Top 100 in ODI history - 2: Tendulkar, 1: Richards
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Satan666
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Brian Lara is my alltime favourite player cant argue with him being placed 8th, all credits to the author of the thread for generating so much information about some of my favourite players. As for Murali I am one who still thinks he was a chucker, with his statistics I guess he may deserve a top 10 ranking but certainly not in the top 3.
^Thanks for reading 
He has suffered a little bit because he's a bowler, it's a bit unfortunate that my top 10-15 is a bit batsman heavy. But it was hard to get a consensus about who the best bowlers were - so they all dropped a little bit. Murali certainly was a great bowler, but I found one weakness when looking at Man of the Match stats and that was that Murali only won MOTM 13 times in 350 ODIs. SL certainly won enough games for him to get more awards than that eg. Shaun Pollock and Wasim Akram each won almost twice as many as that in a similar amount of games. Maybe it's just because Murali ALWAYS seemed to bowl well. He certainly deserves to rise above the constant bagging of his action, and emphasise how skillful and accurate he was.
He has suffered a little bit because he's a bowler, it's a bit unfortunate that my top 10-15 is a bit batsman heavy. But it was hard to get a consensus about who the best bowlers were - so they all dropped a little bit. Murali certainly was a great bowler, but I found one weakness when looking at Man of the Match stats and that was that Murali only won MOTM 13 times in 350 ODIs. SL certainly won enough games for him to get more awards than that eg. Shaun Pollock and Wasim Akram each won almost twice as many as that in a similar amount of games. Maybe it's just because Murali ALWAYS seemed to bowl well. He certainly deserves to rise above the constant bagging of his action, and emphasise how skillful and accurate he was.
#7 - Shaun Pollock
Role: Bowling all-rounder. RH fast-medium opening bowler. RH lower order batsman, usually #7 or #8.
Debut: vs England, Cape Town, 1996.
Matches: 303
Runs: 3519
Avg: 26.45
S/R: 86.69
Wkts: 393
Avg: 24.50
Econ: 3.67
Legacy: Pollock had a straight run-up and a beautiful high action which gained him plenty of bounce. But the secret to Pollock's success was simply that didn't bowl many bad balls. His line and length rarely faltered, and it was usually up to the batsmen to make all the running against him because they knew nothing free would be given to them. Joel Garner and Pollock are the two bowlers to have an economy rate at least a full run lower than the run rate of the day.
Talk of line and length and economy rate makes him sound like he bored batsmen out, but Pollock was very effective at moving the ball, mostly off the seam like his great rival Glenn McGrath. Pollock was also pretty quick at the start of his career, before maturing as a 130kph bowler. He was especially good at the top of the innings with a new ball in his hand, managing to dismiss the best openers quite often. His 3 most dismissed players are: Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Jayasuriya - an impressive trio - and all 3 averaged under 20 in innings when Pollock dismissed them, Tendulkar only 5.22.
Pollock's best bowling phase ended approximately when he lost the captaincy, after the 2003 World Cup. Up to that point he had 278 wickets, averaging 23.32, and strike rate of 36.9. Pollock's strike rate tailed off a bit at the end of his career, but his economy was better than ever as he only conceded 3.46 RPO over his last 104 ODIs under Graeme Smith.
Pollock was a talented batsman too: he had the classical big back lift and could play all the shots as correctly as any batsman, as well as being able to clear the fence. But in many ways he was a disappointment at #7 for a man of his talent, but I guess an average of 26 and strike rate of 87 is a decent return for such such an accomplished bowler. His captaincy will be unfortunately remembered for the misreading of the Duckworth-Lewis chart during the 2003 World Cup, thinking SA had enough to win, when it was only enough to tie. Pollock was successful generally though, managing to win 60 of his 97 ODIs in charge, a similar win percentage to Graeme Smith.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 5/36 (9.2) & 20 (14) vs Australia, Birmingham, 1999. The famous tied World Cup semi-final again. Perhaps Shaun Pollock's reputation be much improved if only Donald and Klusener had managed that final run. Pollock got danger man Mark Waugh early, but it was in his 2nd spell that he did the damage, getting Steve Waugh and Tom Moody in quick succession to halt Australia's recovery. Bevan and Warne followed at the death. With bat he came in with 69 needed off 57 balls against a rampant Shane Warne and after hitting him for a couple of boundaries he inside edged Fleming back onto his stumps. Wasn't enough as it turned out.
2) 5/20 (9) vs England, Johannesburg, 2000. Final of the tri-series and it was a seamers pitch. SA were rolled for 149 by England. England would have considered themselves favourites until Pollock dismissed all 5 of England's top 5 quickly, leaving them at 5/45. Wisden says he was unplayable and getting extravagant movement, all his wickets caught in the slips cordon. England were all out for only 111, and SA lifted the trophy, with Pollock Man of the Match.
3) 130 (110) for Africa XI vs Asia XI, Bangalore, 2007. Mohammad Asif and Zaheer Khan had destroyed the African top order and Pollock arrived at 5/31. Soon it was 7/87 in the 21st over and given the target was 318, the match looked over. But Shaun Pollock was there and he kept hitting boundaries as Chigumbura and Odoyo hung around with him. Pollock's last 80 runs came quicker than his first 50 and a miracle was starting to look possible. But with 35 needed off 14, Pollock holed out and his brave chase was halted. It was for a short time the highest score by a #7 until MS Dhoni beat it later that week.
