Fab 4 cricket: Expert Guide to Kohli, Smith, Root & Williamson

The Fab Four in cricket refers to Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson, a modern big four of batting whose names have shaped matches, cycles and rankings across formats. Their styles could not be more different. Their impact, however, feels inseparable from how this era is remembered. They pushed standards higher, gave statisticians fresh mountains to climb, and offered bowlers a maze with no dead ends. At their best, each takes control of time itself: the ball seems to arrive slower, the field seems to move late. When a match climbs toward its sharpest edge, one of these four usually stands there, steadying the blade.

What follows is a comprehensive, long-form guide to the Fab 4 of cricket—definition, origin, rich context and data-led comparisons across Tests, ODIs and T20Is, plus the ongoing Fab 5 debate with Babar Azam and a look at the next generation. The analysis is designed to outlast news cycles and live as a reference point you can return to after every series.

The Fab Four, defined

The term Fab Four in cricket means a group of four modern batting greats—Virat Kohli (India), Steve Smith (Australia), Joe Root (England) and Kane Williamson (New Zealand)—who, over a sustained period, produced elite output across formats and conditions. The label borrows from the Beatles’ “Fab Four” and entered cricket’s mainstream through analysts, broadcasters and magazines as this quartet climbed rankings and piled up hundreds in parallel arcs.

For the purposes of analysis in this guide:

• Virat Kohli anchors the ODI and T20I conversation and remains a high-ceiling Test match player with unmatched chase metrics and conversion in white-ball cricket.
• Steve Smith is the Test batting outlier, defined by a towering average and ridiculous consistency in tough away conditions, especially in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) not his own.
• Joe Root is the volume king in Tests, a tempo master whose range against spin and seam makes him the most adaptable across long spells and changing game tempos.
• Kane Williamson sets the gold standard for control under pressure—bat close to pad, late play, minimal fuss, maximal scars left on the bowling unit—across formats, and a defining captain for New Zealand.

Fab Four origin and meaning in cricket

The modern Fab Four label took hold when the cricket world recognized a rare convergence: four batters, one from each major Test nation outside the subcontinent triumvirate, peaking in overlapping careers across formats. The shorthand simplified decades of pub debates and editorial think-pieces into a clean headline. It also provided a structure for comparisons—home vs away, SENA vs Asia, white-ball vs red-ball, captaincy vs non-captaincy—within a single cohort.

What the term does not claim is exclusivity. It captures a moment in time, built on overlapping peaks. The conversation continues to evolve, and that’s where Fab 5 cricket and next-gen candidates arise. But the original Fab 4 remains the anchor around which all modern batting debates orbit.

Snapshot: style, role, and signature patterns

Virat Kohli

• Role identity: white-ball behemoth; in Tests, a middle-order intimidator who sets tone with body language and precise tempo choices.
• Signature patterns: chases with immaculate pacing; ODI conversion rate from fifty to hundred; acute off-side play through cover-point and extra; fifth-stump restraint when switched on; T20I endgame acceleration without slogging.
• Typical bowling plans faced: fourth-stump wobble seam; early short ball to push him back; defensive fields with deep point and sweeper; spin with a packed leg-side to deny the whip.

Steve Smith

• Role identity: Test cricket’s most disruptive presence; the only current batter who changes the fielding captain’s mood before he’s even set.
• Signature patterns: exaggerated trigger movements; ruthless line ownership outside off; leg-side working with hard hands but soft result; freakish hand–eye to make bad balls look worse and good balls look worse still; batting long like it’s a daily ritual.
• Typical bowling plans faced: leg-side traps with catching mid-wicket and square leg; over-the-wicket heavy length to hit the splice; around-the-wicket into ribs with a short leg and leg gully; wide line with patience in England.

Joe Root

• Role identity: Test metronome who adds flair when the game demands it; a run-engine that adapts to bowling plans with creative strokeplay.
• Signature patterns: late dab behind point; phase shifting from low-risk drives to high-value sweep variations; reverse lap even early in an innings if fields invite it; timing-based accelerations that turn sessions.
• Typical bowling plans faced: wide channel to lure the big drive; cross-seam into the knee roll in Asia; short-pitched burst to disturb rhythm; spin with a leg slip and backward short leg to cut off sweep options.

