Cricinfo's Best Batsmen of All Time

[PAFAce]

The best batsmen across formats - across years

1 811 Tendulkar S.R Ind
2 736 Lara B.C Win
3 735 Richards I.V.A Win
4 732 Ponting R.T Aus #
5 699 Kallis J.H Saf #
6 687 Dravid R Ind #
7 675 Border A.R Aus
8 672 Waugh S.R Aus
9 664 Inzamam-ul-Haq Pak
10 661 Javed Miandad Pak
11 655 Sehwag V Ind
12 654 Chappell G.S Aus 7110 2331 363.4 290.5
13 647 Mohammad Yousuf Pak #
14 645 Gilchrist A.C Aus
14 645 Hayden M.L Aus
16 632 Chanderpaul S Win #
17 631 Gavaskar S.M Ind
18 630 Waugh M.E Aus
19 625 Lloyd C.H Win
19 625 Greenidge C.G Win
21 624 Jayawardene D.P.M.D Slk #
21 624 Jayasuriya S.T Slk #
23 622 Haynes D.L Win
24 621 Kirsten G Saf
24 621 Zaheer Abbas Pak

# - still playing

The top-10 has 3 Australians, 2 Indians, 2 West Indians, 2 Pakistanis and one South African batsmen. A fair distribution, one would say, with 5 countries represented. For the record, Jayawardene, Gooch, Martin Crowe, Andy Flower and Habibul Bashar are their countrys' best batsmen.
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No big surprises here, except Sehwag. He is probably the most overrated batsman on the planet. It's no mean feat to score like crazy on the dead tracks of India (and the rest of South Asia), I'll admit he's one of the all-time greats if he performs as well in places like Australia, England, South Africa etc. His batting style, run-and-gun lunacy, cannot be sustained on pitches that offer something to the bowlers, especially if the opposition has a decent bowling attack (which, incidentally, the current Sri Lankan team doesn't). My point is, if I were going to play the Australians in Australia on a Sydney pitch, I'd rather have Mohammad Yousuf or Sunil Gavaskar on my team than Virendar Sehwag.

That brings me to my next point. If Mohammad Yousuf can pull off another year like 2006, or even close, I think he'll sky-rocket to the top-5. He is by far the most eye-pleasing batsman in the Pakistani side, and probably in all of South Asia excluding Sachin Tendulkar. If there were a batting beauty contest, he'd probably be very near the top. Hence, I really think that even though his current ranking is a quite fair, he deserves to be in the top-5 by the end of his career.

Visit the site for more details on this statistical analysis. I don't think it's pefect, but it's by far the best analysis of batting performances I've ever seen. Can't wait to see a similar analysis for bowlers, I'm sure there will be many a Pakistani in there.

 

[Nemesis]

No big surprises here, except Sehwag. He is probably the most overrated batsman on the planet. It's no mean feat to score like crazy on the dead tracks of India (and the rest of South Asia), I'll admit he's one of the all-time greats if he performs as well in places like Australia, England, South Africa etc. His batting style, run-and-gun lunacy, cannot be sustained on pitches that offer something to the bowlers, especially if the opposition has a decent bowling attack (which, incidentally, the current Sri Lankan team doesn't). My point is, if I were going to play the Australians in Australia on a Sydney pitch, I'd rather have Mohammad Yousuf or Sunil Gavaskar on my team than Virendar Sehwag

Sehwag's best innings was at the MCG when he scored 195 in two sessions on the first day of the boxing day test. On a pitch which designed to give "Sweet Chin music" to Indians. He also scored 151 in Adelaide on a final day pitch. So, i disagree with you completely that he's overrated. When he first started, i used to think Sehwag was just another muscle head hitter, over time he has proved everyone wrong. Don't take my word for it, this is what Ian Chappell had to say -

The new Bradman | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

To those who attribute much of Sehwag's success to scoring heavily on flat Indian pitches, there's evidence to the contrary. He averages 50.48 away from India as an opener and has scored seven of his 16 hundreds on foreign soil. His 195 at the MCG in 2003-04 is one of the finest examples of an opener taking on the opposing bowlers on the opening day with gusto and audacious strokeplay.

Nevertheless, even that tearaway Sehwag innings pales into insignificance when compared with his outstanding achievement of 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium. May he play more innings like it in 2010, and hopefully everybody reading this column has a happy and healthy year.

Regarding the ranking, i think both Hayden and Gilchrist should be higher. Hayden especially.

 

[paritosh]

Sehwag is way better than sachina/inzy and co.
he knows only to attack....yet if you point out to a lack of technique...compare his highest scores in tests...which include his 2 triple centuries...with sehwag you don't need consistency...he is like very very powerful...first stage strap-on boosters that give a killer punch.