Who was the best defensive batsman of all time - The hardest to dismiss?

[Harsh Thakor]

In this list I am ranking in order of merit the best defensive batsmen of all time or players hardest to dismiss.I have made 2 lists.One ranks them in terms of how hard it was to dislodge them and the other in terms of overall merit.I have selected my 12 best defensive batsmen who were the equivalent of boulders out there in the middle.

Hardest to dismiss who posessed best defence in order of merit.

1.Hanif Mohammad
2.Geoff Boycott
3.Sunil Gavaskar
4.Len Hutton
5.Herbert Suttclife
6.Alan Border
7.Rahul Dravid
8.Ken Barrington
9.Mohinder Amarnath
10.Alistair Cook
11.Michael Atherton
12.Mudassar Nazar

Overall best defensive batsmen ranked in terms of overall class in order of merit.

1.Gavaskar/Hutton
3.Border
4.Dravid
5.Sutcliffe
6.Hanif
7.Barrington
8.Boycott
9.Alistair Cook
10.Mohinder Amarnath
11.Michael Atherton
12.Mudassar Nazar

 

[TestMatch]

No Shiv Chanderpaul in your list? He now holds the records for most not outs, afterall.

 

[Gilly]

MCGrath must be laughing to see Athertons name in this.

Most of these players played for teams that did not possess a attacking mindset that wins matches.

 

[Gilly]

Herbie Suttcliffe was harder to dismiss than Bradman, whats next Afridi was better than Viv.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Herbie Suttcliffe was harder to dismiss than Bradman, whats next Afridi was better than Viv.

Remember only rating defensive batsmen,not the aggressive ones.thus excluded Bradman ,Lara,Tendulkar etc,Bradman was not defensive.

 

[Gilly]

Remember only rating defensive batsmen,not the aggressive ones.thus excluded Bradman ,Lara,Tendulkar etc,Bradman was not defensive.

So its batsmen that couldent maintain a decent scoring rate.

 

[Moh@n]

I don't think Border was a defensive batsman.

 

[Robert]

Boycott.

 

[Haz95]

So its batsmen that couldent maintain a decent scoring rate.

yes that is what defensive means. Batsmen who play defensively.

 

[The Googly]

Gavaskar
Hanif
Boycott

These would be the top 3.

 

[New Yorker]

In this list I am ranking in order of merit the best defensive batsmen of all time or players hardest to dismiss.I have made 2 lists.One ranks them in terms of how hard it was to dislodge them and the other in terms of overall merit.I have selected my 12 best defensive batsmen who were the equivalent of boulders out there in the middle.

Hardest to dismiss who posessed best defence in order of merit.

1.Hanif Mohammad
2.Geoff Boycott
3.Sunil Gavaskar
4.Len Hutton
5.Herbert Suttclife
6.Alan Border
7.Rahul Dravid
8.Ken Barrington
9.Mohinder Amarnath
10.Alistair Cook
11.Michael Atherton
12.Mudassar Nazar

Overall best defensive batsmen ranked in terms of overall class in order of merit.

1.Gavaskar/Hutton
3.Border
4.Dravid
5.Sutcliffe
6.Hanif
7.Barrington
8.Boycott
9.Alistair Cook
10.Mohinder Amarnath
11.Michael Atherton
12.Mudassar Nazar

Got any metrics to back that up? 'Hardest to dismiss' which you say is a criterion, is not be the same as 'inability to score quickly.' My bet is that Bradman still comes out on top. More than any other player in history he refused to give up his wicket until he had been there long enough to score a century. Bodyline was conceived with him in mind. And it was intended to contain him, not dismiss him. They had more or less given up hope already.

 

[rajimam]

bevan should be in the list

 

[Gilly]

Got any metrics to back that up? 'Hardest to dismiss' which you say is a criterion, is not be the same as 'inability to score quickly.' My bet is that Bradman still comes out on top. More than any other player in history he refused to give up his wicket until he had been there long enough to score a century. Bodyline was conceived with him in mind. And it was intended to contain him, not dismiss him. They had more or less given up hope already.

