Ranked by our ratings

Greatest Test All-Rounders

18 all-rounders from the 582 Test players in the Beat My 11 database have taken 100 or more Test wickets in at least 50 Tests. They are ranked here by our ratings, which judge batting and bowling together over a full Test career.

Each of the best 10 has a short profile, then the table gives the career figures for everyone on the list.

All-rounders are rated on batting and bowling together (batting average, runs per player-match, century rate, bowling average, wickets per bowler-match, five-wicket-haul rate, ten-wicket-match rate).

Career Test totals from the Beat My 11 database, as of 22 October 2026.

The best 10, and why

1 Jacques Kallis South Africa

Few players have been as complete as Kallis. In 166 Tests he scored 13,289 runs at 55.4 with 45 hundreds, took 292 wickets, and held 200 catches, most of them at slip. He is the only player in history to pass 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in Tests, and no one else comes close to doing both at that level. He played for South Africa from 1995 to 2013 with no dramatic peak and no poor year: he made runs on every kind of pitch against every kind of attack, and bowled long, honest spells of fast-medium that gave his captain a fifth bowler who never let a game drift. He was rarely the showiest player in the side, which is partly why his record gets undersold. As a batter alone he belongs with the best of his era; add the bowling and the fielding and he is the standard for the whole position. South Africa reached the top of the Test rankings in 2012 with him anchoring the order.

2 Garfield Sobers West Indies

The case for Sobers is that he could do everything, and do it as a young man. He opened his career as a left-handed batter who also bowled, and ended it with 8,032 runs at 57.8, 26 hundreds and 235 wickets in 93 Tests. At 21 he made 365 not out against Pakistan at Kingston in 1958, a Test record that stood for 36 years. He bowled left-arm fast-medium with the new ball, then orthodox spin or wrist-spin when the pitch was worn, and he was one of the finest close fielders of his time. In 1968 he hit six sixes in one over for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan. He captained West Indies from 1965 to 1972. His batting average is the highest of any all-rounder on this page. Many players and writers still call him the greatest all-rounder the game has produced.

3 Richard Hadlee New Zealand

Hadlee was the bowler New Zealand built a team around. He took 431 wickets at 22.3 in 86 Tests, with 36 five-wicket hauls and nine ten-wicket matches, and in 1990 he became the first bowler to reach 400 Test wickets. His best performance, 9 for 52 against Australia at Brisbane in 1985, was the heart of a series win in 1985-86, New Zealand's first in Australia. He ran in with a short, rhythmic approach and put the ball in the same place over after over, with enough seam and swing to beat the best batters in either hand. He was also a hard-hitting lower-order batter who scored 3,124 runs and two Test hundreds, enough to make him a real all-rounder rather than a bowler who could bat. He was knighted for services to cricket. Few bowlers in history can match his average among those with so many wickets.

4 Ravichandran Ashwin India

Ashwin made off-spin a weapon in every kind of condition. He took 537 wickets at 23.91 in 106 Tests, with 37 five-wicket hauls, and when he retired in December 2024 only Anil Kumble had taken more Test wickets for India. His 300th wicket came in his 54th Test, faster than any bowler before him. He kept adding to his game, with a carrom ball, a quicker arm-ball and endless changes of pace and angle, and he was close to unplayable on Indian pitches. His batting was no afterthought: 3,503 runs at 25.8 with 6 hundreds, several scored when India were in trouble. He thought about the game more than most players, and he treated every batter as a puzzle to be solved. He played a central part in India's long run of home series wins.

5 Imran Khan Pakistan

Imran was a fast bowler, a lower-order batter who made hundreds and a captain who shaped a team, all at once. He took 362 wickets at 22.8 in 88 Tests with 23 five-wicket hauls, and made 3,807 runs at 37.7. In the 1982-83 series against India he took 40 wickets in six Tests, one of the most dominant series any Pakistani bowler has had. He was one of the first fast bowlers to use reverse swing as a weapon, and with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis he helped build the tradition for which Pakistan became known. As captain he led the side to the 1992 World Cup, and his willingness to back young players changed how Pakistan played. His bowling average is among the best of the all-rounders on this list, and his batting average is high for a man who spent most of his career at No. 6 or 7.

6 Ian Botham England

Botham was a swing bowler and a fearless batter whose best days came when England were in trouble. He scored 5,200 runs at 33.5 with 14 hundreds, took 383 wickets at 28.4 with 27 five-wicket hauls, and was a fine slip fielder, in 102 Tests. In the 1981 Ashes he made 149 not out at Headingley after England had followed on, took five wickets for one run in 28 balls at Edgbaston, and scored 118 at Old Trafford. England won the series 3-1 after being 1-0 down, and it is still known as Botham's Ashes. He had a long career, with a long list of match-winning efforts against the best sides of his day. His bowling average is higher than the bowlers above him, but few players have won as many matches single-handedly.

