Who was the best cricketer of the 1980s?

[Harsh Thakor]

The greatest cricketer of the 1980's decade would narrow down to Imran Khan ,Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall.Richard Hadlee,Ian Botham,Gordon Greenidge,Kapil Dev,Javed Miandad,Abdul Qadir etc were also worthy contenders .Still it is Imran ,Viv and Malcolm who would have to make the final reckoning.


Till 1981 Viv continued his great run but later an eye operation affected his batting.From 1980-81 he batted better than anyone since Bradman.I can never forget his domination of Lillee averaging 96.9 and of Imran in Pakistan averaging above 70.In O.D.I.cricket Viv took cricketing genius to it's pinnacle when scoring an unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford or a century of 56 balls against England at Antigua.As a skipper Viv never lost a series and re-established West Indies as the supreme power in world cricket in 1988.The impact of his batting had a great role in West Indies retaining their supremacy in test cricket.I can never also forget Viv's 65 at Old Traford and 145 at Lords in 1980.76and 74 at Adelaide in 1980.208 at Melbourne in 1984-85,century at Brisbane in 1988-89 and 1087 not out at Delhi in 1988.Even if challenged by the likes of Miandad ,Border or Greenidge no batsmen could turn a game more than Viv .He also topped the averages of the 1978 Reliance cup at 65.80.

Malcolm Marshall was a dominant force and established convincing superiority in a bowling line up comprising of Garner,Holding and Paterson or Walsh.Marshall was arguably the best fast bowler ever if you ***** his average in wins,overall strike rate and performances on placid tracks.In 1988 when he had 35 scalps in England he took cricketing genius or innovation to it's supreme depth just like when taking 10 wickets at Adelaide in 1984-85 and in Sydney in 1988-89.Marshall was the pivot of what was arguably the best team ever in 1984-85 .Statistically as a paceman he bettered Viv Richard's performances as a batsmen averaging under 19 with the ball in the 1980s.He only had 22 5 wicket hauls as he bowled with a pack of champion paceman unlike Hadlee or Imran.Marshall was principally responsible for West Indies regaining their overall supremacy over other test teams.


No cricketer shaped the destiny of his nation's cricketing fortunes or path after Sobers as Imran Khan.From 1981-87 he overshadowed every great allrounder including Botham both in 1982 and 87,even if he did not equal Ian Botham's Ashes exploits of 1981.Imran's leadership won Pakistan their 1st series ever on Indian and English soil and arguably a moral victory in West Indies in 1988 when dubious umpiring decisions robbed Pakistan of a famous win.Pakistan came within inches of winning the unofficial world championship title in 1988 and becoming the 1st team to beat West Indies on their soil since Australia in 1973.In England in 1982 he was a revelation averaging 53 with the bat and capturing 21 wickets.He blazed away like fire against India in 1982-93 at home bowling 2 of test cricket's greatest ever bowling spells against India at Karachi and Hyderabad.Imran's 7-40 at Leeds played a major role in 1987 for their 1st series win in India while his 7-80 at Goergetown and 5-125 at Trinidad all but took Pakistan to the pinnacle of glory of conquering the mighty Calypsos.I also remember Imran's great role as a batsmen in the decisive test at Bangalore in 1987 .Imran at Leeds in 1982 when he captured 5-59 and 3-66 and scored 75 n.o.and 46 was at the top of his cricket .What is significant is that Imran bowled better against West Indies than any bowler of the decade.When unable to bowl he topped the Pakistan batting averages in the 1983 Prudential cup averaging 70 and becoming the 1st Pakistan batsmen to score a century in the world cup.Infact it won Pakistan a crucial game against Sri Lanka.


Overall I would rank Imran at the top ,Viv 2nd and Marshall 3rd.I have also given consideration to performances in ODI'S and Viv's role as a leader.Even if Marshall had a better record I feel Viv's presence made more of a difference.Imran is at one because his great contribution as a skipper,allrounder and fast bowler.

Ranked Botham high because in early 80's he was the best match-winner or cricketer after Sober's who could turn a game 360 degrees .Admired Hadlee's phenomenal skill with the ball taking 330 wickets in 60 tests for a relatively weak attack.Kapil Dev was an enigma and for a time in 1983-86 arguably the best all-rounder in the world considering he had to bowl on the laborious sub-continent pancakes.For awhile in the 80's in 1984 Greenidge was the best batsmen in the world when scoring his 2 double centuries in England.Javed Miandad in 1988 took over the mantle of the world's best batsmen from Viv when scoring a double century in England and 2 centuries in West Indies successively and a series of 7successive fifties in O.D.I.'s in 1987.Border was simply an epitome of consistency in any conditions s .He was at his best against the great Carribean quartet in 1982 and 1984 averaging around 70 ,as well as in Pakistan when averaging over 131 in 1980 and in England in 1981 and 85 averaging around 60..Gower was a class act against great fast bowling in the Carribean in 1981 and in Australia in 1982-83 as well as championed the cause in the subcontinent in Pakistan in 1984. Sunil Gavaskar although not at his best was still like Border an epitome of consistency or concentration who could be a revelation on his day like when scoring 96 in his final test v Pakistan at Bangalore or 129 at Delhi v West Indies in 1983-84. Abdul Qadir foxed batsmen more than any spinner in history of the game and played a major role in Pakistan's rise to the top.Garner was arguably the best paceman surpassing any bowler for sheer accuracy.Graham Gooch conquered great Carribean pace bowling in 1981 and 88 and mastered turning tracks in India in 1981-82 and in 1987 world cup..Most unlucky omissions were Martin Crowe and Dilip Vengsarkar who missed out by just a whisker or the artistic Mohammad Azharuddin.

In order of merit my ranking in the 1980s

1.Imran Khan
2.Viv Richards
3.Malcolm Marshall
4.Ian Botham
5.Richard Hadlee
6.Kapil Dev
7.Javed Miandad
8.Gordon Greenidge
9.Sunil Gavaskar
10Abdul Qadir
11.David Gower
12.Joel Garner/Graham Gooch




STATISTICS OF MALCOLM MARSHALL-COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH IN CFRICINFO

Best Test bowlers between 1983 and 1991 (Qual: 125 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Richard Hadlee 48 262 19.64 47.4 23/ 6
Malcolm Marshall 69 342 19.85 44.9 22/ 4
Joel Garner 30 135 21.28 48.3 5/ 0
Imran Khan 42 156 21.49 50.5 10/ 3
Curtly Ambrose 33 140 23.14 56.1 5/ 1
Wasim Akram 39 143 24.51 58.7 9/ 2
Courtney Wash 50 174 24.95 56.4 5/ 1

As a match-winner, Marshall was among the very best again, with 254 wickets at less than 17. Again, only one bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, has a better average, and one, Waqar Younis, has a better strike rate. Marshall's performances didn't drop much in defeats either: in the nine Tests in which he played in a losing cause, he still managed an average of less than 28.

Best Test bowlers in wins (Qual: 200 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Muttiah Muralitharan 53 430 16.03 42.6 40/ 18
Malcolm Marshall 43 254 16.78 38.1 17/ 4
Curtly Ambrose 44 229 16.86 44.4 13/ 3
Waqar Younis 39 222 18.20 35.0 14/ 4
Dennis Lillee 31 203 18.27 39.0 17/ 6
Shaun Pollock 49 223 18.30 47.5 9/ 1
Wasim Akram 41 211 18.48 42.3 13/ 2
Anil Kumble 43 288 18.75 44.4 20/ 5
Glenn McGrath 84 414 19.19 47.7 18/ 3
Courtney Walsh 52 239 19.72 46.2 10/ 2

Perhaps the biggest compliment to Marshall is the fact that he stood out even when he played with other great fast bowlers. The 1980s were an exceptional period for West Indian fast bowling, and yet in the Tests that Marshall played, he took almost a third of the wickets taken by their fast bowlers (31.37%). Marshall was clearly the leader of the pack - the next-highest wicket-taker in matches Marshall figured in was Courtney Walsh, with only 137 wickets from 42 Tests, while Curtly Ambrose had 128 from 29. (Click here for the full list.) Marshall's average and strike rate were significantly better than his other fast-bowling mates, and he took as many five-fors as all the other West Indian fast bowlers put together.

Marshall's contribution to the attack in the matches he played between 1983 and 1991 Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
69 342 19.85 44.9 22/ 4
Other WI fast bowlers 69 748 24.70 53.5 22/ 2

Not only did Marshall get many wickets, he also generally dismissed the top batsmen from the opposition line-ups. Among the batsmen he dismissed most often were Graham Gooch (16 times), Allan Lamb (13 times), Allan Border (11), Vengsarkar (10) and Gavaskar (8).

On the other hand, he didn't get rid of the tail that often; he usually left that job to the others. Of the 376 Test wickets he took, 238 were of batsmen in the top six, which is a fairly impressive percentage of 63.30. Only 17.55% of his wickets were of batsmen in the bottom three, which is the lowest among the bowlers listed below. Allan Donald and Glenn McGrath had a higher top-order percentage, but Marshall's numbers are quite a contrast to those of Wasim Akram, for whom almost 28% of wickets were of batsmen in the bottom three.

Percentage of top-order and lower-order wickets Bowler Positions 1-6 Percentage Positions 9-11 Percentage
Malcolm Marshall 238 63.30 66 17.55
Glenn McGrath 377 66.96 99 17.58
Allan Donald 222 67.27 62 18.79
Curtly Ambrose 258 63.70 78 19.26
Richard Hadlee 262 60.79 86 19.95
Waqar Younis 234 62.73 79 21.18
Imran Khan 229 63.26 77 21.27
Wasim Akram 233 56.28 115 27.78

Another factor that puts Marshall above many other high-class fast bowlers is his stats in the subcontinent. The relatively slow pitches in the region have thwarted many a fast bowler, but not Marshall, whose varied skills helped him take 71 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 23.05. Those numbers look even better if his first series in India is excluded: in the 16 remaining Tests he averaged 20.17. His overall average here, though, remains one of the best among overseas fast bowlers who've taken at least 50 wickets in the subcontinent.