That's where I find this list hard to understand, take for example Alistair Cook, he would lose his wicket every 98.7 balls he faced but he is considered a better defensive batsman than Mark Taylor who lost his wicket every 104.8 balls he faced and Steve Waugh lost his every 104.9, how does this all work?.

 

[AlizeeFan]

Correction, delete previous post
<table>
<thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>Span</th><th>Mat</th><th>Inns</th><th>NO</th><th>BF</th><th>BF</th><th>SR</th><th>Balls per inning</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td>G Boycott (ENG)</td><td>1964-1982</td><td>108</td><td>193</td><td>23</td><td>21192+</td><td>21192</td><td>35.48*</td><td>121.7931034</td></tr>
<tr><td>R Dravid (ICC/INDIA)</td><td>1996-2012</td><td>164</td><td>286</td><td>32</td><td>31258</td><td>31258</td><td>42.51</td><td>109.2937063</td></tr>
<tr><td>SM Gavaskar (INDIA)</td><td>1971-1987</td><td>125</td><td>214</td><td>16</td><td>15327+</td><td>15327</td><td>44.42*</td><td>105.7034483</td></tr>
<tr><td>AR Border (AUS)</td><td>1978-1994</td><td>156</td><td>265</td><td>44</td><td>27002+</td><td>27002</td><td>41.09*</td><td>103.4559387</td></tr>
<tr><td>JH Kallis (ICC/SA)</td><td>1995-2013</td><td>166</td><td>280</td><td>40</td><td>28903</td><td>28903</td><td>45.97</td><td>103.225</td></tr>
<tr><td>DI Gower (ENG)</td><td>1978-1992</td><td>117</td><td>204</td><td>18</td><td>16268</td><td>16268</td><td>50.59</td><td>102.3144654</td></tr>
<tr><td>JG Wright (NZ)</td><td>1978-1993</td><td>82</td><td>148</td><td>7</td><td>14619+</td><td>14619</td><td>35.26*</td><td>98.77702703</td></tr>
<tr><td>KC Sangakkara (SL)</td><td>2000-2015</td><td>134</td><td>233</td><td>17</td><td>22882</td><td>22882</td><td>54.19</td><td>98.20600858</td></tr>
<tr><td>S Chanderpaul (WI)</td><td>1994-2015</td><td>164</td><td>280</td><td>49</td><td>27395</td><td>27395</td><td>43.31</td><td>97.83928571</td></tr>
<tr><td>MA Taylor (AUS)</td><td>1989-1999</td><td>104</td><td>186</td><td>13</td><td>18140</td><td>18140</td><td>41.48</td><td>97.52688172</td></tr>
<tr><td>MA Atherton (ENG)</td><td>1989-2001</td><td>115</td><td>212</td><td>7</td><td>20609</td><td>20609</td><td>37.49</td><td>97.21226415</td></tr>
<tr><td>G Kirsten (SA)</td><td>1993-2004</td><td>101</td><td>176</td><td>15</td><td>16783</td><td>16783</td><td>43.43</td><td>95.35795455</td></tr>
<tr><td>DC Boon (AUS)</td><td>1984-1996</td><td>107</td><td>190</td><td>20</td><td>18116</td><td>18116</td><td>40.96</td><td>95.34736842</td></tr>
<tr><td>AN Cook (ENG)</td><td>2006-2017</td><td>144</td><td>260</td><td>15</td><td>24189</td><td>24189</td><td>46.77</td><td>93.03461538</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mohammad Yousuf (PAK)</td><td>1998-2010</td><td>90</td><td>156</td><td>12</td><td>14372</td><td>14372</td><td>52.39</td><td>92.12820513</td></tr>
<tr><td>DPMD Jayawardene (SL)</td><td>1997-2014</td><td>149</td><td>252</td><td>15</td><td>22959</td><td>22959</td><td>51.45</td><td>91.10714286</td></tr>
<tr><td>Younis Khan (PAK)</td><td>2000-2017</td><td>118</td><td>213</td><td>19</td><td>19375</td><td>19375</td><td>52.12</td><td>90.96244131</td></tr>
<tr><td>HM Amla (SA)</td><td>2004-2017</td><td>107</td><td>181</td><td>14</td><td>16298</td><td>16298</td><td>50.11</td><td>90.0441989</td></tr>
<tr><td>SR Tendulkar (INDIA)</td><td>1989-2013</td><td>200</td><td>329</td><td>33</td><td>29437+</td><td>29437</td><td>54.04*</td><td>89.74695122</td></tr>
