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The all-rounder slot is the best deal in fantasy cricket and the easiest to waste. One place in the team buys two chances to score, with bat and with ball. But the label on the team screen is given for what a player can do, not for what his captain asks him to do this month. The whole skill is telling the two apart.
Why two chances beat one
Count the balls. A T20 has 240 legal balls across both innings. An opener who faces 25 is directly involved in about a tenth of the match. So is a bowler who delivers his full four overs, which is 24 balls. A player who bats at four for 18 balls and bowls four overs touches 42 balls, more than a sixth of the match.
| Player | Balls involved | Share of the match |
|---|---|---|
| Opener facing 25 balls | 25 | 10.4% |
| Bowler, four overs | 24 | 10.0% |
| All-rounder: 18 balls faced, four overs bowled | 42 | 17.5% |
More involvement means a higher worst case as well as a higher best case. When an all-rounder fails with the bat he still has four overs in which to repair the day. A specialist cannot offer that.
Three kinds of all-rounder
| Type | With the bat | With the ball | Fantasy reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genuine | Top six | Most or all of his quota | The one to pay for |
| Batting all-rounder | Top five | An over or two, some days none | A batter. Judge him as one |
| Bowling all-rounder | Seven or eight | Full quota | A bowler with a few bonus runs |
The five-match usage test
Before picking any all-rounder, look at his last five matches in this format and write down two numbers: his usual batting position and the overs he bowled per match.
- T20: batting at six or higher and bowling three or more overs a match. That is a real all-rounder.
- ODI: batting at six or higher and bowling seven or more overs a match.
- Passing one half only? Treat him as a specialist with a label, and ask whether he is the best specialist available for the slot.
The thresholds are rules of thumb; the habit is the point. A player listed as an all-rounder who has bowled six overs in five T20s is a middle-order batter, and probably not the best one you could pick.
What changes the reading
- Format. An ODI offers ten overs and a longer innings, so a genuine all-rounder’s advantage over specialists grows. In a T20 his bowling is capped at 24 balls like everyone else’s.
- Pitch. A spin-bowling all-rounder on a dry, turning surface will bowl his full quota. On a flat one with short boundaries the captain may hide him.
- Team balance. A side with five frontline bowlers uses its all-rounder as a sixth option. A side with four needs him every match.
- Batting first or second. A lower-order all-rounder in a side chasing a small target may not bat at all.
How many to pick
The team screen sets the minimum and the maximum. Inside those limits, pick as many as pass the usage test and no more. Two genuine all-rounders are worth more than four labels. If only one passes, fill the other places with specialists who are certain of their work: an opener, a death bowler.
A worked comparison
Three players are listed as all-rounders for tonight’s T20.
| Player | Bats | Overs a match, last five | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Number five | 3.6 | Genuine. First all-rounder slot |
| B | Number three | 0.8 | A batter. Pick only if he beats the other top-order options |
| C | Number eight | 4.0 | A bowler. Pick only if he beats the other bowlers |
In a small contest, A is close to an automatic pick and a sound captain, because he so rarely scores nothing. B and C compete with specialists, not with A. In a mega contest it is worth asking who else has noticed that C bowls at the death: a bowling all-rounder taken by few teams can be a useful differential pick.
All-rounders and the captaincy
A genuine all-rounder has the highest floor in the match, which suits small contests. He does not always have the highest ceiling: a top-order batter who makes a hundred will usually outscore him. The Points System page inside Drem shows how runs and wickets are weighed, and that balance decides how far to lean one way or the other.
Common mistakes
- Picking on last season’s role. Captains change plans, and five recent matches outweigh a reputation.
- Counting a part-time over as bowling. One over is six balls and rarely a wicket.
- Filling every all-rounder slot because the team screen allows it.
- Forgetting the toss: a side that chases a small total quickly may never need its number seven.
Checklist
- In the announced eleven.
- Passes the usage test for this format.
- The pitch suits his type of bowling.
- His side is likely to need his overs.
- If he passes only half the test, he has been compared with specialists.
For where all-rounders sit in the whole eleven, see building a balanced eleven. The counting method behind this piece is on the fantasy cricket strategy page.