Highlights:
#6 - Ricky Ponting
Role: RH top order batsman, most frequently at #3.
Debut: vs South Africa, Wellington, 1995.
Matches: 375
Runs: 13704
Avg: 42.03
S/R: 80.39
Legacy: There was a void at the #3 spot in Australia's order after Dean Jones, but it was eventually filled by a very similar player: Ricky Ponting. Both were nervous starters, both pushed hard at the ball, but both loved to attack the fast bowlers and both were brilliant, aggressive stroke-makers. Ponting was famous for his commanding pull shot which would usually rocket to the fence followed by the obligatory "you can't bowl there to Ricky Ponting". And then that might be followed by an over correcting fuller ball that would be punched down the ground or through the covers for 4, maybe a wider ball that would be cut or driven off the back foot - Ponting could do them all and made the margin of error very small for bowlers once he was going and flowing.
Ponting sits 2nd on the all-time ODI centuries list (with 30), and 2nd on the all-time runs list, he's 2nd on the most World Cup centuries as well. All 3 of those are behind a certain Indian batsman who we'll see soon
Another piece of interest in Ponting's record is that, like Murali, he has a reputation of favouring his home pitches in Test cricket, but his ODI record dispels that theory: Ponting averages 39.17 in Australia, 42.77 in neutral venues and 45.04 in the home of the opposition. He also averages at least 35 against all major opposition.
He probably would have made the top 10 on batting alone, but Ponting's value in the field raises him even higher. First, he was a very successful leader, winning 2 World Cups and holding the record of most games won as captain - Ponting's 165 wins WAY ahead of Allan Border on 107 wins. He's 2nd on the best winning percentage list too (behind Clive Lloyd): 76.14% of games won. Second, his fielding was top quality - one of the best all-round fieldsmen in ODI history. Ponting had quickness to the ball and a strong arm when boundary riding, and while in the ring he showed off his anticipation, ability to dive and stop shots, excellent catching hands and all crowned with an uncanny knack of knocking down the stumps with his throws.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 3 runs outs & 124* (129) vs Pakistan, Lahore, 1998. Ran out Saleem Malik early, and got a couple of less important ones at the end after Pakistan had passed 300. 316 was the final target, and Ponting and Gilchrist formed a classy and quick 193 run partnership against a good attack featuring Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Gilchrist was out with 98 to go, but Ponting stayed throughout and made sure the run rate was always on track. Australia got to 316 with 7 balls and 6 wickets to spare.
2) 140* (121) vs India, Johannesburg, 2003. World Cup final and Ponting was primarily responsible for launching Australia to an unattainable 359. His 50 came from 74 balls, meaning his last 90 came in only 47 balls. He signaled his acceleration with a couple of big 6s over mid-wicket against Harbhajan and spanking 6 more before the innings was over.
3) 164 (105) vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2006. 3 years later, Ponting was back at Jo'burg and for a couple of hours you could say he'd played one of the most brilliant ODI innings in history. It was audacious strokeplay at its best, and he'd just helped Australia to 435, an amazing score. Ntini and Kallis were particularly brutalised, as Ponting flayed anyone and everyone with 13 4s and 9 6s. It was the fastest 150+ score in ODI history - until the 2nd innings - as Herschelle Gibbs responded with 175 off 111 balls and SA chased down the massive score of 435. Unfortunately as a member of the losing side, Ponting's innings is generally mentioned only from courtesy. But in comparing the two, Gibbs HAD to score that fast to win, whereas Ponting was just so in the zone that the runs came that fast without any scoreboard pressure.
Highlights:
Role: Bowling all-rounder. RH fast-medium opening bowler. RH lower order batsman, usually #7 or #8.
Debut: vs England, Cape Town, 1996.
Matches: 303
Runs: 3519
Avg: 26.45
S/R: 86.69
Wkts: 393
Avg: 24.50
Econ: 3.67
Legacy: Pollock had a straight run-up and a beautiful high action which gained him plenty of bounce. But the secret to Pollock's success was simply that didn't bowl many bad balls. His line and length rarely faltered, and it was usually up to the batsmen to make all the running against him because they knew nothing free would be given to them. Joel Garner and Pollock are the two bowlers to have an economy rate at least a full run lower than the run rate of the day.
Talk of line and length and economy rate makes him sound like he bored batsmen out, but Pollock was very effective at moving the ball, mostly off the seam like his great rival Glenn McGrath. Pollock was also pretty quick at the start of his career, before maturing as a 130kph bowler. He was especially good at the top of the innings with a new ball in his hand, managing to dismiss the best openers quite often. His 3 most dismissed players are: Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Jayasuriya - an impressive trio - and all 3 averaged under 20 in innings when Pollock dismissed them, Tendulkar only 5.22.
Pollock's best bowling phase ended approximately when he lost the captaincy, after the 2003 World Cup. Up to that point he had 278 wickets, averaging 23.32, and strike rate of 36.9. Pollock's strike rate tailed off a bit at the end of his career, but his economy was better than ever as he only conceded 3.46 RPO over his last 104 ODIs under Graeme Smith.