<tr><td>GS Chappell (AUS)</td><td>1970-1984</td><td>87</td><td>151</td><td>19</td><td>13079+</td><td>13079</td><td>51.53*</td><td>89.58219178</td></tr>
<tr><td>SR Waugh (AUS)</td><td>1985-2004</td><td>168</td><td>260</td><td>46</td><td>22461</td><td>22461</td><td>48.64</td><td>86.38846154</td></tr>
<tr><td>AB de Villiers (SA)</td><td>2004-2016</td><td>106</td><td>176</td><td>16</td><td>15022</td><td>15022</td><td>53.74</td><td>85.35227273</td></tr>
<tr><td>BC Lara (ICC/WI)</td><td>1990-2006</td><td>131</td><td>232</td><td>6</td><td>19753</td><td>19753</td><td>60.51</td><td>85.14224138</td></tr>
<tr><td>GA Gooch (ENG)</td><td>1975-1995</td><td>118</td><td>215</td><td>6</td><td>18075</td><td>18075</td><td>49.23</td><td>84.06976744</td></tr>
<tr><td>N Hussain (ENG)</td><td>1990-2004</td><td>96</td><td>171</td><td>16</td><td>14272</td><td>14272</td><td>40.38</td><td>83.4619883</td></tr>
<tr><td>SP Fleming (NZ)</td><td>1994-2008</td><td>111</td><td>189</td><td>10</td><td>15652</td><td>15652</td><td>45.82</td><td>82.81481481</td></tr>
<tr><td>GP Thorpe (ENG)</td><td>1993-2005</td><td>100</td><td>179</td><td>28</td><td>14693</td><td>14693</td><td>45.89</td><td>82.08379888</td></tr>
<tr><td>Inzamam-ul-Haq (ICC/PAK)</td><td>1992-2007</td><td>120</td><td>200</td><td>22</td><td>16345</td><td>16345</td><td>54.02</td><td>81.725</td></tr>
<tr><td>AJ Strauss (ENG)</td><td>2004-2012</td><td>100</td><td>178</td><td>6</td><td>14385</td><td>14385</td><td>48.91</td><td>80.81460674</td></tr>
<tr><td>Javed Miandad (PAK)</td><td>1976-1993</td><td>124</td><td>189</td><td>21</td><td>15164+</td><td>15164</td><td>45.99*</td><td>80.23280423</td></tr>
<tr><td>RT Ponting (AUS)</td><td>1995-2012</td><td>168</td><td>287</td><td>29</td><td>22782</td><td>22782</td><td>58.72</td><td>79.37979094</td></tr>
<tr><td>VVS Laxman (INDIA)</td><td>1996-2012</td><td>134</td><td>225</td><td>34</td><td>17785</td><td>17785</td><td>49.37</td><td>79.04444444</td></tr>
<tr><td>MJ Clarke (AUS)</td><td>2004-2015</td><td>115</td><td>198</td><td>22</td><td>15456</td><td>15456</td><td>55.92</td><td>78.06060606</td></tr>
<tr><td>ML Hayden (AUS)</td><td>1994-2009</td><td>103</td><td>184</td><td>14</td><td>14349</td><td>14349</td><td>60.1</td><td>77.98369565</td></tr>
<tr><td>JL Langer (AUS)</td><td>1993-2007</td><td>105</td><td>182</td><td>12</td><td>14192</td><td>14192</td><td>54.22</td><td>77.97802198</td></tr>
<tr><td>DL Haynes (WI)</td><td>1978-1994</td><td>116</td><td>202</td><td>25</td><td>15488+</td><td>15488</td><td>44.67*</td><td>76.67326733</td></tr>
<tr><td>IR Bell (ENG)</td><td>2004-2015</td><td>118</td><td>205</td><td>24</td><td>15622</td><td>15622</td><td>49.46</td><td>76.20487805</td></tr>
<tr><td>GC Smith (ICC/SA)</td><td>2002-2014</td><td>117</td><td>205</td><td>13</td><td>15525</td><td>15525</td><td>59.67</td><td>75.73170732</td></tr>
<tr><td>SC Ganguly (INDIA)</td><td>1996-2008</td><td>113</td><td>188</td><td>17</td><td>14070</td><td>14070</td><td>51.25</td><td>74.84042553</td></tr>
<tr><td>AJ Stewart (ENG)</td><td>1990-2003</td><td>133</td><td>235</td><td>21</td><td>17389</td><td>17389</td><td>48.66</td><td>73.99574468</td></tr>
<tr><td>ME Waugh (AUS)</td><td>1991-2002</td><td>128</td><td>209</td><td>17</td><td>15360</td><td>15360</td><td>52.27</td><td>73.49282297</td></tr>
<tr><td>KP Pietersen (ENG)</td><td>2005-2014</td><td>104</td><td>181</td><td>8</td><td>13255</td><td>13255</td><td>61.72</td><td>73.2320442</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

