Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris narrowly behind Shane Watson in latest ICC all-rounder rankings Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson are close ... very close. WHO is Australia's best Test all-rounder? It's a question that hasn't been asked in quite some time, as for all Shane Watson's faults, he has consistently been Australia's only genuine all-rounder in the longest form of the game for the best part of a decade, save for James Faulkner's brief foray in the final Ashes Test in England last year. Which is why it may come as some surprise to learn Watson is only marginally in front of two of his teammates in the International Cricket Council's official all-rounder rankings. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, who combined to bowl Australia to a historic Ashes whitewash this summer, are the sixth and seventh-ranked all-rounders in Test cricket, with Watson just ahead in fifth spot. Johnson scored 165 runs this summer at an average of 27.50, which, when coupled with the 37 wickets he took for the series, is a return any all-rounder would be proud of. In fact, Australia's No. 8 averaged more for the series than every English batsman apart from Kevin Pietersen and Michael Carberry. It's often said that Johnson bowls well when his batting is on song, and on this evidence it's hard to dispute that argument. The 32-year-old's brutal destruction of England's batting line-up in the first Test at the Gabba is now seared into the memories of all cricket fans both here and in the UK, but it is often forgotten that Johnson's first contribution to Australia's Ashes victory actually came with the bat. Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson during team training this summer. He played a composed innings of 64 off 134 deliveries in the first innings, combining with Brad Haddin to pull the hosts from a perilous position of 6-132 to one of relative strength at 7-246. Two subsequent scores of 39 reinforced the theory that the left-hander can be more than just a pinch-hitter with the bat. But while Johnson's rise up the rankings is not without precedent - his career-best rating of 384 points, achieved in 2009, would see him sit in second place in the current rankings - the position of Harris is sure to raise a few eyebrows. The Queensland paceman started the Ashes series batting at No. 10 for Australia, and it was only after he made a rather majestic 55 not out in the second Test that Michael Clarke and/or Darren Lehmann finally relented and allowed him to leapfrog Peter Siddle into the not-so-prestigious No. 9 position. His return of 117 runs for the series at an average of 23.40 is, while not quite as impressive as Johnson's figures, still a more than handy contribution for a man who is picked exclusively for his work with ball in hand. The combined batting efforts of Australia's best two bowlers, and their subsequent rise up the rankings, could end up altering or perhaps even calling into question Watson's role in the side. Astute observers often speak of Watson's value to Australia's bowling line-up being vastly underrated, with his benign-looking medium pacers playing a vital role in either tying up an end, giving the strike bowlers a rest or picking up a crucial breakthrough. But if his overall contribution eventually ends up being superseded by that of Johnson and Harris, it could lead to some asking whether Australia would be better served by selecting an extra genuine bowler. Before reaching that conclusion, though, cricket fans would be well served by taking a closer look at those above and below the three Aussies in the ICC's list of the top 10 all-rounders in the world. Sitting at No. 1 is India spinner Ravi Ashwin, who bats at No. 8 and would probably blush at the suggestion he is a genuine Test all-rounder. Ryan Harris in action with the bat during the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney. In fact, the only players in the top 10 that can proudly go by that title are rising Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, currently playing in the Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers, West Indies captain Darren Sammy, and Watson. Given the rankings are based on cold hard statistics rather than the context in which performances are made, they should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. However, in the age of T20 cricket when all players are expected to be proficient in at least two of cricket's three main skills, it does raise the question of whether or not genuine all-rounders are actually needed at all in Test cricket. But a brief look at the record of recently-retired South African great Jacques Kallis should end that debate before it starts.