Daniel Vettori vs Yuvraj Singh- who's better all-round?

[Arjun]

In that thread noting the top ten international all-rounders, someone questioned the absence of Vettori in the list, also claiming that it's batting-oriented. That's a fair point, given who made that list. What caught my attention, however, was a claim that Vettori would do more with the bat in a single series than Yuvraj would with the ball throughout a whole season.

Vettori's batting isn't very intimidating, but somehow, he puts on the numbers. Likewise, Yuvraj gets away with some loose bowling in India and gets the figures just as well. We haven't seen too many breathtaking performances from Vettori when he's bowling- he's just very workman-like, as we have when Yuvraj is batting. A few even suggest Vettori for Number Seven these days. We don't yet see Yuvraj as a spin bowling prospect, while Vettori, on the other hand, doesn't have a great strike rate. The way things look, Vettori adds more balance to the team, while Yuvraj can make a big impact in at least one skill in the game.

This is how they stack up in ODIs-

FIGURE         Vettori       Yuvraj
Inns/Mat         0.608       0.9207
Bat Av           15.01        37.70
100/50             0/3        11/39
Overs/Mat         7.88         2.31
BowlAv           32.26        39.64
Wickets            239           68
4w/5w              7/2          2/0
S/R               46.5         46.4
E/R               4.16         5.12

Two very different players, of course, but we're looking at a complete package.

 

[Matt79]

So different as to make comparison very difficult. Made more difficult by the fact that they are in their respective disciplines, reasonably within the ball-park of each other - we're not comparing Kevin Pietersen with Mick Lewis here.

I think they're weaker disciplines are pretty evenly balanced, so it comes down to whether Vettori adds more with his bowling than Yuvi does with the bat. I'd probably opt for Vettori as you know he'll almost always deliver 10 quality overs and do a job, whereas Yuvraj is a bit more chancy. Close though.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I'd probably pick Dan Vettori, because you can base a bowling attack around him. He can be your team's best OD bowler.

I don't know if Yuvi will ever be the batsman that you can base your side around. He's a fantastic second or third batsman, who if he gets going will win you a game.

 

[Richard]

Yuvraj Singh is probably about as good a bowler as Daniel Vettori is batsman - in ODIs. In Tests Vettori isn't a remarkable bowler and Yuvraj Singh isn't yet established as a Test player so it's difficult to make any real comparison. Vettori's batting in Tests >>>>>>> Yuvraj Singh's bowling, but as I say, Yuvraj currently isn't a Test player so you can't exactly compare them.

In ODIs, Vettori's batting probably > Yuvraj's bowling, but it's difficult to say that with absolutele authority.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Interesting that they have the same bowling strike rate.

 

[Richard]

I don't know if Yuvi will ever be the batsman that you can base your side around. He's a fantastic second or third batsman, who if he gets going will win you a game.

Yuvraj Singh has possibly been India's best ODI batsman for the last 3 years. It's just that with Gangulys, Dravids, Tendulkars and Dhonis (and for the last 6 months, Sehwags once again) it's debateable and you don't even need to build a team around him.

 

[Prince EWS]

First off: assuming this thread is ODIs only?

Vettori has done absolutely nothing with the bat in one day cricket for quite some time, averaging about 12 with the bat in his last 50 ODIs. It's been different in Tests, of coruse (although even his Test batting has been off-colour in the last two series) but given the rankings are supposed to weight recent performances more highly, Yuvraj's bowling (which has been surprisingly effective of late) would definitely be worth more than Vettori's batting.

I'd rather have Vettori in my team but if you're basing it on career achievements with a heavier weighting on recent performances (which is exactly what the ICC rankings attempt to do) then Yuvraj IMO has the stronger case.

FTR, this is how said ranking system rates them in ODIs:

Batting
Yuvraj Singh : 790
Daniel Vettori : 359

Bowling
Daniel Vettori : 727
Yuvraj Singh : 420

 

[Migara]

Vettori for me.

 

[Evermind]

Vettori in tests, Yuvraj in ODIs.

 

[Uppercut]

I'd go with Vettori, I generally prefer bowlers over batsmen. They're almost incomparable really though.

This contest will be much more interesting in real life.

 

[HMas]

Vettori

 

[Burgey]

Vettori seems to care all the time, so I'll run with him.

 

[Jono]

Yuvraj in ODIs, neither in tests.

 

[Richard]

Haha, that's one way of looking at it.

 

[aussie]

Weird thread, why would you want to compare a batsman to a bowler??

 

[Athlai]

Vettori in Tests everyday of the week. Better bowler and delivers more as a batsman.

In ODI's hes not really an allrounder internationally.

 

[thierry henry]

Vettori. I think Yuvraj is a more useful ODI bowler than Vettori is an ODI bat, although Vettori is actually a better bat than Yuvraj is a bowler, it's just the curse of batting 8 or 9 in ODIs and the general uselessness of that role, tbh.

Vettori is pretty much a certainty for the top 3 ODI bowlers in the world though, so even though Yuvraj apparently has more ranking points for his batting than Vettori does for his bowling, I would still rank Vettori's bowling a fair bit higher.

 

[ret]

Yuvi for me in the ODIs w/o hesitation. His batting ability is my opinion would be more useful than Vettori's 10 overs .... I guess he has won more ODI games with his bat then Vettori has with the ball

in Tests, it would depend up on the team composition

 

[Athlai]

Yuvi for me in the ODIs w/o hesitation. His batting ability is my opinion would be more useful than Vettori's 10 overs .... I guess he has won more ODI games with his bat then Vettori has with the ball

I'm not so sure about that.

In wins Vettori has taken 150 wickets @ 23.94 Economy of 3.83 6 4fers, 2 5fers
Yuvraj has scored 4566 runs @ 50.73 SR 95.32 8 100's, 29 50's ( rough indicator would say that Yuvraj has 'won' around 37 matches, 8 certainly, 29 contributions at least)


Vettori on the other hand has a contribution which is harder to measure, in terms of wicket hauls you could say those 8 4+W hauls he certainly won the game for New Zealand, but what about the matches where he chokes the opposition into defeat?

36 times has Vettori bowled 9-10 overs for less than 35 runs in victories. Extend that to 40 runs and he has done it 50 times in wins.

Vettori is a match winner, just in a less flashy way than Yuvraj

 

[G.I.Joe]

I'm not so sure about that.

In wins Vettori has taken 150 wickets @ 23.94 Economy of 3.83 6 4fers, 2 5fers
Yuvraj has scored 4566 runs @ 50.73 SR 95.32 8 100's, 29 50's ( rough indicator would say that Yuvraj has 'won' around 37 matches, 8 certainly, 29 contributions at least)


Vettori on the other hand has a contribution which is harder to measure, in terms of wicket hauls you could say those 8 4+W hauls he certainly won the game for New Zealand, but what about the matches where he chokes the opposition into defeat?

36 times has Vettori bowled 9-10 overs for less than 35 runs in victories. Extend that to 40 runs and he has done it 50 times in wins.

Vettori is a match winner, just in a less flashy way than Yuvraj

Well, I daresay an ODI batting average of 50 is more valuable than a bowling average of 23, evidenced by the relative abundance of bowlers who average less than 23 over their career (not even just wins), compared to batsmen who average 50+ over a career.