 

[Rayyman]

Misbah

 

[AlizeeFan]

Bradman faced 142 balls per inning and data is not available for his 11 innings which had scores like

4, 25, 223, 152, 43, 0, 226, 112, 2, 167, 299

For him actual avg could have been higher.

 

[Haz95]

Correction, delete previous post

So the stats are pretty similar to the OPs list. Makes sense.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

So the stats are pretty similar to the OPs list. Makes sense.

The Saffa quota wasn't filled though

 

[Rayyman]

Why do only Pakistani players have their first and last names in stats, while players of other countries have their first and middle initials followed by last name?

For example, Afridi has like 4 names, but he is just shown as Shahid Afridi. While somebody like Sachin Tendulkar is shown as SR Tendulkar.
[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] [MENTION=133397]WebGuru[/MENTION]

 

[super hitter]

SangaKarra all the way, even when ajmal was at his peak, Sanga was like "I don't care"

 

[super hitter]

Why do only Pakistani players have their first and last names in stats, while players of other countries have their first and middle initials followed by last name?

For example, Afridi has like 4 names, but he is just shown as Shahid Afridi. While somebody like Sachin Tendulkar is shown as SR Tendulkar.
[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] [MENTION=133397]WebGuru[/MENTION]

B/C they can't write long names like;
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.... Sunil Manohar Gavaskar

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Gavaskar.

 

[DRsohail]

I awill go with aimran khan view ,as he said it is gavaskar..

 

[Abdullah719]

Why do only Pakistani players have their first and last names in stats, while players of other countries have their first and middle initials followed by last name?

For example, Afridi has like 4 names, but he is just shown as Shahid Afridi. While somebody like Sachin Tendulkar is shown as SR Tendulkar.
[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] [MENTION=133397]WebGuru[/MENTION]

Bangladeshi players too.

 

[idrizzy]

Bangladeshi players too.

Sri Lankan players.....

 

[idrizzy]

Azhar Ali is going to be making the list once he retires. The man is a brick wall. Sangakarra has to be up there also.

 

[gani999]

In this list I am ranking in order of merit the best defensive batsmen of all time or players hardest to dismiss.I have made 2 lists.One ranks them in terms of how hard it was to dislodge them and the other in terms of overall merit.I have selected my 12 best defensive batsmen who were the equivalent of boulders out there in the middle.

Hardest to dismiss who posessed best defence in order of merit.