Pollock was a talented batsman too: he had the classical big back lift and could play all the shots as correctly as any batsman, as well as being able to clear the fence. But in many ways he was a disappointment at #7 for a man of his talent, but I guess an average of 26 and strike rate of 87 is a decent return for such such an accomplished bowler. His captaincy will be unfortunately remembered for the misreading of the Duckworth-Lewis chart during the 2003 World Cup, thinking SA had enough to win, when it was only enough to tie. Pollock was successful generally though, managing to win 60 of his 97 ODIs in charge, a similar win percentage to Graeme Smith.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 5/36 (9.2) & 20 (14) vs Australia, Birmingham, 1999. The famous tied World Cup semi-final again. Perhaps Shaun Pollock's reputation be much improved if only Donald and Klusener had managed that final run. Pollock got danger man Mark Waugh early, but it was in his 2nd spell that he did the damage, getting Steve Waugh and Tom Moody in quick succession to halt Australia's recovery. Bevan and Warne followed at the death. With bat he came in with 69 needed off 57 balls against a rampant Shane Warne and after hitting him for a couple of boundaries he inside edged Fleming back onto his stumps. Wasn't enough as it turned out.
2) 5/20 (9) vs England, Johannesburg, 2000. Final of the tri-series and it was a seamers pitch. SA were rolled for 149 by England. England would have considered themselves favourites until Pollock dismissed all 5 of England's top 5 quickly, leaving them at 5/45. Wisden says he was unplayable and getting extravagant movement, all his wickets caught in the slips cordon. England were all out for only 111, and SA lifted the trophy, with Pollock Man of the Match.
3) 130 (110) for Africa XI vs Asia XI, Bangalore, 2007. Mohammad Asif and Zaheer Khan had destroyed the African top order and Pollock arrived at 5/31. Soon it was 7/87 in the 21st over and given the target was 318, the match looked over. But Shaun Pollock was there and he kept hitting boundaries as Chigumbura and Odoyo hung around with him. Pollock's last 80 runs came quicker than his first 50 and a miracle was starting to look possible. But with 35 needed off 14, Pollock holed out and his brave chase was halted. It was for a short time the highest score by a #7 until MS Dhoni beat it later that week.
Highlights:
#6 - Ricky Ponting
Role: RH top order batsman, most frequently at #3.
Debut: vs South Africa, Wellington, 1995.
Matches: 375
Runs: 13704
Avg: 42.03
S/R: 80.39
Legacy: There was a void at the #3 spot in Australia's order after Dean Jones, but it was eventually filled by a very similar player: Ricky Ponting. Both were nervous starters, both pushed hard at the ball, but both loved to attack the fast bowlers and both were brilliant, aggressive stroke-makers. Ponting was famous for his commanding pull shot which would usually rocket to the fence followed by the obligatory "you can't bowl there to Ricky Ponting". And then that might be followed by an over correcting fuller ball that would be punched down the ground or through the covers for 4, maybe a wider ball that would be cut or driven off the back foot - Ponting could do them all and made the margin of error very small for bowlers once he was going and flowing.
Ponting sits 2nd on the all-time ODI centuries list (with 30), and 2nd on the all-time runs list, he's 2nd on the most World Cup centuries as well. All 3 of those are behind a certain Indian batsman who we'll see soon
Another piece of interest in Ponting's record is that, like Murali, he has a reputation of favouring his home pitches in Test cricket, but his ODI record dispels that theory: Ponting averages 39.17 in Australia, 42.77 in neutral venues and 45.04 in the home of the opposition. He also averages at least 35 against all major opposition.He probably would have made the top 10 on batting alone, but Ponting's value in the field raises him even higher. First, he was a very successful leader, winning 2 World Cups and holding the record of most games won as captain - Ponting's 165 wins WAY ahead of Allan Border on 107 wins. He's 2nd on the best winning percentage list too (behind Clive Lloyd): 76.14% of games won. Second, his fielding was top quality - one of the best all-round fieldsmen in ODI history. Ponting had quickness to the ball and a strong arm when boundary riding, and while in the ring he showed off his anticipation, ability to dive and stop shots, excellent catching hands and all crowned with an uncanny knack of knocking down the stumps with his throws.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 3 runs outs & 124* (129) vs Pakistan, Lahore, 1998. Ran out Saleem Malik early, and got a couple of less important ones at the end after Pakistan had passed 300. 316 was the final target, and Ponting and Gilchrist formed a classy and quick 193 run partnership against a good attack featuring Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Gilchrist was out with 98 to go, but Ponting stayed throughout and made sure the run rate was always on track. Australia got to 316 with 7 balls and 6 wickets to spare.
2) 140* (121) vs India, Johannesburg, 2003. World Cup final and Ponting was primarily responsible for launching Australia to an unattainable 359. His 50 came from 74 balls, meaning his last 90 came in only 47 balls. He signaled his acceleration with a couple of big 6s over mid-wicket against Harbhajan and spanking 6 more before the innings was over.