Best overseas fast bowlers in Tests in Asia since 1970 (Qual: 50 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Courtney Walsh 17 77 20.53 45.2 5/ 0
Dale Steyn 11 57 21.33 34.7 4/ 1
Richard Hadlee 13 68 21.58 42.7 5/ 2
Glenn McGrath 19 72 23.02 54.8 1/ 0
Malcolm Marshall 19 71 23.05 48.7 3/ 0
Shaun Pollock 17 60 23.18 56.8 2/ 0
Jason Gillespie 14 54 23.75 51.0 1/ 0




IMRAN KHAN-COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH IN CRICINFO.

During his peak years in Test cricket, Imran was easily the best allrounder among his peers. In the nine years between 1980 and 1988, his bowling average of 17.77 was almost 22 lesser than his batting average - the difference was clearly the best among those with 1500 runs and 100 wickets during this period. Hadlee's bowling performances were exceptional during this period, but he couldn't quite match up to Imran with the bat, while both Botham and Kapil had far lesser success with the ball.

Top allrounders between 1980 and 1988 (Qual: 1500 runs, 100 wickets) Player Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM Diff in ave
Imran Khan 48 2028 39.76 4/ 10 236 17.77 18/ 5 21.99
Richard Hadlee 51 1987 31.04 2/ 10 284 19.03 28/ 7 12.01
Ian Botham 72 3989 34.38 10/ 19 255 31.83 15/ 2 2.55
Kapil Dev 72 3103 31.98 5/ 16 242 30.05 14/ 2 1.93
Ravi Shastri 61 2702 34.64 7/ 10 132 38.24 2/ 0 -3.60



Top bowlers in the world between 1980 and 1988 (Qual: 150 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Imran Khan 48 236 17.77 43.6 18/ 5
Richard Hadlee 51 284 19.03 47.0 28/ 7
Malcolm Marshall 58 297 20.20 44.7 18/ 3
Joel Garner 49 210 20.62 51.8 7/ 0
Michael Holding 45 184 23.38 50.3 9/ 1
Dennis Lillee 35 171 24.07 52.3 11/ 3


The four allrounders against West Indies Player Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM
Imran Khan 18 775 27.67 1/ 3 80 21.18 6/ 1
Richard Hadlee 10 389 32.41 1/ 1 51 22.03 4/ 1
Kapil Dev 25 1079 30.82 3/ 4 89 24.89 4/ 1
Ian Botham 20 792 21.40 0/ 4 61 35.18 3/ 0


While his best period in Test cricket was the 1982-83 season, in ODIs, quite surprisingly, his peak year was 1989. He played 26 matches that year, easily his highest in a calendar year, and shone with both bat and ball, scoring 793 runs at 46.64, and taking 29 wickets at 25.79. Of the 13 Man-of-the-Match awards he won in his entire ODI career, six came in that year alone.

Imran Khan's ODI career Period ODIs Runs Average Strike rate Wickets Average Econ rate
Till Dec 1980 14 108 15.42 59.34 16 25.93 3.32
Jan 1981 to Dec 1989 122 2651 33.98 75.67 142 22.96 3.90


VIV RICHARDS-STATISTICS BY S.RAJESH IN CRICINFO

Viv Richards in Tests Matches Innings Runs Average 100s 50s
Overall 121 182 8540 50.23 24 45
1974-1980 40 63 3629 60.48 11 16
1981-1988 62 89 3933 47.38 12 19
1989- 1991 19 30 978 36.22 1 10


Richards took over the West Indies captaincy following Clive Lloyd's retirement in 1985 and led them in 50 Tests, winning 27 and losing 15, but more importantly he didn't lose a single series. Among captains who have led in a minimum of 50 Tests, Richards' record as captain is next only to Steve Waugh's and Ricky Ponting's.

Highest win percentage as captains (Qual: 50 Tests) Player Span Matches Won Lost Drawn W/L % wins
Steve Waugh 1999-2004 57 41 9 7 4.55 71.92
Ricky Ponting 2004-2010 71 47 12 12 3.91 66.19
Viv Richards 1980-1991 50 27 8 15 3.37 54
Mark Taylor 1994-1999 50 26 13 11 2 52
Michael Vaughan 2003-2008 51 26 11 14 2.36 50.98

Richards' style of batting suited one-day cricket perfectly. He set himself apart from the rest of the top batsmen of his era with his exceptionally quick scoring in a period where the average rate was much lower. The table below compares the strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991. Richards was by far the most dominant of the lot, and among players to have scored more than 2000 runs in ODIs, he still remains the only batsman to average more than 40 and possess a strike rate of over 90.

Comparison of strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Runs Average Strike rate % better than average SR for period (65.92)
Viv Richards 187 6721 47.00 90.20 36.83
Dean Jones 120 4690 48.85 75.07 13.88
Allan Border 228 5766 31.68 70.26 6.58
Javed Miandad 180 5795 41.69 68.16 3.39
Gordon Greenidge 128 5134 45.03 64.92 -1.51

Richards played 187 ODIs in all, but only 33 of those were in the West Indies. On the other hand, he played more than twice that number in Australia, where he scored 2769 runs in 73 matches. He was by far the finest overseas batsman in Australia between 1975 and 1991.

ODI Performance of overseas batsmen in Australia (1975-1991) Player Matches Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s 50s
Viv Richards 73 67 2769 44.66 84.54 3 24
Desmond Haynes 76 75 2459 35.63 60.32 4 17
Gordon Greenidge 43 43 1731 43.27 64.51 3 12
John Wright 57 57 1541 27.51 53.78 0 12
Javed Miandad 45 44 1390 33.90 59.40 0 10
David Gower 42 41 1248 32.84 84.32 4 3

Throughout his ODI career, Richards was the man for the big occasion. He scored a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, and played several crucial knocks on major occasions. His overall ODI record and performance in World Cups and finals is summarised below. He averages the highest among batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs in World Cup matches.

Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9

In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.

While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.

Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.

Players with the best rate of MoM awards in ODIs (Qual: 25 MoM awards) Player Total Matches MoM awards Matches per award
Viv Richards 187 31 6.03
Sachin Tendulkar 442 61 7.24
Saeed Anwar 247 28 8.82
Nathan Astle 223 25 8.92
Sanath Jayasuriya 444 48 9.25

 

[MMHS]

Almost perfect list - I probably will take Hadlee at 4 & Botham at 5 and I'll definitely take Allen Border over Gower & put him at 8 over Gavaskar.

Abdul Qadir probably makes the list as the best spinner of the decade, but not sure if in top 10. One honorary mention should be Dulip Vengsarkar, for 2/3 years he was No. 1 batsman - on player's merit I'll take him in 12 over Qadir, but fair enough.

 

[bujhee kom]

It was Imran Khan and by far if one looks at allround impact for his team.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Almost perfect list - I probably will take Hadlee at 4 & Botham at 5 and I'll definitely take Allen Border over Gower & put him at 8 over Gavaskar.

Abdul Qadir probably makes the list as the best spinner of the decade, but not sure if in top 10. One honorary mention should be Dulip Vengsarkar, for 2/3 years he was No. 1 batsman - on player's merit I'll take him in 12 over Qadir, but fair enough.

Thanks MMHS for compliment.Actually Border morally and initially had made my list at no.9 but accidentally I missed him when making correction by instating Gavaskar who I initially rejected. Thus it should be Border below Miandad and a whisker above Gavaskar as I had first posted.I feel Greenidge for a while was the best batsmen in 1984 and 97 while from mid 87 Javed was the best.Vengsarkar was the best and in the Greg Chapell class in 1986 but had his pinnacle only from 1986-88.He also apart from England was unsuccessful overseas but I give him credit for conquering the mighty Calypso pace attack.Rember Gower's batting in West Indies and Australia.Considering he lost 3 years Gooch would lose his place and Garner as he retired by 1987.

MMHS where would you rank Kapil Dev and if including Gooch and Garner?Why Vengsarkar above Qadir and Gooch?Would Greenidge rank above Sunny in your view in that decade?

Revised list is
1.Imran
2.Viv
3.Marshall
4.Botham
5.Hadlee
6.Kapil.
7.Miandad
8.Greenidge
9.Border
10.Gavaskar
11.Qadir
12.Gower

 

[Robert]

Imran.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Imran.

where would you rank Botham,Viv,Marshall,Greenidge or Hadlee?

 

[Bilal7]

1) Imran Khan
2) Viv Richards
3) Malcolm Marshall
4) Richard Hadlee
5) Javed Miandad

 

[Harsh Thakor]

It was Imran Khan and by far if one looks at allround impact for his team.

Botham not comparable at his best from 1980-81 or in 1985-87?Or even Miandad or Kapil Dev adding ODI's ?

 

[Harsh Thakor]

1) Imran Khan
2) Viv Richards
3) Malcolm Marshall
4) Richard Hadlee
5) Javed Miandad

What about Kapil and Botham?

 

[bujhee kom]

Botham not comparable at his best from 1980-81 or in 1985-87?Or even Miandad or Kapil Dev adding ODI's ?

ITB over a small period in the 1980-1 period - maybe. The 80s as a whole - not even in the picture. Dev and Miandad are not in the frame. Miandad was a quality player but there were better batsmen (Viv for 1). Dev was nothing special - the data makes that clear. Average batsman and bowler - I saw him bowl, he was just a gentle medium pacer.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

ITB over a small period in the 1980-1 period - maybe. The 80s as a whole - not even in the picture. Dev and Miandad are not in the frame. Miandad was a quality player but there were better batsmen (Viv for 1). Dev was nothing special - the data makes that clear. Average batsman and bowler - I saw him bowl, he was just a gentle medium pacer.

What about his 175 that turned the complexion for India in 1983 world cup and performances on docile Indian quickest against great West Indies batting.As an allrounder none performed as well as Kapil Dev against West Indies .Viv Richards found Kapil daunting as well as Alan Border.

What about Marshall and Hadlee who had phenomenal statistics?