1.Hanif Mohammad
2.Geoff Boycott
3.Sunil Gavaskar
4.Len Hutton
5.Herbert Suttclife
6.Alan Border
7.Rahul Dravid
8.Ken Barrington
9.Mohinder Amarnath
10.Alistair Cook
11.Michael Atherton
12.Mudassar Nazar

Ever heard of a certain Bill Lawry?

He wasn't called 'the corpse with pads on' for nothing.

 

[Rayyman]

Bangladeshi players too.

...WHY??

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Cant say about those who I havent seen.
But the ones who I have see: Dravid, Kallis against all bowling and Kirsten against bowlers who pitch the ball up.

 

[James]

Rahul "The Wall" Dravid.

 

[majiz]

chanderpaul is right up there

 

[Suleiman]

For us it was Sangakkara. Would be an understatement to call him a rock (can you smell what he's cooking?) he was more like an island, impossible to dislodge. Even a chucking Ajmal at his peak would have his emotions toyed with.

 

[Buffet]

To see it in context against non-minnows to put all batsmen in equal footings.

Dravid faced 107 balls per inning.
Border faced 101 balls per inning.
Kallis faced 100 balls per inning.
Shiv faced 97 balls per inning.
Sanga faced 92 balls per inning.
SRT faced 86 balls per inning.
Lara faced 85 balls per inning.
Ponting faced 78 balls per inning.



Going older generation , Boycott faced 109 balls per inning.

I just eyeballs the numbers of many others, I don't see anyone beating Dravid or Boycott when you see minimum 11-12K balls faced.

So it's between Dravid and Boycott here.

 

[wrongun]

I think had a fair bit of your list correct. Huttons efforts on uncovered pitches were excellent. Gavaskar could pull up the shutters like nobodies business. AB was an absolute rock vs the Windies at their best.

1.Gavaskar/Hutton
3.Border
4.Dravid
5. S. Waugh
6.Barrington
7.Hanif
8.Kallis
9. Chanderpaul
10.Boycott

Atherton was bog average, played 1 or 2 good innings but was regular fodder for the best of the era.

 

[TQ89]

@Harsh-Thakor a suggestion for you if you could put it in your future posts. Always provide metrics or factors which leads to your rankings so a discussion can be made on merit rather than I think , he thinks.

 

[Hasan123]

Boycott, Sunil, Dravid, Kallis,Langer,Sanga,Shiv,and Steve Waugh.

 

[Gilly]

To see it in context against non-minnows to put all batsmen in equal footings.

Dravid faced 107 balls per inning.
Border faced 101 balls per inning.
Kallis faced 100 balls per inning.
Shiv faced 97 balls per inning.
Sanga faced 92 balls per inning.
SRT faced 86 balls per inning.
Lara faced 85 balls per inning.
Ponting faced 78 balls per inning.



Going older generation , Boycott faced 109 balls per inning.

I just eyeballs the numbers of many others, I don't see anyone beating Dravid or Boycott when you see minimum 11-12K balls faced.

So it's between Dravid and Boycott here.

These are the wrong statistics to use for this purpose, how many balls faced per innings is not a barometer for how hard the batsman is to dismiss. What you need to look at is the statistic for how many balls per dismissal to get a more accurate stat but even then you need to look at the quality of bowling, type of pitch and many other variables.

But being a defensive batsman would often play into the oppositions hands, watching a lot of matches Boycott played the opposition were happy to let him block all day and slow down the England scoring, in one match the England team deliberately ran him out so they could score a little faster.