3) 164 (105) vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2006. 3 years later, Ponting was back at Jo'burg and for a couple of hours you could say he'd played one of the most brilliant ODI innings in history. It was audacious strokeplay at its best, and he'd just helped Australia to 435, an amazing score. Ntini and Kallis were particularly brutalised, as Ponting flayed anyone and everyone with 13 4s and 9 6s. It was the fastest 150+ score in ODI history - until the 2nd innings - as Herschelle Gibbs responded with 175 off 111 balls and SA chased down the massive score of 435. Unfortunately as a member of the losing side, Ponting's innings is generally mentioned only from courtesy. But in comparing the two, Gibbs HAD to score that fast to win, whereas Ponting was just so in the zone that the runs came that fast without any scoreboard pressure.
Highlights:
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Gaurav_7
Executive member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2010
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- India
#1 or #2?
Bevab
Staff Member
Suspense!
So we are down to the last 5, this thread has really gone a long way in maintaining the readers interest.
Personally, I would've put Ponting higher on the list, but still, each person's opinion differs.
So we are down to the last 5, this thread has really gone a long way in maintaining the readers interest.
Personally, I would've put Ponting higher on the list, but still, each person's opinion differs.
RPHKR
National Board President
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2008
I would be disappointed a lot if he's not at #1.
Yeah the top 15 is batsman heavy. Cricket is definitely the batsmen's game imo. Even I would have got more batsmen in the list.
Ohh yes...where will the Little Master fall??
Meanwhile...here's #5
#5 - Sanath Jayasuriya
Role: Batting all-rounder. LH opening batsman. LH orthodox spin.
Debut: vs Australia, Melbourne, 1989.
Matches: 445
Runs: 13430
Avg: 32.36
S/R: 91.21
Wkts: 323
Avg: 36.75
Econ: 4.78
Legacy: A destructive and intimidating batsman who helped change ODI cricket for good. Jayasuriya's ambitious striking at the top of the innings underpinned the idea of batting aggressively and hitting over the infield in the first 15 overs. It had been tried by various batsmen before eg. Mark Greatbatch, but with the promotion of Kaluwitharana to partner Jayasuriya the tactic first gained a permanent foothold. Their success as an opening partnership was the template for every other nation to follow.
Jayasuriya loved to get width outside the off stump where he would carve through or over backward point, sometimes for 6! Then he could hit powerfully down the ground or play the pickup shot over midwicket too if the bowler decided to straighten his line or pitch it up.
Numbers wise, Jayasuriya took a long time to get going in his career, scoring only 926 runs in his first 63 innings before his 1st 100 came against NZ in 1994/95 - 5 years after his debut. 28 100s in total puts him 3rd on the all-time list of 100 scorers, he's also 3rd on the highest run scorers list. At various stages in his career held the record for fastest 50, fastest 100 and fastest 150. Only Tendulkar has more 150+ scores than the 4 Jayasuriya managed. Twice was involved in 30 run overs: vs Aamer Sohail in 1996 (wide,4,dot,6,6,6,6,1) and against Chris Harris in 2000 (6,6,6,6,4,2).
His bowling was very important to the balance of the Sri Lankan team, letting them play a batsman at #7. Occasionally he could be a match turner with the ball, particularly on turning Sri Lankan pitches, but he was generally just a reliable option. Bowled at the death a bit too because his low arm action and naturally full length meant he could spear the ball into the batsmen, making it difficult to hit over the fence. Jayasuriya was a quick mover between the wickets and in the field as well, and that quickness meant he ended his career with a lot of run-outs to his name. Captained SL for a fair time too - 118 ODIs - and during that time his batting average went up, averaging 38.73 as captain.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 134 (65) & 1/45 (10) vs Pakistan, Singapore, 1996. Explosive stuff from Jayasuriya against a pretty good Pakistan attack. Was out in only the 21st over, with SL at 196! It was a record breaking innings: He hit 11 6s - best ever at the time; 100 off 48 balls was the fastest 100 until Afridi's blastathon later that year; and the 30 runs from Sohail's over was a record too. Was also the most economical of the SL bowlers in Pakistan's valiant chase as they fell 34 runs short of SL's 349.
2) 189 (161) vs India, Sharjah, 2000. Final of the triangular series and India got absolutely flogged, bowled out for only 54 in reply to the 299 of SL. Jayasuriya started brightly: 50 off 53 balls, before consolidating in the middle as SL lost 3 quick wickets. Then exploded after he reached his 100, his last 89 runs coming from 43 balls. Was out with 2 overs to go, when his eye was on a double century. India's capitulation gave Jayasuriya the rare achievement of outscoring all the other 21 players combined. Took a great catch to remove Kambli as well.
3) 122 (105) & 4/39 (10) vs Australia, Sydney, 2003. An example of the all-round talents of Jayasuriya as SL upset the World Cup holders. He and Atapattu put on 237 at 7 RPO, Jayasuriya feasting on Watson and Hogg in particular. Then with the ball, he halted the scoring of the Aussie batsmen while getting the crucial wickets of Martyn and Bevan when they were forging a partnership, followed by Maher and Lee to nail the coffin shut.
Highlights:
Meanwhile...here's #5
#5 - Sanath Jayasuriya
Role: Batting all-rounder. LH opening batsman. LH orthodox spin.
Debut: vs Australia, Melbourne, 1989.