 

[bujhee kom]

What about his 175 that turned the complexion for India in 1983 world cup and performances on docile Indian quickest against great West Indies batting.As an allrounder none performed as well as Kapil Dev against West Indies .Viv Richards found Kapil daunting as well as Alan Border.

What about Marshall and Hadlee who had phenomenal statistics?

The thread Q was best cricketer. For me this can have 2 definitions: most successful or most impactful (for his team). By those measures Richards and Imran stand out. I did not exclude Marshall or Hadlee who were top class and in the frame for sure.

WRT Dev - that 175 was against Zimbabwe before their Test era. They were literally associated. His batting returns on the whole are mediocre (ave 23?) and I saw him bowl, he was not a fast bowler. He tried hard and I commend him for that but he was easily #4 out of the big 4.

 

[CricFan2012]

easily viv, the best cricketer of all time.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

easily viv, the best cricketer of all time.

To me not at his best in 80's and overshadowed by Imran as skipper

 

[Gilly]

How do you rate Gower & Gavasker better than Border in the eighties.

Border 7386 runs 55.11 average 20 hundreds

Gower 6196 runs 42.43 average 12 hundreds

Gavaskar 4501 runs 46.13 average 12 hundreds

 

[CricFan2012]

What about Kapil and Botham?

no sane cricketing fan puts miandad over botham or even kapil.

 

[CricFan2012]

To me not at his best in 80's and overshadowed by Imran as skipper

imran and viv are both neck in neck, its hard to choose between them

 

[bujhee kom]

no sane cricketing fan puts miandad over botham or even kapil.

I didn't put Miandad before them. Infact I ruled them all out in one go. But Miandad was better in his specialist discipline than Dev was in any of his.

 

[Buffet]

I didn't put Miandad before them. Infact I ruled them all out in one go. But Miandad was better in his specialist discipline than Dev was in any of his.

Viv was better in his specialist discipline than IK was in any of his.

----------------

I will take IK as the best cricketer in 80s.

 

[bujhee kom]

Viv was better in his specialist discipline than IK was in any of his.

----------------

I will take IK as the best cricketer in 80s.

RE: Viv. Imran was at least a world class fast bowler - ATG just as a bowler. Dev was not.
If you add Imran's batting to his truly world class bowling, you get a wonderful player.

Dev was an average bowler and an average batsman. Combined he was a good cricketer but was outstanding in neither field. I take Imran as #1 of his era too as he was ATG in 1 field and solid in the other.

 

[bujhee kom]

no sane cricketing fan puts miandad over botham or even kapil.

Trust me no Bengali cares about Imran or Dev. Just calling it as I saw it - and I saw both a lot.

 

[Buffet]

RE: Viv. Imran was at least a world class fast bowler - ATG just as a bowler. Dev was not.
If you add Imran's batting to his truly world class bowling, you get a wonderful player.

Dev was an average bowler and an average batsman. Combined he was a good cricketer but was outstanding in neither field. I take Imran as #1 of his era too as he was ATG in 1 field and solid in the other.

I was only pointing out that comparing all rounders with specialists based on one skill is not a good idea when you are trying to rank cricketers.

 

[Harpoon]

Revised list is
1.Imran
2.Viv
3.Marshall
4.Botham
5.Hadlee
6.Kapil.
7.Miandad
8.Greenidge
9.Border
10.Gavaskar
11.Qadir
12.Gower

Imran was the best. By a clear margin.

Follwed by
Viv
Marshal
Hadlee
Gavaskar
Miandad
Qadir
Border

In that order.

 

[Buffet]

Folks who write that IK is better by a clear margin are stretching it too much.

Viv makes it in all time world XI in test most of the times. More often than IK. Viv is a default choice in all time world XI in ODI format due to being the best ODI batsman in history.

You can make a case for either of them. There is no huge gap. I will take IK, but strong case for Viv can be made as well.

 

[Robert]

where would you rank Botham,Viv,Marshall,Greenidge or Hadlee?

Strewth...... OK then, here we go.

1. Imran
2. Marshall
3. Hadlee
4. Richards
5. Miandad
6. Border
7. Gower
8. Azhar
9. Greenidge
10. Kapil Dev

I'm not sure where to put Botham because he was less much less effective in the latter half of the decade - a time in which England won just five tests of the fifty they played.

 

[Stallion__]

Has to be Imran for the 80s only. Second best would be Marshall since Viv was on the gradual decline during that decade.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

How do you rate Gower & Gavasker better than Border in the eighties.

Border 7386 runs 55.11 average 20 hundreds

Gower 6196 runs 42.43 average 12 hundreds

Gavaskar 4501 runs 46.13 average 12 hundreds

Gilly check my revised list and where I ranked Border

 

[ToeCrusher2]

Gilly check my revised list and where I ranked Border

Do you watch modern day cricket?

 

[Harpoon]

Folks who write that IK is better by a clear margin are stretching it too much.

Viv makes it in all time world XI in test most of the times. More often than IK. Viv is a default choice in all time world XI in ODI format due to being the best ODI batsman in history.

You can make a case for either of them. There is no huge gap. I will take IK, but strong case for Viv can be made as well.

There was a statistical study done by a univ of syd professor a few years back. According to that, sir don was the best ever followed by imran. Then then "there was a huge gap" between these two and the rest. That was a list of greatest of all time.
I

 

[bujhee kom]

^
Link to study please.

 

[Harpoon]

^
Link to study please.

im quoting from memory amd not sure of the study is available on the net. Will try to dig it up if i get some time.

 

[wrongun]

Think Harsh Thakor has it just about right. Hard to argue with the top 3. Lower down I would have Allan Border above Gower & Gooch certainly. Better record & was a rock vs the WI.

May not be popular here but I've got Hadlee above Botham. He performed everywhere, against everyone. Botham did not. Kapil never had the advantage of bowling in seaming wickets in swinging conditions as often as Botham/Hadlee but still became world record holder & performed against all the best teams of the era. He also won a world cup. I have him as the equal to Botham imo.

At first glance it seems as if Sunil Gavaskar has been hard done by at #9- a case can certainly be made he had more impact on cricket and very, very impressive records on hard tracks vs the quickest & best attacks of the day- massive influence on raising Indian expectations. But his best years were mostly in the 70s.

I also agree Qadir needs to be in the top 10 somewhere, even if there a cricketers with lower averages etc. He kept legspin alive.

1. Imran Khan
2. Viv Richards
3. Malcolm Marshall
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Ian Botham/Kapil Dev
7. Gordon Greenidge
8. Javed Miandad
9. Sunil Gavaskar
10. Abdul Qadir
11. Allan Border/Joel Garner

 

[The_Odd_One]

Viv was better in his specialist discipline than IK was in any of his.

----------------

I will take IK as the best cricketer in 80s.

Wrong.

Imran had the lowest average among all the bowlers in the 80s. He took 256 wickets in 54 tests at an astounding average of 19.12 and SR of 47 despite playing a lot of games on fast bowling graveyards with a seriously bad fielding side.

Viv averaged 49 in the 80s. Several batsmen averaged more than Viv. Some of them were Border, Miandad, Lloyd, Chappell, etc.

 

[Buffet]

Wrong.

Imran had the lowest average among all the bowlers in the 80s. He took 256 wickets in 54 tests at an astounding average of 19.12 and SR of 47 despite playing a lot of games on fast bowling graveyards with a seriously bad fielding side.

Viv averaged 49 in the 80s. Several batsmen averaged more than Viv. Some of them were Border, Miandad, Lloyd, Chappell, etc.

Prime skill of cricketers translates to both formats.

Hadlee Test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 28 5-fers
IK test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 18 5-fers

-------

Hadlee ODI stats in 80s: Avg 19 & ER 3.3
IK's ODI stats in 80s: Avg 23 & ER 3.9




Now, can you put one batsman who will come ahead of Viv in 80s taking account of both formats.

Just in case you don't have the information, IK's highest rank in ODI bowling was 4 and he was ranked outside of 5 most of the time. Hadlee was rarely ranked below 4 in 80s and pretty much occupied one of the top 2 spots.

 

[bujhee kom]

Prime skill of cricketers translates to both formats.

Hadlee Test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 28 5-fers
IK test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 18 5-fers

-------

Hadlee ODI stats in 80s: Avg 19 & ER 3.3
IK's ODI stats in 80s: Avg 23 & ER 3.9




Now, can you put one batsman who will come ahead of Viv in 80s taking account of both formats.

Just in case you don't have the information, IK's highest rank in ODI bowling was 4 and he was ranked outside of 5 most of the time. Hadlee was rarely ranked below 4 in 80s and pretty much occupied one of the top 2 spots.

Hadlee had much less competition for wkts and much more bowler friendly conditions.

 

[bujhee kom]

I urge all not to conflate formats. It is a useless undertaking. Tests and ODIs are different beasts. Further, you have to give each a weighing for a combined rating to have any value.

This forum needs a sub-forum for older heads to discuss things properly. 20 y/o opining about x or y they never saw is silly. Just statsguru fans really.

 

[Hitman]

Hadlee had much less competition for wkts and much more bowler friendly conditions.

Fast bowlers hunt in pairs, and Hadlee had very little support from the other end. Neither did he receive any great support from his batsmen.

 

[bujhee kom]

Fast bowlers hunt in pairs, and Hadlee had very little support from the other end. Neither did he receive any great support from his batsmen.

This cuts both ways. Less support but equally less comp.

 

[Buffet]

Hadlee had much less competition for wkts and much more bowler friendly conditions.

Bowlers become more effective if they have support. Not sure why it will go against Hadlee. If anything, Hadlee has good performances despite not having support.

Since discussion is about 80s. Handlee played 7 tests in Asia in 80s - Avg 13, 45 wickets.

 

[Buffet]

This cuts both ways. Less support but equally less comp.

It doesn't cut both ways when it comes to avg. You are likely to have lower avg with gun support bowlers. It can cut both ways only for 5-fers.

 

[Buffet]

This cuts both ways. Less support but equally less comp.

Wasim without Waqar - avg 28 in tests.

Waqar without Wasim - avg 25 in tests.