Kane Williamson

• Role identity: the control artist; ice-vein match management; high leverage runs under clouds or under floodlights when everything looks harder.
• Signature patterns: still head, bat close to pad, absurdly late contact under the eyes; strike rotation that strangles bowlers; no-motion deception against spin; endgame serenity in fourth-innings situations.
• Typical bowling plans faced: fourth-stump with late movement to entice; fuller, angling in for lbw; mid-off squeeze to cut the single; spin with tight off stump to deny the late cut.

Format-by-format: where each one leaves the strongest imprint

The Fab Four became the Fab Four by being multi-format. Their peaks, however, are distinct in character.

Tests

• Smith owns the outlier average and the deepest impact in SENA conditions. His away record in England, and more broadly in SENA away fixtures, is the standard contemporary batters are judged against.
• Root carries the run-volume mantle. He scores at all tempos and is the most likely to turn small starts into resilient seventies and then into match-bending hundreds in the middle order.
• Williamson is the control variable who rarely gives a session away. When New Zealand need time batted or a fourth-innings chase steadied, he quietly claims it.
• Kohli’s Test narrative swings with rhythm: bursts of high-class dominance, technically pure cover drives, lean phases addressed with visible adjustments, and then a surge tied to confidence. Even through fluctuations, his presence shapes how bowling units plan their entire day.

ODIs

• Kohli defines ODI chasing for this era. The run rate calculations, the risk discipline between over thirty and over forty, the cold conversion rate—this is his playground.
• Root is the anchor who hits gaps without getting stuck. He lets the power hitter at the other end play free while he builds a century at a run-a-ball pace by stealth.
• Williamson has been a tournament colossus for New Zealand, steering his side to the business end, often topping charts when it matters most.
• Smith’s ODI influence swings series when he arrives in form, especially on true pitches where his leg-side working breaks rhythm and sets up big finishes.

T20Is

• Kohli’s match-shaping chases, especially at global events, form a highlight reel that spills over into cricket folklore. Read the score at the end; he tends to be there.
• Williamson, in T20Is, does not shout with strike rate; he manipulates fielding captains and sets platforms. On sluggish surfaces, that subtlety outvalues brute force.
• Smith’s T20I role has been fluid; while he has not defined the format the way he has Tests, he remains a problem-solver at three or four in domestic leagues and national XI when a chase requires brain over brawn.
• Root’s T20I sample is smaller relative to Tests, but his powerplay rotation and late-innings invention remain underrated assets for balance-focused selections.

Clean, data-backed headlines without drowning in numbers

Precision matters, and so do responsible claims that can stand up as scorecards and series accumulate. Without overloading you with raw counts that age the moment a new series begins, here are stable, analysis-ready truths that reflect the Fab Four pecking order by metric.

Best-in-cohort leaders by key red-ball and white-ball metrics

• Test batting average leader: Steve Smith
• Test run-volume leader: Joe Root
• Test SENA away impact leader: Steve Smith
• Test Asia adaptability leader: Joe Root and Kane Williamson close, with Root’s sweep range and Williamson’s late play both decisive
• ODI run-chase leader: Virat Kohli
• ODI conversion (50 to 100) leader: Virat Kohli
• Tournament MVP profile in ODIs: Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli in different ways—Williamson for orchestration, Kohli for chase mastery
• T20I big stage influence: Virat Kohli
• Captaincy impact in Tests: Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli each leave powerful legacies—Williamson with a world title lifted, Kohli with a transformational fast-bowling template and record win percentages at home and away
• ICC rankings apex visibility: all four have occupied top rungs at various times, with Smith and Kohli spending long stretches near the summit

A short comparison table with best-in-role touchpoints

Format or metric	Leader within Fab Four	Why that edge matters
Test average	Steve Smith	The clearest proxy for sustained excellence; holds up home and away
Test total runs	Joe Root	Volume and consistency across phases, long spells, and different captains
Test SENA away	Steve Smith	The hardest exam for most batters; Smith aces it
Tests in Asia	Joe Root / Kane Williamson	Range against spin (Root), late play and intent control (Williamson)
ODI run chases	Virat Kohli	Pacing, boundary-per-over control, finishing rate
ODI conversion	Virat Kohli	Turns good starts into match winners with machine-like regularity
T20I big moments	Virat Kohli	High-leverage run chases and tournament knockouts
Captaincy (Tests)	Kane Williamson / Virat Kohli	Trophy for Williamson; cultural and tactical revolution under Kohli

Note: The table intentionally prioritizes relative edges that remain stable across series rather than static counts that date quickly.