Matches: 445
Runs: 13430
Avg: 32.36
S/R: 91.21
Wkts: 323
Avg: 36.75
Econ: 4.78
Legacy: A destructive and intimidating batsman who helped change ODI cricket for good. Jayasuriya's ambitious striking at the top of the innings underpinned the idea of batting aggressively and hitting over the infield in the first 15 overs. It had been tried by various batsmen before eg. Mark Greatbatch, but with the promotion of Kaluwitharana to partner Jayasuriya the tactic first gained a permanent foothold. Their success as an opening partnership was the template for every other nation to follow.
Jayasuriya loved to get width outside the off stump where he would carve through or over backward point, sometimes for 6! Then he could hit powerfully down the ground or play the pickup shot over midwicket too if the bowler decided to straighten his line or pitch it up.
Numbers wise, Jayasuriya took a long time to get going in his career, scoring only 926 runs in his first 63 innings before his 1st 100 came against NZ in 1994/95 - 5 years after his debut. 28 100s in total puts him 3rd on the all-time list of 100 scorers, he's also 3rd on the highest run scorers list. At various stages in his career held the record for fastest 50, fastest 100 and fastest 150. Only Tendulkar has more 150+ scores than the 4 Jayasuriya managed. Twice was involved in 30 run overs: vs Aamer Sohail in 1996 (wide,4,dot,6,6,6,6,1) and against Chris Harris in 2000 (6,6,6,6,4,2).
His bowling was very important to the balance of the Sri Lankan team, letting them play a batsman at #7. Occasionally he could be a match turner with the ball, particularly on turning Sri Lankan pitches, but he was generally just a reliable option. Bowled at the death a bit too because his low arm action and naturally full length meant he could spear the ball into the batsmen, making it difficult to hit over the fence. Jayasuriya was a quick mover between the wickets and in the field as well, and that quickness meant he ended his career with a lot of run-outs to his name. Captained SL for a fair time too - 118 ODIs - and during that time his batting average went up, averaging 38.73 as captain.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 134 (65) & 1/45 (10) vs Pakistan, Singapore, 1996. Explosive stuff from Jayasuriya against a pretty good Pakistan attack. Was out in only the 21st over, with SL at 196! It was a record breaking innings: He hit 11 6s - best ever at the time; 100 off 48 balls was the fastest 100 until Afridi's blastathon later that year; and the 30 runs from Sohail's over was a record too. Was also the most economical of the SL bowlers in Pakistan's valiant chase as they fell 34 runs short of SL's 349.
2) 189 (161) vs India, Sharjah, 2000. Final of the triangular series and India got absolutely flogged, bowled out for only 54 in reply to the 299 of SL. Jayasuriya started brightly: 50 off 53 balls, before consolidating in the middle as SL lost 3 quick wickets. Then exploded after he reached his 100, his last 89 runs coming from 43 balls. Was out with 2 overs to go, when his eye was on a double century. India's capitulation gave Jayasuriya the rare achievement of outscoring all the other 21 players combined. Took a great catch to remove Kambli as well.
3) 122 (105) & 4/39 (10) vs Australia, Sydney, 2003. An example of the all-round talents of Jayasuriya as SL upset the World Cup holders. He and Atapattu put on 237 at 7 RPO, Jayasuriya feasting on Watson and Hogg in particular. Then with the ball, he halted the scoring of the Aussie batsmen while getting the crucial wickets of Martyn and Bevan when they were forging a partnership, followed by Maher and Lee to nail the coffin shut.
Highlights:
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StinkyBoHoon
National Board President
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- Mar 5, 2009
- Location
- Glasgow, Scotland
I would be disappointed a lot if he's not at #1.
Yeah the top 15 is batsman heavy. Cricket is definitely the batsmen's game imo. Even I would have got more batsmen in the list.
I would say it's maybe too all-roundery heavy. gilchrist is above lara, ponting and jayasuriya, 3 players that are definitely better ODI batsmen than him purely because he keeps wicket.
and pollocks nicked ahead of mcgrath and murali, two better ODI bowlers just because he had a knack of adding the occassional 50 from the lower order.
I can see why people have done this, when you're capable in both disciplines it does mark you out as "ideal" for ODIs and perhaps 4 of the 5 players I just mentioned probably feel more like test specialists due to them excelling only in one discipline (except ponting who was a brilliant fielder as well) but that shouldn't count against their achievements in ODIs.
still, it's a pleasure to recap some of these players. glad that number didn't do jayasuriya's place in, he's not got the greatest stats but he's definitely a massive figure in ODI history, a major player in taking sri lanka from a minnow nation to one of the ODI heavy weights in the last 15 years and redefined how batting is approached in the format. one of my favourite cricketers.
^Yeah your observation is pretty right. I know I put players with all-round ability higher on my lists. I guess it comes down to how closely together these guys are rated. If they are seen as comparable in the main skill eg. Pollock/Wasim Akram vs McGrath in pure bowling terms, then the ability to bat at #7 or #8 must tip the scales to the all-rounder even if you think McGrath is a shade better with the ball. How many rating spots is the batting worth? Same for wicketkeeping - fielding ability too. In some ways it would have been easier to do the 50 best batsmen, 50 best bowlers instead 
All good discussion fodder though...
