It could come in the form of a quick 100 or a five-wicket bag - few players are as valuable to the mix of a cricket team as a quality all-rounder.
The all-rounders are the focus of the third in our series of profiles on the greatest cricket players in Otago's history.
The series is designed to help readers name their all-time Otago XI. Your selections should be based on the contribution and impact players had for Otago in first-class cricket.
We have selected a panel of experts to name the Best XI, which will be unveiled on December 18.
You can enter at any time between now and December 16 by emailing your Best XI, plus a 12th man, to adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz or by posting it to Best XI Competition, ODT Sports Department, PO Box 517, Dunedin 9054.
Playing XIs tend to be fairly fluid, so you might want to consider some of these players for specialist bowling or batting roles.
In alphabetical order, here are the leading contenders. -
GREN ALABASTER
69 matches, 2340 runs at 25.43, 205 wkts at 23.28
As a right-arm offbreak bowler, Gren Alabaster was first-class. He is the eighth-leading wicket-taker with 205 scalps and took 13 five-wicket bags in an impressive career that spanned 21 summers. He was also an accomplished left-hand batsman, scoring three 100s and 12 half-centuries. He is the only player to take 200 wickets and score 2000 runs for the province.
LANCE CAIRNS
33 matches, 996 runs at 21.19, 119 wkts at 24.57
While fondly remembered for wielding the Excalibur with awesome power, it was Cairns' ability to bend the ball which served Otago so well. The strapping paceman took eight five-wicket bags for Otago and 10 wickets in a match three times.
His efforts with the bat are often coloured by the six sixes he swatted from 10 deliveries against Australia at the MCG in 1983. The reality is he was not always so destructive but still very useful, scoring one 100 and six 50s.
NATHAN McCULLUM
48 matches, 1840 runs at 27.87, 91 wkts at 43.86
McCullum is better suited to the shorter formats of the game but as a first-class cricketer he is a tidy and economical offspin bowler and a handy middle-order batsman. He is closing in on 100 first-class wickets and 2000 runs, with a five-wicket bag, a century and 11 50s to his name. Perhaps his greatest asset is his athleticism in the field. In 48 games, he has claimed 52 catches - some of them quite remarkable.
WARREN McSKIMMING
59 matches, 1571 runs at 20.40, 210 wkts at 25.12
A reliable and hardworking medium-pacer, the bulk of McSkimming's 200-plus first-class wickets have come through plugging away with a consistent line and length. He has taken nine five-wicket bags and 10 wickets in a match once. A useful lower-order batsman, McSkimming scored his only century in an Otago record ninth-wicket partnership of 208 with Bradley Scott against Auckland in 2004-05.
DION NASH
10 matches, 343 runs at 19.05, 26 wkts at 19.19
An aggressive and fiercely competitive fast bowler, Nash's international career was stymied by a series of back injuries. When he was fit and in his prime, Nash was a fine all-rounder. Otago, though, did not get to see the best of Nash the batsman and only glimpsed his potential with the ball. Still, in a short stint he took 26 wickets, including one five-wicket bag, and scored a half-century.
JOHN REID
11 matches, 670 runs at 37.22, 21 wkts at 11.57
A natural and gifted player of the highest calibre, Reid was in the true sense of the word an all-rounder. He was as comfortable taking wickets as he was launching into a series of thunderous strokes. In 11 matches, somehow he had time to score 670 runs and take 21 wickets. If only he had played more games for Otago.
JEFF WILSON
38 matches, 1218 runs at 22.14, 125 wkts at 24.08
An immensely gifted sportsman, Wilson spent his best years carving out a tremendous rugby career, playing for both the All Blacks and Otago. Despite an eight-year gap, Wilson still had time to forge an impressive cricket career. He took seven five-wicket bags and scored six 50s. Who knows how good he could have been had he not missed so much cricket?