How bowlers talk about each one

One way to gauge greatness is to listen to those who have to solve it. Fast bowlers discuss Kohli’s discipline outside off stump on a length that tempts everyone else, and how his wrists add power without giving away shape on the shot. Against Smith, they talk about the sheer discomfort of planning: aim at off stump and he turns you to mid-wicket, go straighter and he walks across you, go wider and he leaves on length and angle. With Root, seamers and spinners recount the frustration of never quite pinning him down; a fielder moves and he immediately milks that space. Williamson earns a different kind of respect—quiet, ice-cold build-ups where a bowling unit feels it’s in the game, and then three sessions pass with nothing to show.

Defining innings that shaped the myth

• Kohli often writes fourth-gear symphonies in the middle overs of ODIs. One can summon images of him tapping singles against high pace with no panic, building an unassailable platform for a chase while the crowd reads the score and realizes the equation now looks trivial. In Tests, memories return to classic hundreds on bouncy surfaces, made with driving courage and a willingness to leave the ball; those centuries made fast bowlers rethink what lines are safe on quick decks in Australia and South Africa.
• Smith’s catalogue is heavy with Ashes spine-benders and series-lifting masterclasses in hostile away conditions. The most enduring snapshots come from heavy-scoring matches in England where he turned early pressure into long occupation, all while fielders shuffled into strange places like chess pieces on a board he had designed.
• Root’s ledger is full of long hauls that ended with a winning handshake. The moments that linger are his controlled chases at home with twilight creeping in, reverse laps that took the breath away, and relentless hundreds in Asia built on sweep variations that forced fielders to move out of optimal zones.
• Williamson’s cinematic moments often appear understated on the scoreboard. Yet those who watched live remember how often he was in control of the pace of the match. The short sessions where he turned a tricky seven-over spell into a run-a-ball glide when the bowler got tired. The WTC final where he treated a low target like a complex endgame in chess and closed it without drama.

Modern Fab Four vs Fab Five: the Babar Azam question

Fab 5 cricket is an organic evolution of the conversation. Babar Azam’s rise to sustained elite output across formats, including stretches at the top of ICC rankings, forced analysts to re-open the club’s doors. The reasons some purists resist a formal switch from Fab Four to Fab Five are not personal; they are historical and definitional.

• The original Fab Four label emerged when these four were already past the initial breakthrough stage and had piled up records across home and away environments. It was a retrospective acknowledgement of a collective prime.
• Babar’s credentials now read like they belong in the same paragraph: elite ODI average and conversion, a T20I engine with stability and surge, and a Test game with classical technique anchored by straight-bat drives and balanced head position. He also carries national batting weight as a captain and talisman.
• The sticking points for skeptics usually settle on narrower Test-sample away in SENA conditions relative to the volume the original Fab Four have posted and the need to convert good starts into longer hundreds against high pace with the Dukes or Kookaburra in hand. In other words: the final polish in the hardest labs of Test cricket.

Practical verdict:
Language evolves. Many fans and analysts now use Fab 5 in cricket to include Babar Azam. The more timeless phrasing remains modern Fab Four when referencing the original cohort, and Fab 5 when extending the frame to include Babar’s prime.

How the Fab Four compare through core lenses

1) Home vs away

• Kohli’s aura at home has never been just runs; it’s how opposition captains set fields that tells the story. Away, he has produced series-defining knocks in Australia and South Africa and navigated English conditions with mixed returns, corrected technique, then more returns.
• Smith is lethal both home and away, with away especially imposing in England. His compactness at release and exaggerated leaves challenge the very plan seamers rely upon in seaming conditions.
• Root at home is comfort food for English fans; away, his Asia arc is particularly notable with sweep-led mastery, and in SENA away he has built tough runs albeit with cycles of support around him that affected outcomes.
• Williamson’s home record is a model of conditions-based expertise. Away, his best work often happens in sessions that kill momentum; in England he reads the new ball like a fluent speaker reads idiom.

2) SENA vs Asia

• SENA away leader: Smith by volume and average. He makes good bowlers rethink lengths and lines.
• Asia leader: a creative tie between Root and Williamson. Root’s sweeping range—conventional sweep, paddle, slog-sweep, reverse—reshapes fields, while Williamson’s late play and stillness punish both over- and under-spin.

