The allrounders' allrounder

You’re all spectacularly misinformed, not to mention blind. Botham? Nothing more than a flat-track bully. And as for the jolly-come-latelies, well where do I start? Kallis has lost his fourth gear, if he ever had one, and is struggling to get into third. Flintoff only has first and fifth gears, and the less said about Pollock and Gilchrist the better.

Imran had it all. With the ball, he was snappy and fierce, with a silky-smooth action; with the bat, he was flexible enough to adjust to the situation. And on top of all that, he captained Pakistan better than anyone ever has, and probably ever will do. 362 Test wickets, nearly 4000 runs and six hundreds, Imran was the man. Once bored with cricket, he built a hospital – and then became a politician. He was the allrounders' allrounder.