Both have drastically lower avg when they had each other bowling from other end. It's not hard to understand to be honest.

 

[TheNightWatchman]

Early mid 80s-Viv
Mid to late 80s Imran
Imran really blossomed towards the end and it wasn't that Viv regressed in anyway. Imran just upped his game and became one of the best from that generation

 

[MMHS]

Thanks MMHS for compliment.Actually Border morally and initially had made my list at no.9 but accidentally I missed him when making correction by instating Gavaskar who I initially rejected. Thus it should be Border below Miandad and a whisker above Gavaskar as I had first posted.I feel Greenidge for a while was the best batsmen in 1984 and 97 while from mid 87 Javed was the best.Vengsarkar was the best and in the Greg Chapell class in 1986 but had his pinnacle only from 1986-88.He also apart from England was unsuccessful overseas but I give him credit for conquering the mighty Calypso pace attack.Rember Gower's batting in West Indies and Australia.Considering he lost 3 years Gooch would lose his place and Garner as he retired by 1987.

MMHS where would you rank Kapil Dev and if including Gooch and Garner?Why Vengsarkar above Qadir and Gooch?Would Greenidge rank above Sunny in your view in that decade?

Revised list is
1.Imran
2.Viv
3.Marshall
4.Botham
5.Hadlee
6.Kapil.
7.Miandad
8.Greenidge
9.Border
10.Gavaskar
11.Qadir
12.Gower

Kapil was a fantastic all-rounder, probably the most naturally gifted cricketer along with Sobers & Akram. Any fast bowler averaging over 30 with bat & under 30 with ball playing mostly in 80s, has to be among ATGs. He wasn't glorified much in Test circuits of 80s because of the presence of 3 of the best ever fast bowling all-rounders (6, if I consider County, which was a longer version equivalent of IPL in 1980s - Poctor, Rice & Stevenson were outstanding all-rounders). These days the way posters are excited about Stokes, I wonder what they will do if Stokes can manage half of what Kapil did in his only 5 Test series in AUS, in his mid 30s, with a dodgy knee & against the worst ever umpiring by home umpires in my memory.

Coming to the list, I'll put Botham above Hadlee as all-rounder in over all career, but in 1980s, RJH has to be the best fast medium pacer who batted at 30+ average & bowled <20. He is the ultimate one man army & probably the most under rated cricketer ever - no body even cares to bother about looking at his stats, which was truly outstanding. 2 other players in that rank couldn't match what he did in 1988, at 36 - that's dominating Indian batting in India; Garner & DK Lillee never toured India.

Viv's prime actually was 70s, in 80s he was just good, but not the greatest batsman of all-time - he lost best 2/3 years of his career to WSC, but he entered 1980s with a 60+/75+ Test stats and probably 50+/90+ ODI stats; but in 1980s, he wasn't that dominant. He was a player of eye sight & reflex, so after 30 he had a sharp decline, but Viv played like Viv throughout his career, hence that memory is ever lasting. Even in Masters cricket, or senior cricket what little I watched, it was for Richards (both). Still, he was the most consistent ODI all-rounder in 1980s after Kapil, hence 2nd position is justified.

For 3/4 years in early 1980s, Imran's pick actually is the highest in Test history, even higher than Bradman. This includes 2 /3 years of stop gap in career at his prime, otherwise it would have been almost fantasy level. Still, he made a come back at 35 to become world's No. 1 fast bowler, gives an indication of the fighting spirit of the man, probably that's the greatest quality of Imran - a champion competitor, the bloodiest opponent to fight against.

To be honest, I actually don't rate Garner that high among fast bowlers' rank. No disrespect, but I had a detailed post on it long back. First thing is, his ~60% Test wickets (around 140) are from bottom 5/6 batsmen. 2nd issue is, that he was someone who would hide from tougher challenges - never played in IND (probably Asia, not sure if he toured PAK in 1980), and his greatest achievements are on under prepared tracks, where he could hit the deck & protection less tail would go back to save their body. I won't put him in the 16 men Test squad of 1980s, though his stats are fantastic. In fact, DK retired in Jan 1984, Garner in late 1986 - in that regard, I'll put DK over Garner even in 1980s, probably Akram as well, if we consider that AUS tour of Jan 1990 in 1980s.

If I am to make a XI of the decade, my team will be

GG, GG (unique, isn't it - there are one more opener with initials of GG, an Indian lefti)
Viv, Javed, AB
*Khan, Doujon+
RJH, Marshall, Qadir

If I am to rank players based on both formats, it's

1. Khan, 2. Viv, 3. Marshall, 4. Hadlee, 5. Botham, 6. Kapil, 7. Javed, 8. AB, 9. Grineedge 10. Martin Crowe

I am not sure about the 10th spot - Gower, Gavaskar, Greg, DK, Holding, Wasim, Vengsarkar, Qadir, Desi Haynes for his ODI ...... I picked Martin, because he is the only in this list who had a almost a full decade. While , Javed is ahead in combined format, AB was better Test player, who has a Test 10for at SCG.

 

[MMHS]

Early mid 80s-Viv
Mid to late 80s Imran
Imran really blossomed towards the end and it wasn't that Viv regressed in anyway. Imran just upped his game and became one of the best from that generation

I am sure, you didn't bother to check the records for this one

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=132062]Harsh Thakor[/MENTION]

I started to write something on Test teams by decade, but the volume of the task actually couldn't allow me to finish yet. Still, from top of my head, I can say that the team of 1980s was by far the best decade, followed by 1990s & then probably a fight between 1970s, 1950s, 1960s & 1930s for the next spots.

 

[Ab Fan]

Kapil was a fantastic all-rounder, probably the most naturally gifted cricketer along with Sobers & Akram. Any fast bowler averaging over 30 with bat & under 30 with ball playing mostly in 80s, has to be among ATGs. He wasn't glorified much in Test circuits of 80s because of the presence of 3 of the best ever fast bowling all-rounders (6, if I consider County, which was a longer version equivalent of IPL in 1980s - Poctor, Rice & Stevenson were outstanding all-rounders). These days the way posters are excited about Stokes, I wonder what they will do if Stokes can manage half of what Kapil did in his only 5 Test series in AUS, in his mid 30s, with a dodgy knee & against the worst ever umpiring by home umpires in my memory.

Coming to the list, I'll put Botham above Hadlee as all-rounder in over all career, but in 1980s, RJH has to be the best fast medium pacer who batted at 30+ average & bowled <20. He is the ultimate one man army & probably the most under rated cricketer ever - no body even cares to bother about looking at his stats, which was truly outstanding. 2 other players in that rank couldn't match what he did in 1988, at 36 - that's dominating Indian batting in India; Garner & DK Lillee never toured India.

Viv's prime actually was 70s, in 80s he was just good, but not the greatest batsman of all-time - he lost best 2/3 years of his career to WSC, but he entered 1980s with a 60+/75+ Test stats and probably 50+/90+ ODI stats; but in 1980s, he wasn't that dominant. He was a player of eye sight & reflex, so after 30 he had a sharp decline, but Viv played like Viv throughout his career, hence that memory is ever lasting. Even in Masters cricket, or senior cricket what little I watched, it was for Richards (both). Still, he was the most consistent ODI all-rounder in 1980s after Kapil, hence 2nd position is justified.

For 3/4 years in early 1980s, Imran's pick actually is the highest in Test history, even higher than Bradman. This includes 2 /3 years of stop gap in career at his prime, otherwise it would have been almost fantasy level. Still, he made a come back at 35 to become world's No. 1 fast bowler, gives an indication of the fighting spirit of the man, probably that's the greatest quality of Imran - a champion competitor, the bloodiest opponent to fight against.

To be honest, I actually don't rate Garner that high among fast bowlers' rank. No disrespect, but I had a detailed post on it long back. First thing is, his ~60% Test wickets (around 140) are from bottom 5/6 batsmen. 2nd issue is, that he was someone who would hide from tougher challenges - never played in IND (probably Asia, not sure if he toured PAK in 1980), and his greatest achievements are on under prepared tracks, where he could hit the deck & protection less tail would go back to save their body. I won't put him in the 16 men Test squad of 1980s, though his stats are fantastic. In fact, DK retired in Jan 1984, Garner in late 1986 - in that regard, I'll put DK over Garner even in 1980s, probably Akram as well, if we consider that AUS tour of Jan 1990 in 1980s.

If I am to make a XI of the decade, my team will be

GG, GG (unique, isn't it - there are one more opener with initials of GG, an Indian lefti)
Viv, Javed, AB
*Khan, Doujon+
RJH, Marshall, Qadir

If I am to rank players based on both formats, it's

1. Khan, 2. Viv, 3. Marshall, 4. Hadlee, 5. Botham, 6. Kapil, 7. Javed, 8. AB, 9. Grineedge 10. Martin Crowe

I am not sure about the 10th spot - Gower, Gavaskar, Greg, DK, Holding, Wasim, Vengsarkar, Qadir, Desi Haynes for his ODI ...... I picked Martin, because he is the only in this list who had a almost a full decade. While , Javed is ahead in combined format, AB was better Test player, who has a Test 10for at SCG.

Very nicely put up!!!If you dont mind what would be the list if its purely on tests basis according to you?

 

[MMHS]

Very nicely put up!!!If you dont mind what would be the list if its purely on tests basis according to you?

Still top 5 are same.

I'll put AB at 6, Kapil at 7, Grineedge at 8 Javed at 9. 10, I am not sure still, may be Alderman.

 

[MMHS]

Kapil was a fantastic all-rounder, probably the most naturally gifted cricketer along with Sobers & Akram. Any fast bowler averaging over 30 with bat & under 30 with ball playing mostly in 80s, has to be among ATGs. He wasn't glorified much in Test circuits of 80s because of the presence of 3 of the best ever fast bowling all-rounders (6, if I consider County, which was a longer version equivalent of IPL in 1980s - Poctor, Rice & Stevenson were outstanding all-rounders). These days the way posters are excited about Stokes, I wonder what they will do if Stokes can manage half of what Kapil did in his only 5 Test series in AUS, in his mid 30s, with a dodgy knee & against the worst ever umpiring by home umpires in my memory.

