Tom Moody Names The Greatest All-Rounders Of All Time Across Formats

Former Australian cricketer and veteran coach Tom Moody named a West Indian and South African as the greatest all-rounders in Test cricket. The Australian all-rounder stated it would be hard to choose any one amongst the two. Tom Moody was all praises for Jacques Kallis in particular, labelling him as an “unbelievable package” due to his imperious ability with the bat, ball, and on the field.

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As far as his third pick went, Moody went ahead with Imran Khan. Imran Khan was one of the greatest all-rounders of the game and the big four amongst the all-rounders during his playing days. Under his leadership, Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup in Australia and played a knock of 72 in the final in Melbourne.

The 54-year-old said that Imran Khan’s achievements were quite phenomenal was stunned by his ability to bowl lightning fast during the early and middle parts of his career. Moody further said that to average in the mid-30s in Tests and ODIs while batting at the lower middle-order is commendable.

“I find it very hard to go past Imran Khan. What he did was quite phenomenal. I played against him towards the end of his career. I remember speaking to people that played him in the early and middle parts of his career and they said he was genuinely quick. To have that and the ability to bat at five, six and seven in ODIs and Test cricket and have an average in the ’30s is great.” Tom Moody said as quoted by Pitch Side Podcast

We have to remember the Afridi of the past, not the Afridi today when he was in his sweet spot: Tom Moody

In the T20 arena, the South Australian went ahead with Shane Watson, Andre Russell, and Shahid Afridi. Calling Afridi as a genuine match-winner, Tom Moody said that he has proved to be impactful in the last 12-14 years and must be judged by his past performances.

“I am going Russell, Watson and Afridi in that order. Afridi over the last 12 or 14 years as an all-rounder has been nothing short of brilliant. He was a match-winner with both bat and ball and he has done it consistently. We have to remember the Afridi of the past, not the Afridi today when he was in his sweet spot, which was for a long period when he was playing the highest quality cricket of his career.” Tom Moody added.

As far as the 50-over cricket was concerned, the former Sri Lanka coach named Watson, Kallis, and Lance Klusener as his packs. South African all-rounder Lance Klusener was best remembered for his exquisite showing in the 1999 World Cup for scoring 285 runs in nine games and taking 17 wickets. It bagged him the man of the tournament in that edition.

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