average of 22.64 with a career-best score of 257 stand as testament to his ability to chip in with the bat too.

While his exploits in Test cricket were quite exemplary, Akram's prowess with the white-ball was the stuff of dreams. With 502 wickets from 356 ODIs at a brilliant average of 23.52 and spectacular economy-rate of 3.89, he is the second-most prolific wicket-taker in the 50-over format. The southpaw also scored 3717 runs at a rapid strike-rate of 88.33 with six fifties.

#1 Sir Garry Sobers

Sobers is the most entertaining player to ever set foot onto a cricket field

Perhaps, Sir Garry Sobers is the most gifted cricketer to ever play the game. Possessing more strings to his bow than almost every other great all-rounder, he complemented his flamboyant batting with an assortment of bowling types ranging from sharp medium pace to both orthodox as well as chinaman spin. Although he primarily bowled the two contrasting styles of spin, the revered talisman produced plenty of decisive spells with the new-ball as well.

Extra Cover: Sir Garry Sobers - The five-in-one cricketer

A smooth run-up and a quirky bowling action made him a difficult seamer to face when conditions were optimum for swing bowling. From 93 Tests, Sobers picked 235 wickets (including his scalps as spinner) at an average of 34.03 with 6 five-wicket hauls. Even without factoring his bowling facet into account, he can lay claim to being one of the best ever in Test cricket. He scored 8032 runs at a majestic average of 57.78 with 26 tons and 30 fifties.