Coming to the list, I'll put Botham above Hadlee as all-rounder in over all career, but in 1980s, RJH has to be the best fast medium pacer who batted at 30+ average & bowled <20. He is the ultimate one man army & probably the most under rated cricketer ever - no body even cares to bother about looking at his stats, which was truly outstanding. 2 other players in that rank couldn't match what he did in 1988, at 36 - that's dominating Indian batting in India; Garner & DK Lillee never toured India.

Viv's prime actually was 70s, in 80s he was just good, but not the greatest batsman of all-time - he lost best 2/3 years of his career to WSC, but he entered 1980s with a 60+/75+ Test stats and probably 50+/90+ ODI stats; but in 1980s, he wasn't that dominant. He was a player of eye sight & reflex, so after 30 he had a sharp decline, but Viv played like Viv throughout his career, hence that memory is ever lasting. Even in Masters cricket, or senior cricket what little I watched, it was for Richards (both). Still, he was the most consistent ODI all-rounder in 1980s after Kapil, hence 2nd position is justified.

For 3/4 years in early 1980s, Imran's pick actually is the highest in Test history, even higher than Bradman. This includes 2 /3 years of stop gap in career at his prime, otherwise it would have been almost fantasy level. Still, he made a come back at 35 to become world's No. 1 fast bowler, gives an indication of the fighting spirit of the man, probably that's the greatest quality of Imran - a champion competitor, the bloodiest opponent to fight against.

To be honest, I actually don't rate Garner that high among fast bowlers' rank. No disrespect, but I had a detailed post on it long back. First thing is, his ~60% Test wickets (around 140) are from bottom 5/6 batsmen. 2nd issue is, that he was someone who would hide from tougher challenges - never played in IND (probably Asia, not sure if he toured PAK in 1980), and his greatest achievements are on under prepared tracks, where he could hit the deck & protection less tail would go back to save their body. I won't put him in the 16 men Test squad of 1980s, though his stats are fantastic. In fact, DK retired in Jan 1984, Garner in late 1986 - in that regard, I'll put DK over Garner even in 1980s, probably Akram as well, if we consider that AUS tour of Jan 1990 in 1980s.

If I am to make a XI of the decade, my team will be

GG, GG (unique, isn't it - there are one more opener with initials of GG, an Indian lefti)
Viv, Javed, AB
*Khan, Doujon+
RJH, Marshall, Qadir

If I am to rank players based on both formats, it's

1. Khan, 2. Viv, 3. Marshall, 4. Hadlee, 5. Botham, 6. Kapil, 7. Javed, 8. AB, 9. Grineedge 10. Martin Crowe

I am not sure about the 10th spot - Gower, Gavaskar, Greg, DK, Holding, Wasim, Vengsarkar, Qadir, Desi Haynes for his ODI ...... I picked Martin, because he is the only in this list who had a almost a full decade. While , Javed is ahead in combined format, AB was better Test player, who has a Test 10for at SCG.

My mistake - I have put 10 players in XI

Botham has to bat at 7 for that team.

 

[Ab Fan]

Still top 5 are same.

I'll put AB at 6, Kapil at 7, Grineedge at 8 Javed at 9. 10, I am not sure still, may be Alderman.

Nice list..Thanks..!!!

 

[The_Odd_One]

Prime skill of cricketers translates to both formats.

Hadlee Test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 28 5-fers
IK test stats in 80s: Avg 19, 18 5-fers

-------

Hadlee ODI stats in 80s: Avg 19 & ER 3.3
IK's ODI stats in 80s: Avg 23 & ER 3.9




Now, can you put one batsman who will come ahead of Viv in 80s taking account of both formats.

Just in case you don't have the information, IK's highest rank in ODI bowling was 4 and he was ranked outside of 5 most of the time. Hadlee was rarely ranked below 4 in 80s and pretty much occupied one of the top 2 spots.

Nobody cared about ODIs in the 80s otherwise Marshall would not be considered the best fast bowler of all times and by that logic even Garner would have been rated higher than him.

I will write a detailed post later that why was Imran better than Viv in their primary discipline in the 80s.

 

[Harpoon]

If I am to make a XI of the decade, my team will be

GG, GG (unique, isn't it - there are one more opener with initials of GG, an Indian lefti)
Viv, Javed, AB
*Khan, Doujon+
RJH, Marshall, Qadir
.

Great list. Hard to find a fault with this.

 

[MMHS]

Great list. Hard to find a fault with this.

There are 10 names actually - I was confused with the 11th one, left for final thoughts, but posted & couldn't edit

One thought was to pick Kapil & that ensures Indian representation as well, but Botham still was better in 80s. However, this team has Viv & AB, two quite decent finger spinners to back Qadir, hence 4 pacers might be a bit over kill. Also, Viv hardly played at 3 in 1980s, hence there could be another option is to pick Gower or Crowe & slot at 3, putting Viv at 5.

For a squad of 12, I'll pick Botham & Crowe, then select my XI with one of them at toss, depending on condition. Kapil, Holding, Alderman & Gower makes the 16 men squad for the decade. Unbelievably good squad, almost unbeatable any where.

 

[Buffet]

Nobody cared about ODIs in the 80s ...

So should we start saying that Viv was no body in ODI cricket because no one cared about it? Enough people cared about it. You are simply doing disservice to 500+ ODIs played in 80s.

You can write that IK was better in test format in 80s in his primary discipline. Statement will be true after adding many qualifiers.

 

[Buffet]

Nobody cared about ODIs in the 80s ...

Pics from 1983 WC

 

[wrongun]

They cared- but they were still somewhat of a novelty. Certainly the Word Cup, World Series Cricket & Tri Series in Oz had a huge following here and people genuinely cared about the result. Bilateral series never seemed as exciting or just like a tacked on part of a tour but (rightly or wrongly) we felt like those were "proper" tournaments to win.

 

[Buffet]

They cared- but they were still somewhat of a novelty. Certainly the Word Cup, World Series Cricket & Tri Series in Oz had a huge following here and people genuinely cared about the result. Bilateral series never seemed as exciting or just like a tacked on part of a tour but (rightly or wrongly) we felt like those were "proper" tournaments to win.

It's same even now. Often we don't see best ODI line ups in bilateral.

 

[Ted123]

Imran was the greatest in 80s followed by Viv and Malcolm Marshall.

This was also the golden era of bowling all rounders.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Still top 5 are same.

I'll put AB at 6, Kapil at 7, Grineedge at 8 Javed at 9. 10, I am not sure still, may be Alderman.

very good list.You have almost perfectly changed the combined cricket ranking to the test format exclusively. Without doubt consistently AB above Javed in tests.At his best Greenidge in mid 1980s was at no i.Significantly Border wasn ever at no 1 but in the top 3 throughout.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Kapil was a fantastic all-rounder, probably the most naturally gifted cricketer along with Sobers & Akram. Any fast bowler averaging over 30 with bat & under 30 with ball playing mostly in 80s, has to be among ATGs. He wasn't glorified much in Test circuits of 80s because of the presence of 3 of the best ever fast bowling all-rounders (6, if I consider County, which was a longer version equivalent of IPL in 1980s - Poctor, Rice & Stevenson were outstanding all-rounders). These days the way posters are excited about Stokes, I wonder what they will do if Stokes can manage half of what Kapil did in his only 5 Test series in AUS, in his mid 30s, with a dodgy knee & against the worst ever umpiring by home umpires in my memory.

Coming to the list, I'll put Botham above Hadlee as all-rounder in over all career, but in 1980s, RJH has to be the best fast medium pacer who batted at 30+ average & bowled <20. He is the ultimate one man army & probably the most under rated cricketer ever - no body even cares to bother about looking at his stats, which was truly outstanding. 2 other players in that rank couldn't match what he did in 1988, at 36 - that's dominating Indian batting in India; Garner & DK Lillee never toured India.

Viv's prime actually was 70s, in 80s he was just good, but not the greatest batsman of all-time - he lost best 2/3 years of his career to WSC, but he entered 1980s with a 60+/75+ Test stats and probably 50+/90+ ODI stats; but in 1980s, he wasn't that dominant. He was a player of eye sight & reflex, so after 30 he had a sharp decline, but Viv played like Viv throughout his career, hence that memory is ever lasting. Even in Masters cricket, or senior cricket what little I watched, it was for Richards (both). Still, he was the most consistent ODI all-rounder in 1980s after Kapil, hence 2nd position is justified.

For 3/4 years in early 1980s, Imran's pick actually is the highest in Test history, even higher than Bradman. This includes 2 /3 years of stop gap in career at his prime, otherwise it would have been almost fantasy level. Still, he made a come back at 35 to become world's No. 1 fast bowler, gives an indication of the fighting spirit of the man, probably that's the greatest quality of Imran - a champion competitor, the bloodiest opponent to fight against.

To be honest, I actually don't rate Garner that high among fast bowlers' rank. No disrespect, but I had a detailed post on it long back. First thing is, his ~60% Test wickets (around 140) are from bottom 5/6 batsmen. 2nd issue is, that he was someone who would hide from tougher challenges - never played in IND (probably Asia, not sure if he toured PAK in 1980), and his greatest achievements are on under prepared tracks, where he could hit the deck & protection less tail would go back to save their body. I won't put him in the 16 men Test squad of 1980s, though his stats are fantastic. In fact, DK retired in Jan 1984, Garner in late 1986 - in that regard, I'll put DK over Garner even in 1980s, probably Akram as well, if we consider that AUS tour of Jan 1990 in 1980s.

If I am to make a XI of the decade, my team will be

GG, GG (unique, isn't it - there are one more opener with initials of GG, an Indian lefti)
Viv, Javed, AB
*Khan, Doujon+
RJH, Marshall, Qadir

If I am to rank players based on both formats, it's

1. Khan, 2. Viv, 3. Marshall, 4. Hadlee, 5. Botham, 6. Kapil, 7. Javed, 8. AB, 9. Grineedge 10. Martin Crowe

I am not sure about the 10th spot - Gower, Gavaskar, Greg, DK, Holding, Wasim, Vengsarkar, Qadir, Desi Haynes for his ODI ...... I picked Martin, because he is the only in this list who had a almost a full decade. While , Javed is ahead in combined format, AB was better Test player, who has a Test 10for at SCG.