3) Fourth-innings and pressure chases

• Williamson shines in fourth-innings stability, picking singles and short boundaries without letting the chase breathe panic into the dressing room.
• Root has crafted some surgical fourth-innings essays at home, steering with placement rather than force.
• Kohli, in ODIs and T20Is, remains the chase avatar; in Tests his fourth-innings hundreds are fewer but the persona still injects belief.
• Smith, architect of many first-innings platforms, can close too, though his fame rests more on setting insurmountable leads.

4) Conversion rates, starts to hundreds

• In Tests, Smith’s conversion rate from fifty to hundred stands out. He hates leaving runs on the table.
• Root’s conversion has climbed in phases where he has consciously added gear shifts post-fifty, aligning with tactical evolution in England’s Test approach.
• Williamson’s conversion is aided by serenity; he rarely loses shape after reaching a platform.
• Kohli’s ODI conversion is the brightest flame in white-ball cricket across this cohort.

5) Captaincy imprint

• Kohli’s Test captaincy triggered a cultural reset around fast bowling, fielding intensity and tactical edge. His India became an away force with a relentless tempo and gym-hardened fitness goals.
• Williamson captained New Zealand into a durable, respected machine—smart fields, quick bowling changes, batting order logic—and lifted a world title in the longest format.
• Root captained through transitions, and while the win–loss sheet wobbled in parts, he matured in leadership voice and left the armband with his batting still soaring.
• Smith’s captaincy story carries a complicated chapter; his on-field tactical instincts remain sharp, and his batting leadership never dipped.

World Test Championship cycles, without the dates

• First cycle: Williamson’s New Zealand executed with clinical clarity and lifted the mace. Kohli’s India built a fearsome attack and reached the finale, setting a tone for the format. Root’s individual numbers exploded while England searched for balance. Smith continued to be the axis in Australia’s batting scorecards.
• Second cycle: Root’s batting remained torrential even as leadership passed hands later. Kohli’s role shifted into a senior batter and slip cordon anchor, punctuated by big-match hundreds that re-ignited old flames. Williamson battled injuries yet never lost his serenity; when on the field, he returned to run-accumulation with trademark control. Smith broadened roles, moving around the top order as needed, still a banker in tough conditions.
• Current cycle: The baton is being shared more with new names—Head, Labuschagne, Brook, Gill, Jaiswal—but the Fab Four still define the tonality. One big series, one fourth-innings dance, and the discourse shifts back to their shoulders.

Deep technical notes: how each crafts run-scoring

Virat Kohli

• Against pace: the base is a compact forward press with a firm front knee and a decisive leave. When in nick, he chases nothing early and trusts the straight drive. His wrists allow the on-drive off middle and off stump lines that many cannot control. The hallmark is rhythm: if he hits early cover drives on length balls without closing the face, the day likely flows toward a big score.
• Against spin: measured footwork with nimble weight transfer; quick hands enable the wristy flick in the air over mid-wicket if mid-on is up. Rarely sweeps early; prefers playing with the turn and finding singles to long-on and long-off, then opens the shoulders only after a platform.

Steve Smith

• Against pace: the exaggerated shuffle is not a quirk for show—it buys him line ownership. He turns the corridor outside off stump into a leaving zone, making bowlers reach for a fuller length that he then meets with a bat face angled to leg. He rides bounce with a horizontal bat when necessary, and he keeps the blade high late, which blocks seam-induced wobble from defeating him.
• Against spin: decisive use of the crease, especially going back to balls that others would meet on the front foot. He loves working with the spin through mid-wicket and long-on, and his manipulation of fielders turns a 4-5 field into a 3-6 without the captain noticing.

Joe Root

• Against pace: light feet, late hands. He picks length fast and prefers touch-based runs in front of point or behind square. The checked drive straight and a glide to third man—high percentage, high repetition—keep the board moving. Short balls don’t panic him; he’ll roll the wrists and pick singles, saving the pull for offers in his zone.
• Against spin: the most complete sweep portfolio of the cohort. Conventional sweep to upset good length, paddle to beat fine leg, slog-sweep when mid-wicket is clear, reverse lap when slip fields vacate deep. This arsenal forces captains into compromises that open the straight drive.

Kane Williamson

• Against pace: classic lines, elite late play. Everything happens under the eyes. He murders anything overpitched with a silken drive and wears the angle ball across his pads like a badge; he doesn’t get trapped leg-before easily because his head never falls across.
• Against spin: minimalistic excellence. He waits for the ball, uses tiny weight transfers to get to the pitch, and plays with such soft hands that mis-hits die before infielders. A master of nudging singles to long-on/long-off to unlock boundary balls on his terms.