All good discussion fodder though...#4 - Wasim Akram
Role: Bowling all-rounder. LH fast opening bowler. LH lower order batsman, usually #7 or #8.
Debut: vs New Zealand, Faisalabad, 1984.
Matches: 356
Runs: 3717
Avg: 16.52
S/R: 88.33
Wkts: 502
Avg: 23.52
Econ: 3.89
Legacy: Probably the most talented bowler on this list, so it's fitting he should be the highest rated. Wasim Akram could do just about anything with the ball: bowl quickly; swing it in or out - with old or new ball; intimidate with his skidding bouncer; bowl devastating yorkers; mix it up with slower balls. All that came from a short, explosive run up and a whippy arm action that generated most of his pace. There are plenty of testimonies about Wasim's brilliance. Brian Lara said he was the most outstanding bowler he'd had to face, Glenn McGrath called him one of the greatest bowlers of all-time, if I listed all the quotes we'd be here 'til next week. Let's just conclude that he was a much admired bowler - and that's certainly an understatement.
He was always a pretty consistent wicket taker, but the best period for Wasim Akram started in the World Cup of 1992:
Jan 1992 - Dec 1997: 131 ODIs, 198 wickets @ 21.86, Econ: 3.76
He's one of only 5 bowlers to take 2 ODI hat-tricks, and he's the only one to have 2 ODI and 2 Test hat-tricks. His ODI hat-tricks came vs West Indies, Sharjah, 1989 & vs Australia, Sharjah, 1990. Wasim sits 2nd on the most wickets ever list (behind Murali), he is equal 3rd on the list of most 4 wicket hauls (behind Waqar and Murali, equal with Lee). 176 of his wickets were bowled, most ever and 2nd only to Waqar for percentage of wickets bowled. Has 92 LBW wickets too, that's most in history as well.
His batting was quite good technically, and he certainly had a lot of hitting ability especially over long on and mid wicket, but Wasim just lacked the concentration and application to hang in there for long innings - could play some great little cameos though. Had a pretty successful stint as Pakistan captain as well. In fact, Wasim owns the best winning ratio for a Pakistan captain in history, winning 66 of 109 ODIs in charge (60.55%). Behind him are Waqar (59.68%), Inzamam (58.62%) and Imran (53.96%).
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 5/21 (8) vs Australia, Melbourne, 1985. Only his 4th ODI and Wasim Akram announced himself as a bowler of serious talent by wiping out all of Australia's top 5 batsmen to have them 5/42. Pakistan had made 262, but after Wasim's opening spell was finished the match was effectively over. The story goes that Wasim was so green on the international stage that he needed to ask his teammates who he'd dismissed after each wicket, even though most were well recognised players.
2) 86 (76) & 2/30 (10) vs Australia, Melbourne, 1990. Pakistan didn't win, but this was a great match to show what Wasim could do with the bat. Arriving at 5/50 on a damp surface, he counter-attacked in his usual free flowing style and was the only batsman to score effectively. It was a similar story with the ball as Australia chased the small target of 163. Wasim took 2 early wickets to have Australia 3/54, but no one could build on his work and Australia won comfortably. He was basically on his own the entire match, as 8 of Pakistan players scored 10 or less and didn't take a wicket (Waqar took 1 wicket and Saleem Malik managed 39).
3) 33 (18) & 3/49 (10) vs England, Melbourne, 1992. World Cup final and Wasim turned the final for the last time when he unleashed a couple of memorable, near unplayable reverse swinging deliveries to remove Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis. Those 2 balls are now the stuff of legend. Before that he had nicked off Ian Botham and slapped a lovely cameo of 33.
Highlights:
#3 - Adam Gilchrist
Role: Wicketkeeper batsman. LH opening bat.
Debut: vs South Africa, Faridabad, 1996.
Matches: 287
Runs: 9619
Avg: 35.89
S/R: 96.94
Catches: 417
Stumpings: 55
Legacy: Adam Gilchrist had a high handed grip which gave him maximum leverage and that leverage combined with his fast bat speed made Gilchrist a very hard hitting player. Wasim Akram recently said that Gilchrist was the most dangerous batsman in ODIs, and was able to disrupt a bowlers line and length very easily due to his wide range of strokes. It was those strokes that made him such a favourite, fans flocking to the grounds hoping to see a whirlwind Gilchrist innings. Savage on anything short, with either the pull shot or his favourite - the cut shot.
After 16 innings batting in the middle and lower order, Gilchrist's career changed for good when he was promoted to open with Mark Waugh in the final series of the 1997/98 ODI series in Australia. In his 2nd game as opener he made a 100 and never looked back. Looking at the Gilchrist record, he wasn't such a consistent performer game-to-game, but he was remarkably consistent from year-to-year. For all 12 of the calendar years from 1997-2008 his average was between 30 and 44. His most productive run probably came in the early-mid 2000s:
2002/03-2005/06: 101 ODIs, 3855 runs @ 40.57, S/R: 107.29
It was around this time that a cricket magazine polled the bowlers of the world and Gilchrist was voted "World's Scariest batsman" ahead of guys like Brian Lara and Shahid Afridi.