 

[ShadabFakhar]

Correction, delete previous post
<table>
<thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>Span</th><th>Mat</th><th>Inns</th><th>NO</th><th>BF</th><th>BF</th><th>SR</th><th>Balls per inning</th></tr></thead><tbody>
<tr><td>G Boycott (ENG)</td><td>1964-1982</td><td>108</td><td>193</td><td>23</td><td>21192+</td><td>21192</td><td>35.48*</td><td>121.7931034</td></tr>
<tr><td>R Dravid (ICC/INDIA)</td><td>1996-2012</td><td>164</td><td>286</td><td>32</td><td>31258</td><td>31258</td><td>42.51</td><td>109.2937063</td></tr>
<tr><td>SM Gavaskar (INDIA)</td><td>1971-1987</td><td>125</td><td>214</td><td>16</td><td>15327+</td><td>15327</td><td>44.42*</td><td>105.7034483</td></tr>
<tr><td>AR Border (AUS)</td><td>1978-1994</td><td>156</td><td>265</td><td>44</td><td>27002+</td><td>27002</td><td>41.09*</td><td>103.4559387</td></tr>
<tr><td>JH Kallis (ICC/SA)</td><td>1995-2013</td><td>166</td><td>280</td><td>40</td><td>28903</td><td>28903</td><td>45.97</td><td>103.225</td></tr>
<tr><td>DI Gower (ENG)</td><td>1978-1992</td><td>117</td><td>204</td><td>18</td><td>16268</td><td>16268</td><td>50.59</td><td>102.3144654</td></tr>
<tr><td>JG Wright (NZ)</td><td>1978-1993</td><td>82</td><td>148</td><td>7</td><td>14619+</td><td>14619</td><td>35.26*</td><td>98.77702703</td></tr>
<tr><td>KC Sangakkara (SL)</td><td>2000-2015</td><td>134</td><td>233</td><td>17</td><td>22882</td><td>22882</td><td>54.19</td><td>98.20600858</td></tr>
<tr><td>S Chanderpaul (WI)</td><td>1994-2015</td><td>164</td><td>280</td><td>49</td><td>27395</td><td>27395</td><td>43.31</td><td>97.83928571</td></tr>
<tr><td>MA Taylor (AUS)</td><td>1989-1999</td><td>104</td><td>186</td><td>13</td><td>18140</td><td>18140</td><td>41.48</td><td>97.52688172</td></tr>
<tr><td>MA Atherton (ENG)</td><td>1989-2001</td><td>115</td><td>212</td><td>7</td><td>20609</td><td>20609</td><td>37.49</td><td>97.21226415</td></tr>
<tr><td>G Kirsten (SA)</td><td>1993-2004</td><td>101</td><td>176</td><td>15</td><td>16783</td><td>16783</td><td>43.43</td><td>95.35795455</td></tr>
<tr><td>DC Boon (AUS)</td><td>1984-1996</td><td>107</td><td>190</td><td>20</td><td>18116</td><td>18116</td><td>40.96</td><td>95.34736842</td></tr>
<tr><td>AN Cook (ENG)</td><td>2006-2017</td><td>144</td><td>260</td><td>15</td><td>24189</td><td>24189</td><td>46.77</td><td>93.03461538</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mohammad Yousuf (PAK)</td><td>1998-2010</td><td>90</td><td>156</td><td>12</td><td>14372</td><td>14372</td><td>52.39</td><td>92.12820513</td></tr>
<tr><td>DPMD Jayawardene (SL)</td><td>1997-2014</td><td>149</td><td>252</td><td>15</td><td>22959</td><td>22959</td><td>51.45</td><td>91.10714286</td></tr>
<tr><td>Younis Khan (PAK)</td><td>2000-2017</td><td>118</td><td>213</td><td>19</td><td>19375</td><td>19375</td><td>52.12</td><td>90.96244131</td></tr>
<tr><td>HM Amla (SA)</td><td>2004-2017</td><td>107</td><td>181</td><td>14</td><td>16298</td><td>16298</td><td>50.11</td><td>90.0441989</td></tr>
<tr><td>SR Tendulkar (INDIA)</td><td>1989-2013</td><td>200</td><td>329</td><td>33</td><td>29437+</td><td>29437</td><td>54.04*</td><td>89.74695122</td></tr>
<tr><td>GS Chappell (AUS)</td><td>1970-1984</td><td>87</td><td>151</td><td>19</td><td>13079+</td><td>13079</td><td>51.53*</td><td>89.58219178</td></tr>