Great assesment .appreciate.However remember there has to be a seperate O.D.I.and test team. Cannot be combined .However rating scan.Still Feel for his remarkable consistency Sunil Gavaskar should make it and Graham Gooch should be strong consideration at no 10 for his outstanding batting against West Indies which had the pace attack ever.Arguably combining ODI's Kapil surpassed Botham .Vengsarakar wasa round no 1at peak but overseas only succesful in England.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

I urge all not to conflate formats. It is a useless undertaking. Tests and ODIs are different beasts. Further, you have to give each a weighing for a combined rating to have any value.

This forum needs a sub-forum for older heads to discuss things properly. 20 y/o opining about x or y they never saw is silly. Just statsguru fans really.

Combined rating can be made but not combined team.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Think Harsh Thakor has it just about right. Hard to argue with the top 3. Lower down I would have Allan Border above Gower & Gooch certainly. Better record & was a rock vs the WI.

May not be popular here but I've got Hadlee above Botham. He performed everywhere, against everyone. Botham did not. Kapil never had the advantage of bowling in seaming wickets in swinging conditions as often as Botham/Hadlee but still became world record holder & performed against all the best teams of the era. He also won a world cup. I have him as the equal to Botham imo.

At first glance it seems as if Sunil Gavaskar has been hard done by at #9- a case can certainly be made he had more impact on cricket and very, very impressive records on hard tracks vs the quickest & best attacks of the day- massive influence on raising Indian expectations. But his best years were mostly in the 70s.

I also agree Qadir needs to be in the top 10 somewhere, even if there a cricketers with lower averages etc. He kept legspin alive.

1. Imran Khan
2. Viv Richards
3. Malcolm Marshall
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Ian Botham/Kapil Dev
7. Gordon Greenidge
8. Javed Miandad
9. Sunil Gavaskar
10. Abdul Qadir
11. Allan Border/Joel Garner

Why Greenidge above Miandad?Great list no doubt with great fairness to Kapil,Botham and Qadir.Have you combined tests and ODIS?In only tests Border would rank above Javed .

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Strewth...... OK then, here we go.

1. Imran
2. Marshall
3. Hadlee
4. Richards
5. Miandad
6. Border
7. Gower
8. Azhar
9. Greenidge
10. Kapil Dev

I'm not sure where to put Botham because he was less much less effective in the latter half of the decade - a time in which England won just five tests of the fifty they played.

Fell Botham at his bset in early 80's was right at the top and no cricketer at best was overall more explosive in the al-round sense.I feel ranking Viv a little low who still morally turned the complexion of a game more than anyone.Are you combing tests and ODI's.If only tsets Border should nose Miandad while in combined test and ODI Kapil should rate above Border and Miandad.All-rounders had a greater influence on the course of game in the 1980's.Kapil's impact was phenomenal if you ***** India's bowing strength and the placid wickets in which he captured the majority of his wickets.Weightage should be given to Kapil's contribution in World cup win.Test and ODI Viv overshadows Marshall.I think you overrate Azhar however graceful he was who was overshadowed by even Dilip Vengsarkar.

Can you make a seperate list for onlt tests and one for combined?

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Imran was the best. By a clear margin.

Follwed by
Viv
Marshal
Hadlee
Gavaskar
Miandad
Qadir
Border

In that order.

great list but not Imran by a clear margin.Imran also missed crucial years of the decade and was not at his best with both bat and ball.In terms of sheer impact on games Viv was still the maestro.However Imran is on top because of consistency and contribution as a skipper.Combing ODI'S Viv comes much closer,almost on par with Imran.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

great list but not Imran by a clear margin.Imran also missed crucial years of the decade and was not at his best with both bat and ball.In terms of sheer impact on games Viv was still the maestro.However Imran is on top because of consistency and contribution as a skipper.Combing ODI'S Viv comes much closer,almost on par with Imran.

I feel you are wrongly omitting Kapil Dev who made a phenomenal contribution for a relatively weaker team,that too bowling on pancakes of the sub continent.No cricketer performed better with both ball and bat against West Indies as Kapil .Combining ODI's he was close to the top.Why Gavaskar ahead of Miandad and Gordon Greenidge excluded?For a while Gordon in the 1980's wast he best batsmen in the world.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Wrong.

Imran had the lowest average among all the bowlers in the 80s. He took 256 wickets in 54 tests at an astounding average of 19.12 and SR of 47 despite playing a lot of games on fast bowling graveyards with a seriously bad fielding side.

Viv averaged 49 in the 80s. Several batsmen averaged more than Viv. Some of them were Border, Miandad, Lloyd, Chappell, etc.

The game is not all bout stats.Viv could make an impact or turn the complexion of game more than anyone.A fifty or hundred of Viv could make twice the impact by tat of another batsmen.In ODIS Viv was class above Imran in his discipline.Imran also missed 3 years of cricket and was not at best with both bat and bal together.Imran would nose Viv because oih his role in shaping his nation's fortunes but at his best was still not more explosive with the ball as viv was with the bat.Imran was more consistency but I feel a century of Viv could make more opf an impact on a game than a 5 wicket haul of Imran.Imran wins the race as he was a genuine all-rounder.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

I was only pointing out that comparing all rounders with specialists based on one skill is not a good idea when you are trying to rank cricketers.

Significant that great fast bowling all-rounders were better match-winners than batting all-rounders as demonstrated by Hadlee,Imran,Miller or Botham at his peak.Viv was such a genius that he could overshadow the contribution of a great all-rounder who was also a great fast bowler.Very similar to Lara overshadowing Kallis who was a great batsmen and great all-rounder.

 

[Harpoon]

I feel you are wrongly omitting Kapil Dev who made a phenomenal contribution for a relatively weaker team,that too bowling on pancakes of the sub continent.No cricketer performed better with both ball and bat against West Indies as Kapil .Combining ODI's he was close to the top.Why Gavaskar ahead of Miandad and Gordon Greenidge excluded?For a while Gordon in the 1980's wast he best batsmen in the world.

Kapil wAs excellent. And I'm a big fan of the Fab Four including Kapil. But I don't think Kapil and botham make it into top 10.
Sunny on the other hand was all class. A delight to watch. Even as a Pakistani we loved watching gavaskar bat one of the best of all time. I ranked him higher then miandad because he played classic orthodox shots. And I am a sucker for those

 

[wrongun]

Why Greenidge above Miandad?Great list no doubt with great fairness to Kapil,Botham and Qadir.Have you combined tests and ODIS?In only tests Border would rank above Javed .

I felt he did better against the best. Yes I have considered both to some degree but weighted tests higher, except for WC results (Mindad win in 90s so not counted). I felt like WI dominance relied on a game changing, aggressive opening bat who was part of a top level team but Miandad didn't work well with others as succesfully and didn't change the game as much (Dean Jones was the game changer in ODI that era).

Allan Border? I've probably sold him short by any count. A case could be mounted for him above GG or JM. Then again, sometimes I just post on memory or impression and would leave room to reconsider later. If this was a "pub discussion" on AB vs GG, vs JM I'd probably be rethinking my position on second thought- great record, WC wins. Arguably not the same amount of game changing/winning innings as GG. One epic ton/90* earned his well deserved legend vs WI. tended to scrap toward respectable losses or honourable draws vs wins. Later came to be seen as a more limited version of S. Waugh who did it all, but with greater versatility & success & all round skills.

 

[MMHS]

Great assesment .appreciate.However remember there has to be a seperate O.D.I.and test team. Cannot be combined .However rating scan.Still Feel for his remarkable consistency Sunil Gavaskar should make it and Graham Gooch should be strong consideration at no 10 for his outstanding batting against West Indies which had the pace attack ever.Arguably combining ODI's Kapil surpassed Botham .Vengsarakar wasa round no 1at peak but overseas only succesful in England.

Gavaskar was my closest choice for the squad (doesn't come in top 10). But, I decided to tick Holding finally - the reason being the presence of so many all-rounders in that decade that batting cover wasn't that essential (In fact Marshall & Qadir would have averaged over 25 & 20 respectively with bat in recent times - such was the depth for that team), probably we can go for more bowling options than batting - at crisis Doujon can open; he averages over 40 in 1980s, which actually tells his batting capacity.

Only spot I couldn't manage in squad is a 2nd spinner, just in case because the 2nd best spinner for the decade was probably Iqbal Qasim, just a head of Tauseef & Dulip Doshi. Others are like Manindar, Shiva, Shiblal, Hirwani, Shastri, Embury, Edmonds, Bresswell, Harper, Yardly, Bright, Greg Matthews, Tauseef ... doesn't sounds exciting. But, instead of picking Qasim in Squad, I took a chance with Holding & expect Border to bowl 25 overs, if there are foot marks or the wicket is really that dry. Qasim's figures are world class though - 32 Tests, 131 wickets at <25 average with an economy of 2.22 & SR of 67 - comparable to any ATG.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Kapil Dev and Imran Khan

both all rounders and captains of their respective teams

what a rivalry it was!

 

[kron]

The greatest cricketer of the 1980's decade would narrow down to Imran Khan ,Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall.Richard Hadlee,Ian Botham,Gordon Greenidge,Kapil Dev,Javed Miandad,Abdul Qadir etc were also worthy contenders .Still it is Imran ,Viv and Malcolm who would have to make the final reckoning.


