Best allrounder today in world cricket

Abdul Razzaq's explosive batting and subsequent outstanding bowling spell against Australia, got me thinking whether he is the best all-rounder in world cricket today. Razzaq, who had an exceptional start to his career, had cooled off somewhat in the last couple of years - contrast his 99 world cup performance with his 2003 world cup - and you have a story of a career in decline. However, he has had a good season especially in ODI's, bringing back memories of Razzaq of old and with that the question if he is good enough to be called the best all-rounder in World Cricket today.

Ok , lets look at the candidates for the tag. Lets look at batting and bowling all-rounders and not wicket-keeper batsmen - Adam Gilchrist would probably win hand-down if that was the case. Also, I think you need to distinguish between ODI's and test cricket to perform the assessment.

ODI's first. The choice at this point of time is between Razzaq, Afridi, Azhar Mehmood from Pakistan, Kallis, Flintoff, Chris Cairns, Symonds and Upul Chandana. In terms of impact being made currrently and cuurent form, I think the finalists are Razzaq, Flintoff and Symonds. In my opinion, Razzaq probably is ahead by a nose. Mind you, this is not a comparison of careers - but a statement of current form. Razzaq wins more games for Pak than the others. Kallis and Chris Cairns have probably had more exciting careers overall, but they are not winning today as many games as the three finalists.

Tests. The choice here is between Kallis and Flintoff. I think Flintoff is a better bowler and Kallis a much better and more consistent batsman. However, Kallis's bowling is not having as much as an impact as it used to earlier. He is more a batsman than a bowler today. Hence, in terms of impact with both bat and ball, my choice here is Flintoff. Surprisingly, Razzaq does not come close to the two finalists in test cricket. Razzaq's bowling in tests has been pretty ordinary as his test record suggests. Also, he has not crossed 50 in tests for over a year.