<tr><td>SR Waugh (AUS)</td><td>1985-2004</td><td>168</td><td>260</td><td>46</td><td>22461</td><td>22461</td><td>48.64</td><td>86.38846154</td></tr>
<tr><td>AB de Villiers (SA)</td><td>2004-2016</td><td>106</td><td>176</td><td>16</td><td>15022</td><td>15022</td><td>53.74</td><td>85.35227273</td></tr>
<tr><td>BC Lara (ICC/WI)</td><td>1990-2006</td><td>131</td><td>232</td><td>6</td><td>19753</td><td>19753</td><td>60.51</td><td>85.14224138</td></tr>
<tr><td>GA Gooch (ENG)</td><td>1975-1995</td><td>118</td><td>215</td><td>6</td><td>18075</td><td>18075</td><td>49.23</td><td>84.06976744</td></tr>
<tr><td>N Hussain (ENG)</td><td>1990-2004</td><td>96</td><td>171</td><td>16</td><td>14272</td><td>14272</td><td>40.38</td><td>83.4619883</td></tr>
<tr><td>SP Fleming (NZ)</td><td>1994-2008</td><td>111</td><td>189</td><td>10</td><td>15652</td><td>15652</td><td>45.82</td><td>82.81481481</td></tr>
<tr><td>GP Thorpe (ENG)</td><td>1993-2005</td><td>100</td><td>179</td><td>28</td><td>14693</td><td>14693</td><td>45.89</td><td>82.08379888</td></tr>
<tr><td>Inzamam-ul-Haq (ICC/PAK)</td><td>1992-2007</td><td>120</td><td>200</td><td>22</td><td>16345</td><td>16345</td><td>54.02</td><td>81.725</td></tr>
<tr><td>AJ Strauss (ENG)</td><td>2004-2012</td><td>100</td><td>178</td><td>6</td><td>14385</td><td>14385</td><td>48.91</td><td>80.81460674</td></tr>
<tr><td>Javed Miandad (PAK)</td><td>1976-1993</td><td>124</td><td>189</td><td>21</td><td>15164+</td><td>15164</td><td>45.99*</td><td>80.23280423</td></tr>
<tr><td>RT Ponting (AUS)</td><td>1995-2012</td><td>168</td><td>287</td><td>29</td><td>22782</td><td>22782</td><td>58.72</td><td>79.37979094</td></tr>
<tr><td>VVS Laxman (INDIA)</td><td>1996-2012</td><td>134</td><td>225</td><td>34</td><td>17785</td><td>17785</td><td>49.37</td><td>79.04444444</td></tr>
<tr><td>MJ Clarke (AUS)</td><td>2004-2015</td><td>115</td><td>198</td><td>22</td><td>15456</td><td>15456</td><td>55.92</td><td>78.06060606</td></tr>
<tr><td>ML Hayden (AUS)</td><td>1994-2009</td><td>103</td><td>184</td><td>14</td><td>14349</td><td>14349</td><td>60.1</td><td>77.98369565</td></tr>
<tr><td>JL Langer (AUS)</td><td>1993-2007</td><td>105</td><td>182</td><td>12</td><td>14192</td><td>14192</td><td>54.22</td><td>77.97802198</td></tr>
<tr><td>DL Haynes (WI)</td><td>1978-1994</td><td>116</td><td>202</td><td>25</td><td>15488+</td><td>15488</td><td>44.67*</td><td>76.67326733</td></tr>
<tr><td>IR Bell (ENG)</td><td>2004-2015</td><td>118</td><td>205</td><td>24</td><td>15622</td><td>15622</td><td>49.46</td><td>76.20487805</td></tr>
<tr><td>GC Smith (ICC/SA)</td><td>2002-2014</td><td>117</td><td>205</td><td>13</td><td>15525</td><td>15525</td><td>59.67</td><td>75.73170732</td></tr>
<tr><td>SC Ganguly (INDIA)</td><td>1996-2008</td><td>113</td><td>188</td><td>17</td><td>14070</td><td>14070</td><td>51.25</td><td>74.84042553</td></tr>
<tr><td>AJ Stewart (ENG)</td><td>1990-2003</td><td>133</td><td>235</td><td>21</td><td>17389</td><td>17389</td><td>48.66</td><td>73.99574468</td></tr>
<tr><td>ME Waugh (AUS)</td><td>1991-2002</td><td>128</td><td>209</td><td>17</td><td>15360</td><td>15360</td><td>52.27</td><td>73.49282297</td></tr>
<tr><td>KP Pietersen (ENG)</td><td>2005-2014</td><td>104</td><td>181</td><td>8</td><td>13255</td><td>13255</td><td>61.72</td><td>73.2320442</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