7 Ravindra Jadeja India

Jadeja is a left-arm spinner who bats like a front-line player. He has scored 4,160 runs at 37.8 with 6 hundreds and taken 356 wickets at 25.3 in 91 Tests, and he is one of the very few men to pass 4,000 runs and 350 wickets. His best figures are 7 for 42 against Australia at Delhi in 2023, and his highest score is 175 not out against Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2022. As a bowler he is quick through the air and very accurate, which makes it hard for batters to score, and in Indian conditions he takes wickets as well. He is one of the best fielders in the world, in the covers and in the deep. His batting has improved over the years, from a useful No. 8 to a player who can bat for a session when India need one.

8 Kapil Dev India

Kapil was India's first great fast-bowling all-rounder. He took 434 wickets in 131 Tests, a world record when he retired in 1994, and scored 5,248 runs at 31.1 with 8 hundreds. He bowled outswing off a high, easy action and kept going for 16 years, when most quick bowlers would have stopped much earlier. His batting was powerful and he hit sixes freely, sometimes at the most important moments. As captain he led India to victory at the 1983 World Cup, which changed the place of cricket in the country. He played in an era when Indian pitches did not help fast bowlers, and he took his wickets anyway, at home and away. His bowling average is higher than most of the all-rounders ahead of him, but his durability, his skill and his place in Indian cricket history are hard to measure in numbers.

9 Ben Stokes England

Stokes is a match-winner who has scored 7,273 runs at 34.47 with 14 hundreds and taken 252 wickets at 31 in 122 Tests. His 135 not out at Headingley in the 2019 Ashes, in a chase of 359 that ended with England winning by one wicket, is one of the great Test innings. In 2016 he scored 258 at Cape Town off just 198 balls. He became England's Test captain in 2022 and led a more attacking style of play that came to be called Bazball. He bowls fast-medium in long, hostile spells and has a habit of getting a wicket when a stand needs breaking. Injuries have limited his bowling at times in recent years. He is a very good slip and outfield catcher, and he plays best when the game is in the balance.

10 Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh

Shakib carried Bangladesh's cricket for more than a decade. In 71 Tests he scored 4,609 runs at 37.8 and took 246 wickets at 31.7, with 19 five-wicket hauls, as a left-arm spinner and a left-handed middle-order batter. In 2008, in his seventh Test, he made 71 and took 7 for 36 against New Zealand at Chittagong, still the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi in a Test. In 2017 he scored 217 against New Zealand at Wellington. In 2015 he was ranked the No. 1 all-rounder in all three formats at once. He captained Bangladesh and played through the years in which the side grew as a Test team. Taijul Islam later passed his record as Bangladesh's leading Test wicket-taker.

The 18 all-rounders ranked

Only all-rounders with at least 100 Test wickets and 50 Tests are listed: 18 of the 47 all-rounders in the Beat My 11 database. An all-rounder has to do two jobs for a long time, so a batter who bowls the odd over, a bowler who bats at No. 11 and anyone with a short career are left out on purpose.

#	Player	Nation	Played in	Tests	Runs	Bat avg	100s	Wkts	Bowl avg	5W
1	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	Legends, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s	166	13,289	55.4	45	292	32.6	5
2	Garfield Sobers	West Indies	Legends, 1970s	93	8,032	57.8	26	235	34	6
3	Richard Hadlee	New Zealand	Legends, 1970s, 1980s	86	3,124	27.2	2	431	22.3	36
4	Ravichandran Ashwin	India	2010s, 2020s	106	3,503	25.8	6	537	23.91	37
5	Imran Khan	Pakistan	Legends, 1970s, 1980s	88	3,807	37.7	6	362	22.8	23
6	Ian Botham	England	Legends, 1970s, 1980s	102	5,200	33.5	14	383	28.4	27
7	Ravindra Jadeja	India	2010s, 2020s	91	4,160	37.8	6	356	25.3	15
8	Kapil Dev	India	Legends, 1980s, 1990s	131	5,248	31.1	8	434	29.6	23
9	Ben Stokes	England	2010s, 2020s	122	7,273	34.47	14	252	31	6
10	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	Legends, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s	71	4,609	37.8	5	246	31.7	19
11	Chris Cairns	New Zealand	1990s, 2000s	62	3,320	33.5	5	218	29.4	13
12	Daniel Vettori	New Zealand	Legends, 2000s, 2010s	113	4,531	30	6	362	34.4	20
13	Tony Greig	England	1970s	58	3,599	40.4	8	141	32.2	6
14	Heath Streak	Zimbabwe	1990s, 2000s	65	1,990	22.4	1	216	28.1	7
15	Ravi Shastri	India	1980s	80	3,830	35.8	11	151	41	2
16	Jason Holder	West Indies	2010s, 2020s	69	3,073	29.8	3	162	30.4	8
17	Andrew Flintoff	England	Legends, 1990s, 2000s	79	3,845	31.8	5	226	32.8	3
18	Moeen Ali	England	2010s, 2020s	68	3,094	28.1	5	204	37.3	5

What stands out

The top 10 come from 7 nations. India has the most (3).
7 of the top 10 played in the Legends era, more than in any other.
Jacques Kallis played the most Tests of the top 10 (166); Shakib Al Hasan the fewest (71).
Of all-rounders with 20+ Tests, the best batting average is Garfield Sobers's 57.8 (No. 2).
The lowest bowling average is Richard Hadlee's 22.3 (No. 3).

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