History supports the idea Gilchrist is a pretty legendary player: he's 14th on the Cricinfo 'highest career strike rate' list, but no one ahead of him has made more runs than Gilchrist; he has the most dismissals of any keeper in history, including most catches in history (he's 5th on the stumpings list); 6 times he managed 6 dismissals in an innings - 5 other keepers have managed 6 dismissals, but only once each; he holds the record for most dismissals (and catches) in a series; and holds the record for most runs by a keeper in a series too. Only Sangakkara has scored more runs as a wicketkeeper in total, and no keeper has scored more than 100s than the 16 made by Gilchrist. And as a keeper who also opens, no one has come close to Gilchrist for runs or 100s, despite many teams sending their keeper up to open, trying to emulate him.
Gilchrist ends up as the highest rated true all-rounder on the list so it's worth mentioning the keeping ability of Gilchrist. He was rarely noticed, and that is usually some of the highest praise you can have for keepers. But he also took his share of great catches and would probably be more highly regarded for his skill behind the stumps if it wasn't for the shadow that his batting ability cast eg. we often assume keepers who are great batsman must be lesser glovemen.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 154 (129) vs Sri Lanka, Melbourne, 1999. Gilchrist was grassed early and made SL pay by thrashing them around the MCG. His 154 was the first time an Australian had passed 150, hitting 14 4s and 4 6s. SL made a good start chasing 311, but collapsed in the middle to leave Australia 43 run winners.
2) 103 (79) vs ICC World XI, Docklands, 2005. Gilchrist had endured a tough Ashes in 2005, but this innings against a world class attack showed he still had as much class as ever. Akhtar, Pollock, Flintoff, Murali, Vettori and Kallis were the bowlers and only Murali walked away with decent figures. Particularly pleasing was his treatment of Flintoff, as Flintoff had haunted Gilchrist during the Ashes. His century came from 73 balls, the fastest by an Australian at the time, very good considering how slow the outfield was. Australia won by 55 runs.
3) 149 (104) vs Sri Lanka, Bridgetown, 2007. What an innings to produce in a World Cup final. It's the highest score in a final and Gilchrist was in scintillating touch. The match was reduced to 38 overs, and the stage was set for an explosive innings. He had 24 runs off 24 balls to begin with - relatively normal, but from there he ramped up the pace with 125 off the next 80. Balls went everywhere, including 8 6s, all between square leg and long on. He was particularly severe on Dilhara Fernando and the part time spinners: Dilshan and Jayasuriya. During this innings, Gilchrist batted with a squash ball inserted into his glove, his way of making sure he wasn't gripping the bat too firmly. The match was finished in the dark with SL 53 runs short of their revised target.
Highlights:
Role: Bowling all-rounder. LH fast opening bowler. LH lower order batsman, usually #7 or #8.
Debut: vs New Zealand, Faisalabad, 1984.
Matches: 356
Runs: 3717
Avg: 16.52
S/R: 88.33
Wkts: 502
Avg: 23.52
Econ: 3.89
Legacy: Probably the most talented bowler on this list, so it's fitting he should be the highest rated. Wasim Akram could do just about anything with the ball: bowl quickly; swing it in or out - with old or new ball; intimidate with his skidding bouncer; bowl devastating yorkers; mix it up with slower balls. All that came from a short, explosive run up and a whippy arm action that generated most of his pace. There are plenty of testimonies about Wasim's brilliance. Brian Lara said he was the most outstanding bowler he'd had to face, Glenn McGrath called him one of the greatest bowlers of all-time, if I listed all the quotes we'd be here 'til next week. Let's just conclude that he was a much admired bowler - and that's certainly an understatement.
He was always a pretty consistent wicket taker, but the best period for Wasim Akram started in the World Cup of 1992:
Jan 1992 - Dec 1997: 131 ODIs, 198 wickets @ 21.86, Econ: 3.76
He's one of only 5 bowlers to take 2 ODI hat-tricks, and he's the only one to have 2 ODI and 2 Test hat-tricks. His ODI hat-tricks came vs West Indies, Sharjah, 1989 & vs Australia, Sharjah, 1990. Wasim sits 2nd on the most wickets ever list (behind Murali), he is equal 3rd on the list of most 4 wicket hauls (behind Waqar and Murali, equal with Lee). 176 of his wickets were bowled, most ever and 2nd only to Waqar for percentage of wickets bowled. Has 92 LBW wickets too, that's most in history as well.
His batting was quite good technically, and he certainly had a lot of hitting ability especially over long on and mid wicket, but Wasim just lacked the concentration and application to hang in there for long innings - could play some great little cameos though. Had a pretty successful stint as Pakistan captain as well. In fact, Wasim owns the best winning ratio for a Pakistan captain in history, winning 66 of 109 ODIs in charge (60.55%). Behind him are Waqar (59.68%), Inzamam (58.62%) and Imran (53.96%).
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 5/21 (8) vs Australia, Melbourne, 1985. Only his 4th ODI and Wasim Akram announced himself as a bowler of serious talent by wiping out all of Australia's top 5 batsmen to have them 5/42. Pakistan had made 262, but after Wasim's opening spell was finished the match was effectively over. The story goes that Wasim was so green on the international stage that he needed to ask his teammates who he'd dismissed after each wicket, even though most were well recognised players.