Fab 4 Test records by condition: a qualitative table worth saving

Condition lens	Edge within Fab Four	Strategic takeaway for captains
Home, fast/true pitches	Kohli / Smith	Don’t feed them width; guard the V early; accept slow starts to deny momentum
Home, seaming	Root / Williamson	Pack point and cover; deny singles; rotate quicks in short bursts to keep them moving
Away in SENA	Smith	Plan leg-side fields with patience; be prepared for long shifts; avoid over-correcting wide
Away in Asia	Root / Williamson	Sweep fields must be intelligent; vary pace off the surface; fielder at 45 a must vs reverse lap

ODI records and match roles: what matters when the lights turn on

• Kohli is the batting control room. Watch him in the middle overs: he reads the par for the pitch, calculates risk like a banker, and then squeezes singles with two boundary options pre-loaded. Fielders start to feel late to everything.
• Root is the invisible engine. At the 30-over mark, he can be on 70 without a single swing-from-the-hips shot. The strike rate is healthy because he hits gaps in front of square and plays with point as if it were a practice drill.
• Williamson turns pressure into opportunity. Against strong attacks in tournaments, he collects good balls like marbles, pocketing them, refusing to let the scoreboard sense fear. The innings looks busy without any ugliness.
• Smith in ODIs can dismantle rhythm by turning good-length deliveries into run-scoring options through leg-side deflections and fast hands through mid-wicket, destabilizing field plans and setting platforms for a finisher.

T20I snapshots: efficiency in small windows

T20Is are about handling volatility. Sample sizes are spikier; roles fluctuate with team combinations. Still, the Fab Four bring reliability where chaos reigns.

• Kohli’s T20I chasing blueprint emphasizes low-risk placement early, calculated boundary shots to keep the required rate elastic, and late-overs clarity with lanes of scoring pre-mapped. This is peak percentage cricket with the heart rate of a finisher.
• Williamson the T20I captain and batter values match-ups. He’ll hold back an accelerator if the angle doesn’t fit and will happily play a 35 off 25 ball-turner because in context that’s gold.
• Smith contributes as a stabilizer against early collapses and a manipulator of angles in the middle; less highlight-reel than anchor rope you grab when the boat lurches.
• Root’s T20I usage has sometimes been a selection jigsaw piece; when used, he turns dots into ones and hides pressure from power hitters.

Fab 4 stats to track without drowning in decimals

Numbers matter. The key is tracking metrics that don’t need a fresh update every week to hold their meaning. Use these to argue smartly without handling spreadsheets mid-conversation.

Tests

• Average leader within cohort: Steve Smith
• Total runs leader: Joe Root
• SENA away impact: Steve Smith
• Asia adaptability: Root and Williamson lead on range and method
• Double centuries leaderboard: competitive among Smith, Root and Williamson; Kohli trails in count but brings weight-of-runs in match contexts

ODIs

• Most ODI hundreds among the four: Virat Kohli
• Best chase differential (performance in chases vs setting): Virat Kohli
• Tournament MVP imprint: Williamson for orchestration; Kohli for endgame authority

T20Is

• High-leverage chasing impact: Virat Kohli
• Powerplay strike rotation leader: Joe Root when picked, Williamson by role consistency
• Middle-over anchor efficacy with low false-shot percentage: Williamson, Kohli

Captaincy record: what the scorebook misses

• Kohli’s India evolved into a fast-bowling arsenal with five-man attack options even in conditions that tempted spin-first selection. Slip catching improved dramatically. Fitness standards rose. Players talk about clarity with roles.
• Williamson constructed a nimble, principles-led unit that punched above resources without ever playing like underdogs. A rare national identity emerged: smart fields, disciplined lengths, mature batting, no panic in pressure zones.
• Root captained during structural churn, and though results varied, he maintained batting form, which is no small feat under the armband’s weight. He evolved into a senior mentor whose words carry across the dressing room.
• Smith’s return to leadership in bursts showed the underlying tactical acuity that defined his early career: aggressive fields for longer, trust in bowling plans, and micro-adjustments mid-over.

The Fab 4 debate: who’s best among the Fab Four

Definitive answers are seductive and often wrong. The honest answer depends on the format and the lens.

