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Moeen Ali has voiced his opinion on the debate about who is the greater all-rounder, South African legend Jacques Kallis or current England star Ben Stokes.
Stokes' aggressive brand of cricket has brought him a lot of fans over the years, but on a purely numerical approach, he has some way to go to match the Proteas great.
Kallis retired from international cricket as the only player to have passed the 10 000-run mark in Tests and ODIs, averaging over 55 in the former and more than 44 in the latter.
He also took more than 500 international wickets, at an average of 33 in Tests and 31 in ODIs.
Stokes, on the other hand, averages below 37 with the bat in Tests and 40 in ODIs, while taking wickets at respective averages of 32 and 41.
Based on that, it's no surprise that Ali has named Kallis as his preferred choice, for now.
"You’d probably have to go Kallis as it stands because his body of work is so much bigger: more runs, wickets, catches. But if Stokes carries on like he is he will become one of the greatest players to ever play the game. No doubt," Ali told the Guardian.
Meanwhile, former England captain Nasser Hussain is confident Stokes will eventually overtake Sir Ian Botham as the country's greatest cricketer.
"Ian is the greatest cricketer to have played for England. Ben may end up taking over by the end of his career if he carries on the way he has done, but Botham is No 1 for the extraordinary things he did," Hussain told the same publication.
- TEAMtalk media
