McMilian vs Symonds. Pt 3.
With Australia winning the cricket World Cup convincingly I thought it was perfect time to resume the old Symonds v McMillian debate about who the better all-rounder is. Leading into the World Cup, McMillian had done marginally better than Symonds injury plagued summer, and I know a lot of the Kiwi boys in Korea where convinced that McMillian was indeed the real deal and that to even compare Symonds with him was an insult. With that in mind, lets see how their respective World Cups faired;
McMillian
Matches:10
Runs, Ave., S/R: 228, 32.57, 87.35
Over, Wkts, Ave, E/R: 22.3, 3, 36.66, 4.88
Symonds
Matches: 9
Runs, Ave., S/R: 189, 63.00, 98.43
Over, Wkts, E/R: 22.2, 3, 46.00, 6.04
I’m not sure what you can really make out of these number, Symonds role in Australia’s campaign was somewhat reduced due to how well both the top order batted, and the main strike bowlers bowled. McMillian had a lot more opportunities with the bat, and while an average of 36 is respectable, it fell to just below 30 when batting against the top 8 sides. Symonds only batted against the top 8 teams, so his batting average of 63 was actually his Super 8 average, plus final games.
In terms of bowling, they bowled roughly the same number of overs, both took 3 wickets each, though McMillian was considerably cheaper. I’m not sure, based on these statistics, you would even place them in the all-rounder category for the tournament.
But at the end of the day, we all have to remember one thing, Symonds is a world champion player, and McMillian, well, he’ll be heading home again a semi-finalist. After playing so well if still annoys me that New Zealand can’t seem to put it together on the field when it really counts.
Still, when it comes to the crunch, I’d still have my money on Symonds. He’s a proven match winner. And its hard to look past a player these days with dreadlocks.
2/5/2007 - Wednesday 9:00 am 
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