• Pure Test batting, normalized for conditions and volume: Steve Smith
• Test volume and tempo versatility: Joe Root
• Cross-format white-ball supremacy: Virat Kohli
• Match-control and captaincy synergy: Kane Williamson

Pick your lens, and the answer moves. Some prefer generational value: if building a Test side for a summer in England, the pick is Smith. For an ODI tournament with night games and sticky chases, Kohli. For a three-Test spin tour in Asia with unknown surfaces, Root or Williamson. For an all-format captain who won’t break under glare, Williamson or Kohli. This is not fence-sitting; it is precision.

Fab 4 vs Fab 5: the case for and against Babar Azam’s inclusion

The case for inclusion

• Output across formats at or near the very top in recent cycles
• Elite ODI average and century-making frequency
• Calm technique with straight bat and late contact; T20I reliability as an anchor
• Symbolic value as the modern face of Pakistan batting, with leadership responsibilities embraced

The cautious view

• Original Fab Four label described an earlier consolidated prime
• Test away depth in the hardest SENA labs still has chapters to write relative to the original four’s volume
• For traditionalists, the club is a completed story; for modernists, it’s a living document

Pragmatic synthesis:
The conversation has already evolved in public discourse. Fab 5 in cricket now commonly includes Babar Azam, especially in white-ball debates. Analysts can be more precise by stating context: “modern Fab Four” when discussing the original set; “Fab Five” when including Babar in present-tense comparisons.

The next-gen Fab Four: candidates and criteria

Criteria that actually matter:

• Sustained output across formats or a world-best peak in at least one
• Away record in SENA for Test legitimacy and Asia record for roundedness
• Tournament and knockout impact for white-ball credibility
• Durability through form cycles and a technique that travels

Names in the frame:

• Travis Head: a momentum monster in Tests and ODIs, redefining the counterpunch at five and as an opener in white-ball. His ability to seize a session has rebalanced series.
• Marnus Labuschagne: run-harvesting method with classic technique; building the away dossier. When locked in, he turns day one into day three in terms of effect on a game.
• Shubman Gill: all-format grace with power-to-come; ODI and T20I surge with long levers; Test proof still in progress with away labs ahead.
• Harry Brook: fast-scoring Test disruptor; breaks fielding structures with early gear changes, fearless aerial lines; white-ball upsides strong.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal: left-handed intent sets the tone at the top; spin-hitting range and early-career Test temperament suggest staying power.
• Abdullah Shafique: compact, old-school red-ball base; away improvement will tell the full story.

None are locked as the next modern Fab Four yet, and that’s fine. The sport is healthier when many chase the summit.

Language and global fandom

The phrase Fab 4 cricket has entered common parlance far beyond English-language coverage. Fans search for Fab Four cricket meaning in Hindi, Urdu or other languages; commentators on regional broadcasts use local analogues. This matters for two reasons: it shows the cultural penetration of the concept, and it underlines why a stable, evergreen guide helps new fans orient quickly without getting lost in transient news cycles.

Timeless match-up notes: how to bowl to each

Kohli

• New ball in Tests: hold the fourth-stump wobble seam, do not chase the magic ball; pack off side to invite cover drive but make it a trap not a gift.
• Middle overs in ODIs: deny singles at extra cover with a square mid-off; change pace, not just length; set backward point fine to plug his dab.
• Death overs in T20Is: wider yorker with protection on the off side early; occasional bouncer to reset; be brave enough to feed the leg side when he shapes for off-side strokes.

Smith

• Early in Tests: leg-side catchers with a top-of-off stump plan; double bluff by going wide only as a surprise; around-the-wicket angle into ribs to pin movement.
• Middle overs ODIs: take the leg-side single away with square leg and mid-wicket riders; keep pace high and nag at the splice.
• Fourth-innings: make him drive on the up into a cordon; leave the boundary vacant to bait false confidence, then drag the length.

Root

• In Asia: set a leg slip and backward square for the sweep family; vary pace through the air; push length fuller then pull back to cut off his step-down.
• In SENA: bowl the wobble seam across him with a wide ring; tempt the drive but keep it on a heavy length; throw in a surprise short ball at the end of the over.
• White-ball: cut off backward point and deep third; make him hit over extra cover not behind point.

Williamson

• Powerplays: bowl at the top of off with scramble seam; stay patient; he feeds on your desperation.
• Spin phases: bring a short extra cover and short mid-wicket to steal the soft single; force him to hit through fielders, not around them.
• Closing phases: widen the line a shade; offer the two instead of the one; stretch the over’s emotional length.

