Well I am really fond of picking up great cricketers(based on some filter, like ODI batsmen this time) and rank them. Its such a temptation hard to resist. You must have seen me making assiduous efforts to list down five all time greatest cricketers earlier.Well here is my list(compiled with lesser effort this time)
1. Sachin Tendulkar(India) - Need I say anything? Average of almost 45, strike rate of 86, 37 centuries, most Man of the Match awards in ODI’s almost 3500 runs ahead of the second highest run getter. He has an immense ability to improvise as was seen in World Cup 2003 when he took a leg stump guard and never got caught behind the wickets or in slips in the 11 matches that he played despite of being an opening batsman!
2. Vivian Richards(West Indies) - Easily the most devastating batsman of 150 years of history of international cricket. Average of 47 and strike rate of 90+, when retired he held every single ODI batting record be it the most runs in a single innings, or most sixes in an innings and in career or quickest to reach 5000/6000 runs(didnt play anymore else he would have been quickest to reach all landmarks)or most man of the match awards.and the list goes on.
3. Brian Lara(West Indies) - At his best very few can match him. Has the habit of producing the best against the best i.e. Australia and South Africa. His innings against South Africa in World cup 1996 to lead his side to an upset win comes to mind immediately.
4. Zaheer Abbas(Pakistan) - After Sachin and Richards, he is one undisputed ODI king. Playing in 70’s and early 80’s when approach to one day cricket was much different than what we see today, he still remains one of the only 4 cricketers to have an average of 40+ and a strike rate of 80+(other 3 being Tendulkar, Richards and surprise package Lance Klusner). His average at just under 48 is next only to Bevan.
5. Michael Bevan(Australia) - If ODI cricket is about finishing the games and carrying the side safely home, Michael Bevan is the master. Average of about 55, will anyone ever get closer?
6. Saurav Ganguly(India) - A few eyebrows will be raised probably. Sadly he is no more performing the way he did some years back, he still averages above 42, has most hundreds after Sachin, Completed 7000, 8000 and 9000 runs in record time and is all set to get 10000 in record time, quicker than even Sachin and after Shahid Afridi and Sanath Jaysuriya, Ganguly has hit most sixes in ODI’s. He possesses an amazing ability to improvise till date, unfortunately some of his weaknesses that he hasn’t been able to sort out has kept world cricket deprived of some more great knocks he had the ability to produce.
7. Dean Jones(Australia) - He was a one day specialist, quite like Michael Beavan of today, among the few averaging around 45. In his days, he was the best ODI batsman in world cricket after Viv Richard.
8. Saeed Anwar(Pakistan) - He has played some of the most breathtaking innings. Though he is the only one with an average below 40 in this list(all others are above 42), he is the only one to score 3 back to back hundreds in ODI’s along with 2 in a row on 3 other occasions. And then who can forget his record 194 against India in Chennai in 1997, the Best ODI knock ever played in last 30 odd years.
9. Ricky Ponting(Australia) - He is with every passing day becoming a better and better batsman. Though his record when Chasing a total is little disappointing, he is still good enough to be reckoned among the ten best.
10. Jaques Kallis(South Africa) - His batting average both in ODI’s and Tests never stops shooting up. He is now averaging just under 46. One of the straightest bats in world cricket, he(along with Sachin Tendulkar) shows how one can do well in ODI’s without compromising with technique. Though his strike rate is lesser than all in this list, still he has won many many matches and surprisingly he hits sixes at a rate better than Sachin Tendulkar.
Those I hate to leave out from this list include Gordon Greenidge, Javed Miandad, Sanath Jaysuriya, Mark Waugh, Arvind De’silva, Garry Kirsten and Adam Gilchrist.