2) 86 (76) & 2/30 (10) vs Australia, Melbourne, 1990. Pakistan didn't win, but this was a great match to show what Wasim could do with the bat. Arriving at 5/50 on a damp surface, he counter-attacked in his usual free flowing style and was the only batsman to score effectively. It was a similar story with the ball as Australia chased the small target of 163. Wasim took 2 early wickets to have Australia 3/54, but no one could build on his work and Australia won comfortably. He was basically on his own the entire match, as 8 of Pakistan players scored 10 or less and didn't take a wicket (Waqar took 1 wicket and Saleem Malik managed 39).
3) 33 (18) & 3/49 (10) vs England, Melbourne, 1992. World Cup final and Wasim turned the final for the last time when he unleashed a couple of memorable, near unplayable reverse swinging deliveries to remove Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis. Those 2 balls are now the stuff of legend. Before that he had nicked off Ian Botham and slapped a lovely cameo of 33.
Highlights:
#3 - Adam Gilchrist
Role: Wicketkeeper batsman. LH opening bat.
Debut: vs South Africa, Faridabad, 1996.
Matches: 287
Runs: 9619
Avg: 35.89
S/R: 96.94
Catches: 417
Stumpings: 55
Legacy: Adam Gilchrist had a high handed grip which gave him maximum leverage and that leverage combined with his fast bat speed made Gilchrist a very hard hitting player. Wasim Akram recently said that Gilchrist was the most dangerous batsman in ODIs, and was able to disrupt a bowlers line and length very easily due to his wide range of strokes. It was those strokes that made him such a favourite, fans flocking to the grounds hoping to see a whirlwind Gilchrist innings. Savage on anything short, with either the pull shot or his favourite - the cut shot.
After 16 innings batting in the middle and lower order, Gilchrist's career changed for good when he was promoted to open with Mark Waugh in the final series of the 1997/98 ODI series in Australia. In his 2nd game as opener he made a 100 and never looked back. Looking at the Gilchrist record, he wasn't such a consistent performer game-to-game, but he was remarkably consistent from year-to-year. For all 12 of the calendar years from 1997-2008 his average was between 30 and 44. His most productive run probably came in the early-mid 2000s:
2002/03-2005/06: 101 ODIs, 3855 runs @ 40.57, S/R: 107.29
It was around this time that a cricket magazine polled the bowlers of the world and Gilchrist was voted "World's Scariest batsman" ahead of guys like Brian Lara and Shahid Afridi.
History supports the idea Gilchrist is a pretty legendary player: he's 14th on the Cricinfo 'highest career strike rate' list, but no one ahead of him has made more runs than Gilchrist; he has the most dismissals of any keeper in history, including most catches in history (he's 5th on the stumpings list); 6 times he managed 6 dismissals in an innings - 5 other keepers have managed 6 dismissals, but only once each; he holds the record for most dismissals (and catches) in a series; and holds the record for most runs by a keeper in a series too. Only Sangakkara has scored more runs as a wicketkeeper in total, and no keeper has scored more than 100s than the 16 made by Gilchrist. And as a keeper who also opens, no one has come close to Gilchrist for runs or 100s, despite many teams sending their keeper up to open, trying to emulate him.
Gilchrist ends up as the highest rated true all-rounder on the list so it's worth mentioning the keeping ability of Gilchrist. He was rarely noticed, and that is usually some of the highest praise you can have for keepers. But he also took his share of great catches and would probably be more highly regarded for his skill behind the stumps if it wasn't for the shadow that his batting ability cast eg. we often assume keepers who are great batsman must be lesser glovemen.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 154 (129) vs Sri Lanka, Melbourne, 1999. Gilchrist was grassed early and made SL pay by thrashing them around the MCG. His 154 was the first time an Australian had passed 150, hitting 14 4s and 4 6s. SL made a good start chasing 311, but collapsed in the middle to leave Australia 43 run winners.
2) 103 (79) vs ICC World XI, Docklands, 2005. Gilchrist had endured a tough Ashes in 2005, but this innings against a world class attack showed he still had as much class as ever. Akhtar, Pollock, Flintoff, Murali, Vettori and Kallis were the bowlers and only Murali walked away with decent figures. Particularly pleasing was his treatment of Flintoff, as Flintoff had haunted Gilchrist during the Ashes. His century came from 73 balls, the fastest by an Australian at the time, very good considering how slow the outfield was. Australia won by 55 runs.
3) 149 (104) vs Sri Lanka, Bridgetown, 2007. What an innings to produce in a World Cup final. It's the highest score in a final and Gilchrist was in scintillating touch. The match was reduced to 38 overs, and the stage was set for an explosive innings. He had 24 runs off 24 balls to begin with - relatively normal, but from there he ramped up the pace with 125 off the next 80. Balls went everywhere, including 8 6s, all between square leg and long on. He was particularly severe on Dilhara Fernando and the part time spinners: Dilshan and Jayasuriya. During this innings, Gilchrist batted with a squash ball inserted into his glove, his way of making sure he wasn't gripping the bat too firmly. The match was finished in the dark with SL 53 runs short of their revised target.
Highlights:
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