The culture they built

Greatness is not only numbers. The Fab Four shifted how batting is taught and copied:

• Youngsters now study Kohli’s body position at release, his balance through the off drive, his chase math, his fitness ethic.
• Smith gave permission to be unorthodox if the method was repeatable and truthful to your body.
• Root made sweep variations mainstream again, not as desperation but as design.
• Williamson taught serenity as a competitive edge and reinforced the idea that clean basics can still outlast all trends.

Media narratives come and go; this cultural imprint persists.

A clean, evergreen comparison block for quick reference

Attribute	Kohli	Smith	Root	Williamson
Primary format edge	ODIs/T20Is	Tests	Tests	Tests/ODIs under pressure
Test average vs cohort	Trailing Smith	Leading	Chasing Smith	Close to Root area
Test run volume	High	High	Highest	High
SENA away impact	High	Very high	Mixed-high	High
Asia impact	High	High	Very high	Very high
ODI chasing	Peak	Strong	Strong	Strong
ODI conversion	Peak	Strong	Strong	Strong
T20I big moments	Peak	Situational	Situational	Context-strong
Captaincy legacy	Transformational intensity	Interrupted/acute	Transitional	Trophy-laden calm

This block does not replace numbers; it complements them by capturing persistent truths.

Methodology, sources and how to self-update

Analyses here lean on stable relationships rather than volatile tallies: ICC rankings patterns, Test averages normalized for home/away, SENA/Asia splits, conversion rates, and fourth-innings impact measured by average and balls faced in successful chases. When you wish to refresh the picture:

• Use ESPNcricinfo’s Statsguru to filter by format, opposition, home/away, and innings.
• Compare Test averages with filters for SENA away and Asia tours.
• For ODI chases, compare averages and strike rates when batting second vs first.
• For T20Is, track batting in run-chases at global events and the strike-rate splits by phase.
• Contextualize captaincy with win–loss while also studiously noting strength of opposition and whether teams were mid-transition.

A reasoned closing verdict

The Fab 4 in cricket remain a living institution. The group anchored a decade of batting discourse and still sits at the center of how we understand form, class and greatness. Kohli’s white-ball mastery and Test presence, Smith’s red-ball abnormality, Root’s adaptable volume, and Williamson’s calm command add up to a composite picture that will be cited when the next generation seeks frames of reference.

Fab 5 cricket, with Babar Azam added, reflects reality as it unfolds. Purists can keep the original frame for historical clarity while acknowledging Babar’s claim in current conversations. Both can be true. Meanwhile, candidates like Head, Labuschagne, Gill, Jaiswal and Brook chase their chapters. Some will stick; some will fade; that churn is the sport’s heartbeat.

What will not change easily:

• In Tests, Smith’s average and Root’s volume remain the poles.
• In ODIs, Kohli’s chases and conversion remain the north star.
• In T20Is, Kohli’s big-stage craft remains the most bankable narrative among the four.
• In captaincy, Williamson’s silverware and Kohli’s cultural overhaul remain defining legacies.

If your aim is to settle the pub debate in a sentence, pick the lens and state it clearly. If your aim is to understand, let the lenses overlap. The Fab Four never asked to be a monolith. They earned a plural—the rare quartet where each part is distinctly itself, yet the sum feels like the story of modern batting.

Appendix: compact comparison tables you can clip and save

Format-centric Fab Four leaderboard (role-first framing)

Format	Volume supremacy	Efficiency supremacy	Pressure supremacy
Tests	Root	Smith	Williamson
ODIs	Kohli	Kohli	Kohli/Williamson
T20Is	—	Kohli	Kohli

Key conditions and best-in-cohort picks

Condition	Best performer	Notable second
SENA away (Tests)	Smith	Root
Asia tours (Tests)	Root/Williamson	Kohli
ODI chases	Kohli	Williamson
Fourth-innings Tests	Williamson	Root

Signature strengths in one line each

• Kohli: builds inevitability in a chase.
• Smith: breaks a bowling plan’s spine in seaming conditions.
• Root: turns good balls into ones and twos until the bowling loses its nerve.
• Williamson: plays the ball later than most and slows the game to his heartbeat.

That’s the modern Fab Four, examined with respect, skepticism and the steady hand of data. The story is still being written; the chapter headings, though, are already carved in stone.