Till 1981 Viv continued his great run but later an eye operation affected his batting.From 1980-81 he batted better than anyone since Bradman.I can never forget his domination of Lillee averaging 96.9 and of Imran in Pakistan averaging above 70.In O.D.I.cricket Viv took cricketing genius to it's pinnacle when scoring an unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford or a century of 56 balls against England at Antigua.As a skipper Viv never lost a series and re-established West Indies as the supreme power in world cricket in 1988.The impact of his batting had a great role in West Indies retaining their supremacy in test cricket.I can never also forget Viv's 65 at Old Traford and 145 at Lords in 1980.76and 74 at Adelaide in 1980.208 at Melbourne in 1984-85,century at Brisbane in 1988-89 and 1087 not out at Delhi in 1988.Even if challenged by the likes of Miandad ,Border or Greenidge no batsmen could turn a game more than Viv .He also topped the averages of the 1978 Reliance cup at 65.80.

Malcolm Marshall was a dominant force and established convincing superiority in a bowling line up comprising of Garner,Holding and Paterson or Walsh.Marshall was arguably the best fast bowler ever if you ***** his average in wins,overall strike rate and performances on placid tracks.In 1988 when he had 35 scalps in England he took cricketing genius or innovation to it's supreme depth just like when taking 10 wickets at Adelaide in 1984-85 and in Sydney in 1988-89.Marshall was the pivot of what was arguably the best team ever in 1984-85 .Statistically as a paceman he bettered Viv Richard's performances as a batsmen averaging under 19 with the ball in the 1980s.He only had 22 5 wicket hauls as he bowled with a pack of champion paceman unlike Hadlee or Imran.Marshall was principally responsible for West Indies regaining their overall supremacy over other test teams.


No cricketer shaped the destiny of his nation's cricketing fortunes or path after Sobers as Imran Khan.From 1981-87 he overshadowed every great allrounder including Botham both in 1982 and 87,even if he did not equal Ian Botham's Ashes exploits of 1981.Imran's leadership won Pakistan their 1st series ever on Indian and English soil and arguably a moral victory in West Indies in 1988 when dubious umpiring decisions robbed Pakistan of a famous win.Pakistan came within inches of winning the unofficial world championship title in 1988 and becoming the 1st team to beat West Indies on their soil since Australia in 1973.In England in 1982 he was a revelation averaging 53 with the bat and capturing 21 wickets.He blazed away like fire against India in 1982-93 at home bowling 2 of test cricket's greatest ever bowling spells against India at Karachi and Hyderabad.Imran's 7-40 at Leeds played a major role in 1987 for their 1st series win in India while his 7-80 at Goergetown and 5-125 at Trinidad all but took Pakistan to the pinnacle of glory of conquering the mighty Calypsos.I also remember Imran's great role as a batsmen in the decisive test at Bangalore in 1987 .Imran at Leeds in 1982 when he captured 5-59 and 3-66 and scored 75 n.o.and 46 was at the top of his cricket .What is significant is that Imran bowled better against West Indies than any bowler of the decade.When unable to bowl he topped the Pakistan batting averages in the 1983 Prudential cup averaging 70 and becoming the 1st Pakistan batsmen to score a century in the world cup.Infact it won Pakistan a crucial game against Sri Lanka.


Overall I would rank Imran at the top ,Viv 2nd and Marshall 3rd.I have also given consideration to performances in ODI'S and Viv's role as a leader.Even if Marshall had a better record I feel Viv's presence made more of a difference.Imran is at one because his great contribution as a skipper,allrounder and fast bowler.

Ranked Botham high because in early 80's he was the best match-winner or cricketer after Sober's who could turn a game 360 degrees .Admired Hadlee's phenomenal skill with the ball taking 330 wickets in 60 tests for a relatively weak attack.Kapil Dev was an enigma and for a time in 1983-86 arguably the best all-rounder in the world considering he had to bowl on the laborious sub-continent pancakes.For awhile in the 80's in 1984 Greenidge was the best batsmen in the world when scoring his 2 double centuries in England.Javed Miandad in 1988 took over the mantle of the world's best batsmen from Viv when scoring a double century in England and 2 centuries in West Indies successively and a series of 7successive fifties in O.D.I.'s in 1987.Border was simply an epitome of consistency in any conditions s .He was at his best against the great Carribean quartet in 1982 and 1984 averaging around 70 ,as well as in Pakistan when averaging over 131 in 1980 and in England in 1981 and 85 averaging around 60..Gower was a class act against great fast bowling in the Carribean in 1981 and in Australia in 1982-83 as well as championed the cause in the subcontinent in Pakistan in 1984. Sunil Gavaskar although not at his best was still like Border an epitome of consistency or concentration who could be a revelation on his day like when scoring 96 in his final test v Pakistan at Bangalore or 129 at Delhi v West Indies in 1983-84. Abdul Qadir foxed batsmen more than any spinner in history of the game and played a major role in Pakistan's rise to the top.Garner was arguably the best paceman surpassing any bowler for sheer accuracy.Graham Gooch conquered great Carribean pace bowling in 1981 and 88 and mastered turning tracks in India in 1981-82 and in 1987 world cup..Most unlucky omissions were Martin Crowe and Dilip Vengsarkar who missed out by just a whisker or the artistic Mohammad Azharuddin.

In order of merit my ranking in the 1980s

1.Imran Khan
2.Viv Richards
3.Malcolm Marshall
4.Ian Botham
5.Richard Hadlee
6.Kapil Dev
7.Javed Miandad
8.Gordon Greenidge
9.Sunil Gavaskar
10Abdul Qadir
11.David Gower
12.Joel Garner/Graham Gooch




STATISTICS OF MALCOLM MARSHALL-COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH IN CFRICINFO

Best Test bowlers between 1983 and 1991 (Qual: 125 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Richard Hadlee 48 262 19.64 47.4 23/ 6
Malcolm Marshall 69 342 19.85 44.9 22/ 4
Joel Garner 30 135 21.28 48.3 5/ 0
Imran Khan 42 156 21.49 50.5 10/ 3
Curtly Ambrose 33 140 23.14 56.1 5/ 1
Wasim Akram 39 143 24.51 58.7 9/ 2
Courtney Wash 50 174 24.95 56.4 5/ 1

As a match-winner, Marshall was among the very best again, with 254 wickets at less than 17. Again, only one bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, has a better average, and one, Waqar Younis, has a better strike rate. Marshall's performances didn't drop much in defeats either: in the nine Tests in which he played in a losing cause, he still managed an average of less than 28.

Best Test bowlers in wins (Qual: 200 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Muttiah Muralitharan 53 430 16.03 42.6 40/ 18
Malcolm Marshall 43 254 16.78 38.1 17/ 4
Curtly Ambrose 44 229 16.86 44.4 13/ 3
Waqar Younis 39 222 18.20 35.0 14/ 4
Dennis Lillee 31 203 18.27 39.0 17/ 6
Shaun Pollock 49 223 18.30 47.5 9/ 1
Wasim Akram 41 211 18.48 42.3 13/ 2
Anil Kumble 43 288 18.75 44.4 20/ 5
Glenn McGrath 84 414 19.19 47.7 18/ 3
Courtney Walsh 52 239 19.72 46.2 10/ 2

Perhaps the biggest compliment to Marshall is the fact that he stood out even when he played with other great fast bowlers. The 1980s were an exceptional period for West Indian fast bowling, and yet in the Tests that Marshall played, he took almost a third of the wickets taken by their fast bowlers (31.37%). Marshall was clearly the leader of the pack - the next-highest wicket-taker in matches Marshall figured in was Courtney Walsh, with only 137 wickets from 42 Tests, while Curtly Ambrose had 128 from 29. (Click here for the full list.) Marshall's average and strike rate were significantly better than his other fast-bowling mates, and he took as many five-fors as all the other West Indian fast bowlers put together.

Marshall's contribution to the attack in the matches he played between 1983 and 1991 Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
69 342 19.85 44.9 22/ 4
Other WI fast bowlers 69 748 24.70 53.5 22/ 2

Not only did Marshall get many wickets, he also generally dismissed the top batsmen from the opposition line-ups. Among the batsmen he dismissed most often were Graham Gooch (16 times), Allan Lamb (13 times), Allan Border (11), Vengsarkar (10) and Gavaskar (8).

On the other hand, he didn't get rid of the tail that often; he usually left that job to the others. Of the 376 Test wickets he took, 238 were of batsmen in the top six, which is a fairly impressive percentage of 63.30. Only 17.55% of his wickets were of batsmen in the bottom three, which is the lowest among the bowlers listed below. Allan Donald and Glenn McGrath had a higher top-order percentage, but Marshall's numbers are quite a contrast to those of Wasim Akram, for whom almost 28% of wickets were of batsmen in the bottom three.

Percentage of top-order and lower-order wickets Bowler Positions 1-6 Percentage Positions 9-11 Percentage
Malcolm Marshall 238 63.30 66 17.55
Glenn McGrath 377 66.96 99 17.58
Allan Donald 222 67.27 62 18.79
Curtly Ambrose 258 63.70 78 19.26
Richard Hadlee 262 60.79 86 19.95
Waqar Younis 234 62.73 79 21.18
Imran Khan 229 63.26 77 21.27
Wasim Akram 233 56.28 115 27.78

Another factor that puts Marshall above many other high-class fast bowlers is his stats in the subcontinent. The relatively slow pitches in the region have thwarted many a fast bowler, but not Marshall, whose varied skills helped him take 71 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 23.05. Those numbers look even better if his first series in India is excluded: in the 16 remaining Tests he averaged 20.17. His overall average here, though, remains one of the best among overseas fast bowlers who've taken at least 50 wickets in the subcontinent.

Best overseas fast bowlers in Tests in Asia since 1970 (Qual: 50 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Courtney Walsh 17 77 20.53 45.2 5/ 0
Dale Steyn 11 57 21.33 34.7 4/ 1
Richard Hadlee 13 68 21.58 42.7 5/ 2
Glenn McGrath 19 72 23.02 54.8 1/ 0
Malcolm Marshall 19 71 23.05 48.7 3/ 0
Shaun Pollock 17 60 23.18 56.8 2/ 0
Jason Gillespie 14 54 23.75 51.0 1/ 0




IMRAN KHAN-COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH IN CRICINFO.

