Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: August 20, 2024 | 
The Fab 4 (L to R) Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Kane Williamson
The late Kiwi batting maestro Martin Crowe coined the term, “Fab Four” (short term for the fabulous four) in 2014, to denote the four potential batting superstars of the future in world cricket. He was apt in prophesying the rise of the Fab Four, who were all in their early or mid-20s then and were in the nascent phase of their international careers. Steven Smith, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli and Joe Root appeared to be the rightful successors of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brain Lara and Jacques Kallis in batting across the formats.
Comparisons in cricket are inherently subjective because they encompass more than just statistics and records. They delve into nuances like techniques, temperament and the ability to perform under pressure across varied conditions and settings. There is not a single answer to who is the better batsman amongst the Fab Four, as each of the players has his strengths and weaknesses across the formats. The Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli has surpassed the other three by a significant margin in One Day Internationals and T20Is, but the competition is more balanced in Test cricket. The stats below testify that Kohli is in a different league in the shorter formats.
(L to R) David Warner, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne
This chart is self-explanatory that Virat is miles ahead of his counterparts in ODI batting in all parameters, followed by Joe Root, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson. The BASRA (aggregate of batting average and batting strike rate) rule has been used to gauge any player’s consistency and scoring rate, which shows Kohli is in a different league of his own.
Steve Smith with Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli Stands tall at the top in T20 cricket as well, while the other three have identical numbers, well below Kohli’s impressive numbers. Root last played a T20I in 2019, while Smith only managed to play 67 games in 14 years, which reveals that these two players could not even cement their places in their respective national teams. Kane Willaimson has played 93 games, but his strike rate of 123.08 shows that his scoring rate has been mediocre in the fast-evolving format of the game. Kohli, after winning the T20 WC, announced his T20I retirement a month ago, establishing himself as the best T20 batter amongst the Fab Four. In T20Is, Virat Kohli has surpassed his contemporaries by a significant margin, and it is almost impossible for them to come close to him in any of the parameters. It would be more suitable to compare Kohli with T20 specialists like David Warner, Joss Butler and De Cock than his contemporaries in the Fab Four.
It is probably the only format where the Fab Four has identical numbers and where the comparison makes more sense. Test cricket is the reason why the debate is about the Fab Four, not five or six, as players like Quinton De Cock, Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, and David Warner amongst others had phenomenal numbers in the shorter formats over the last decade, but they lacked the consistency and the impact of the Fab 4 in the longer format.
England's Joe Root after scoring a century
Australian maestro Steve Smith is well above the rest in test cricket in all parameters, except for the number of innings taken for one hundred where Kane Williamson leads. Except for Joe Root, who converts one out of three fifties into hundreds, the other three convert every other fifty into a ton, which is a remarkable feat. Root has recently been phenomenal and his scoring rate is the fastest of the four, but his consistency and ability to convert good starts into big scores has been an issue. Kohli was competing with Smith till 2019, but from 22 November 2019 to 9 March 2023, he did not score a single century, where he could only score 1028 runs in 23 tests with a mediocre average of 25.70. While Smith has not scored a century in the last year or so, where he has scored 572 runs at 33.54 in 10 matches, which has daunted his impressive Test numbers. Kane and Joe Root, however, have been phenomenal in the last couple of years, but they are still far from bridging the gaps with Smith.
Kane Williamson after scoring a century
The Analysis of the Fab 4’s performance at home and away (neutral venues and opponents’ home ground), reveals that Smith has been at the top in both home and away conditions, while all the others have huge differences in away and home performances. Ironically, Kohli has the worst performance amongst the Fab 4 in away games, as his away average is the lowest amongst the Fab Four, followed by Williamson and Root. The highest difference in home and away batting average is that of Kane Williamson (21.3), followed by Kane Williamson (17.8), Steven Smith (10.22) and Joe Root (7.55). It reveals that Kohli and Williamson have not been as impressive in away conditions as on home grounds. Joe Root has failed to convert small innings into big scores in both home and away conditions, especially in away venues.
Steven Smith with Usman Khawaja
Based on the analysis, Virat Kohli can be considered the leading batsman among the Fab Four across various formats due to his exceptional consistency and impact. Steve Smith remains at the top in Test cricket, despite experiencing a less remarkable year in the long format. Currently, Kane Williamson and Joe Root rank third and fourth among the Fab Four, respectively. However, as they are both two years younger than Smith and Kohli, who are both 35 years old, there is potential for them to close the gap in the coming years. Despite this, as of now, Williamson and Root are somewhat behind their more senior counterparts.
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