During his peak years in Test cricket, Imran was easily the best allrounder among his peers. In the nine years between 1980 and 1988, his bowling average of 17.77 was almost 22 lesser than his batting average - the difference was clearly the best among those with 1500 runs and 100 wickets during this period. Hadlee's bowling performances were exceptional during this period, but he couldn't quite match up to Imran with the bat, while both Botham and Kapil had far lesser success with the ball.

Top allrounders between 1980 and 1988 (Qual: 1500 runs, 100 wickets) Player Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM Diff in ave
Imran Khan 48 2028 39.76 4/ 10 236 17.77 18/ 5 21.99
Richard Hadlee 51 1987 31.04 2/ 10 284 19.03 28/ 7 12.01
Ian Botham 72 3989 34.38 10/ 19 255 31.83 15/ 2 2.55
Kapil Dev 72 3103 31.98 5/ 16 242 30.05 14/ 2 1.93
Ravi Shastri 61 2702 34.64 7/ 10 132 38.24 2/ 0 -3.60



Top bowlers in the world between 1980 and 1988 (Qual: 150 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Imran Khan 48 236 17.77 43.6 18/ 5
Richard Hadlee 51 284 19.03 47.0 28/ 7
Malcolm Marshall 58 297 20.20 44.7 18/ 3
Joel Garner 49 210 20.62 51.8 7/ 0
Michael Holding 45 184 23.38 50.3 9/ 1
Dennis Lillee 35 171 24.07 52.3 11/ 3


The four allrounders against West Indies Player Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM
Imran Khan 18 775 27.67 1/ 3 80 21.18 6/ 1
Richard Hadlee 10 389 32.41 1/ 1 51 22.03 4/ 1
Kapil Dev 25 1079 30.82 3/ 4 89 24.89 4/ 1
Ian Botham 20 792 21.40 0/ 4 61 35.18 3/ 0


While his best period in Test cricket was the 1982-83 season, in ODIs, quite surprisingly, his peak year was 1989. He played 26 matches that year, easily his highest in a calendar year, and shone with both bat and ball, scoring 793 runs at 46.64, and taking 29 wickets at 25.79. Of the 13 Man-of-the-Match awards he won in his entire ODI career, six came in that year alone.

Imran Khan's ODI career Period ODIs Runs Average Strike rate Wickets Average Econ rate
Till Dec 1980 14 108 15.42 59.34 16 25.93 3.32
Jan 1981 to Dec 1989 122 2651 33.98 75.67 142 22.96 3.90


VIV RICHARDS-STATISTICS BY S.RAJESH IN CRICINFO

Viv Richards in Tests Matches Innings Runs Average 100s 50s
Overall 121 182 8540 50.23 24 45
1974-1980 40 63 3629 60.48 11 16
1981-1988 62 89 3933 47.38 12 19
1989- 1991 19 30 978 36.22 1 10


Richards took over the West Indies captaincy following Clive Lloyd's retirement in 1985 and led them in 50 Tests, winning 27 and losing 15, but more importantly he didn't lose a single series. Among captains who have led in a minimum of 50 Tests, Richards' record as captain is next only to Steve Waugh's and Ricky Ponting's.

Highest win percentage as captains (Qual: 50 Tests) Player Span Matches Won Lost Drawn W/L % wins
Steve Waugh 1999-2004 57 41 9 7 4.55 71.92
Ricky Ponting 2004-2010 71 47 12 12 3.91 66.19
Viv Richards 1980-1991 50 27 8 15 3.37 54
Mark Taylor 1994-1999 50 26 13 11 2 52
Michael Vaughan 2003-2008 51 26 11 14 2.36 50.98

Richards' style of batting suited one-day cricket perfectly. He set himself apart from the rest of the top batsmen of his era with his exceptionally quick scoring in a period where the average rate was much lower. The table below compares the strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991. Richards was by far the most dominant of the lot, and among players to have scored more than 2000 runs in ODIs, he still remains the only batsman to average more than 40 and possess a strike rate of over 90.

Comparison of strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Runs Average Strike rate % better than average SR for period (65.92)
Viv Richards 187 6721 47.00 90.20 36.83
Dean Jones 120 4690 48.85 75.07 13.88
Allan Border 228 5766 31.68 70.26 6.58
Javed Miandad 180 5795 41.69 68.16 3.39
Gordon Greenidge 128 5134 45.03 64.92 -1.51

Richards played 187 ODIs in all, but only 33 of those were in the West Indies. On the other hand, he played more than twice that number in Australia, where he scored 2769 runs in 73 matches. He was by far the finest overseas batsman in Australia between 1975 and 1991.

ODI Performance of overseas batsmen in Australia (1975-1991) Player Matches Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s 50s
Viv Richards 73 67 2769 44.66 84.54 3 24
Desmond Haynes 76 75 2459 35.63 60.32 4 17
Gordon Greenidge 43 43 1731 43.27 64.51 3 12
John Wright 57 57 1541 27.51 53.78 0 12
Javed Miandad 45 44 1390 33.90 59.40 0 10
David Gower 42 41 1248 32.84 84.32 4 3

Throughout his ODI career, Richards was the man for the big occasion. He scored a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, and played several crucial knocks on major occasions. His overall ODI record and performance in World Cups and finals is summarised below. He averages the highest among batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs in World Cup matches.

Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9

In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.

While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.

Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.

Players with the best rate of MoM awards in ODIs (Qual: 25 MoM awards) Player Total Matches MoM awards Matches per award
Viv Richards 187 31 6.03
Sachin Tendulkar 442 61 7.24
Saeed Anwar 247 28 8.82
Nathan Astle 223 25 8.92
Sanath Jayasuriya 444 48 9.25

Why are you so good bro?

 

[kron]

What about Kapil and Botham?

Inran is a tier above both. Imran is greater than viv.

What about the great SA team of 80s.
They were banned but in county they had some crazy stats.
Clive rice
Barry richards
Mike proctor
Van der bilj
Gareth le roux

 

[Suleiman]

Kapil Dev and Imran Khan

both all rounders and captains of their respective teams

what a rivalry it was!

By the end of it all, Kapil in ODIs and Imran in tests.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Viv Richards and Imran Khan were top performers in that decade.

 

[AMSS]

When I look at the numbers in 80s, there are some stats that fly in the face of stereotypes.

For example, Gavaskar had a better SR in ODIs than attacking and celebrated WIndian opener, Desmond Haynes and Richardson and marginally below Greenidge.

Kapil was an absolute MONSTER ODI cricketer in the 80s - with both bat and ball. Left even the great IVAR in the dust when it comes to batting SR. A cricketer decades ahead of his time, he really was meant for the current T20 era.

Border was far and away the most prolific test bat in 80s and single handedly kept AUS competitive in what was otherwise a mediocre decade for them.

 

[Hitman]

I'd pick Viv Richards, although there are quite a few other contenders as well. The 70's, 80's, and the 90's produced finest cricket since the post war era. I'm fortunate to have witnessed the 90's.

 

[wrongun]

Inran is a tier above both. Imran is greater than viv.

What about the great SA team of 80s.
They were banned but in county they had some crazy stats.
Clive rice
Barry richards
Mike proctor
Van der bilj
Gareth le roux

Because they were banned we never saw their stats play out.

Imagine Mike Hussey banned after a couple of years with a test average of 80+, and everyone would say nice things because he scored runs against them and was never seen again to create wounds or jealousy... He'd be an ATG.

But in reality he was very good but nowhere near an ATG. So we can't judge the South Africans on one or two good seasons and then a bunch of guesswork.

I offer another example. Let's have Mitchell Johnson removed from the game after one of his peaks (both 12-18 months long) in which he was destroying teams with the ball, not just taking wickets but breaking ribs, fingers and psyche and bashing tons.

He'd be an ATG. No shadow of a doubt on those peaks. But we all saw the rest of the career- good, bad, ok.

Once again, that is why none of those South Africans can be an ATG. Not if Johnson isn't- we don't just presume their career would be all peak. Because they didn't do it. They hinted at it. They had a peak.

And it was unfulfilled.

 

[kron]

Because they were banned we never saw their stats play out.

Imagine Mike Hussey banned after a couple of years with a test average of 80+, and everyone would say nice things because he scored runs against them and was never seen again to create wounds or jealousy... He'd be an ATG.

But in reality he was very good but nowhere near an ATG. So we can't judge the South Africans on one or two good seasons and then a bunch of guesswork.

I offer another example. Let's have Mitchell Johnson removed from the game after one of his peaks (both 12-18 months long) in which he was destroying teams with the ball, not just taking wickets but breaking ribs, fingers and psyche and bashing tons.

He'd be an ATG. No shadow of a doubt on those peaks. But we all saw the rest of the career- good, bad, ok.

Once again, that is why none of those South Africans can be an ATG. Not if Johnson isn't- we don't just presume their career would be all peak. Because they didn't do it. They hinted at it. They had a peak.

And it was unfulfilled.

That's fair. My father used to tell me stories about how good proctor and rice were. How they used to run through elite players in county. I agree though we don't know how they may have fared outside England.

And again in the list I am shocked mcgrath isn't listed here.

 

[wrongun]

That's fair. My father used to tell me stories about how good proctor and rice were. How they used to run through elite players in county. I agree though we don't know how they may have fared outside England.

And again in the list I am shocked mcgrath isn't listed here.

McGrath? In an 80s list?

He arrived mid 90s and really made his name 1996 in the Carribean when Aus unseated the still mighty West Indies. he bounced their tail (he was quicker then, not express but 140s), which was such a statement but all the braver because he was completely hopeless and defenceless as a batter.

 

[kron]

McGrath? In an 80s list?

He arrived mid 90s and really made his name 1996 in the Carribean when Aus unseated the still mighty West Indies. he bounced their tail (he was quicker then, not express but 140s), which was such a statement but all the braver because he was completely hopeless and defenceless as a batter.

My bad my bad.
Forgot the thread title is about 80s

Players of 80s. Best of 90s etc don't mean much. Best ever. For me that is mcgrath in terms of bowling. Nobody comes close.

Australia without mcgrath would never have been so dominant in 90s and early 2000. He catapulted them to greatness. Sachin Lara etc all struggled vs one man. Mcgrath.