Haha, I had Boycott, Gavaskar and Dravid in my mind as soon as I read the title. This proves it

 

[Justcrazy]

Dravid was hardest I think.

 

[Buffet]

These are the wrong statistics to use for this purpose, how many balls faced per innings is not a barometer for how hard the batsman is to dismiss. What you need to look at is the statistic for how many balls per dismissal to get a more accurate stat but even then you need to look at the quality of bowling, type of pitch and many other variables.

But being a defensive batsman would often play into the oppositions hands, watching a lot of matches Boycott played the opposition were happy to let him block all day and slow down the England scoring, in one match the England team deliberately ran him out so they could score a little faster.

Agree with that and I was just lazy to not do that.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Boycott, Sunil, Dravid, Kallis,Langer,Sanga,Shiv,and Steve Waugh.

Sorry forgot Kallis.deserving mention.Good list also Chanderpaul name is worthy

 

[Harsh Thakor]

I think had a fair bit of your list correct. Huttons efforts on uncovered pitches were excellent. Gavaskar could pull up the shutters like nobodies business. AB was an absolute rock vs the Windies at their best.

1.Gavaskar/Hutton
3.Border
4.Dravid
5. S. Waugh
6.Barrington
7.Hanif
8.Kallis
9. Chanderpaul
10.Boycott

Atherton was bog average, played 1 or 2 good innings but was regular fodder for the best of the era.

Thanks good reply and choice.Forgot Kalis in my list.Appreciate you endorsing Hutton like me.Good to see our similarities.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Rahul "The Wall" Dravid.

No doubt a wall. a great batsmen to bat for your life.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Gavaskar
Hanif
Boycott

These would be the top 3.

great choice, almost correct.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Gavaskar.

Great choice.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

@Harsh-Thakor a suggestion for you if you could put it in your future posts. Always provide metrics or factors which leads to your rankings so a discussion can be made on merit rather than I think , he thinks.

Thanks for valid suggestion.However often statistics do not tell the correct story and cricket is not all about them.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

These are the wrong statistics to use for this purpose, how many balls faced per innings is not a barometer for how hard the batsman is to dismiss. What you need to look at is the statistic for how many balls per dismissal to get a more accurate stat but even then you need to look at the quality of bowling, type of pitch and many other variables.

But being a defensive batsman would often play into the oppositions hands, watching a lot of matches Boycott played the opposition were happy to let him block all day and slow down the England scoring, in one match the England team deliberately ran him out so they could score a little faster.

Boycott could be selfish and Dravid more valuable.However stil it was Geoff who was harder to dislodge weighing all factors.Above all Boycott was an opening batsmen.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Haha, I had Boycott, Gavaskar and Dravid in my mind as soon as I read the title. This proves it

very useful table thanks.However it is not all about pure stats.Anyway good work.

 

[kingusama92]

Stats do match the eye test.

Dravid was a brick wall. Mind-numbing on flat wickets.

 

[wrongun]

The most interesting things about that table of balls faced statistics is the presence of a revered stylist like Gower so high in the list. It gives the lie to the perception that he was stylish but loose and couldn't dig in.

It was a classic case of England dropping their best batsman (arguably one of their best ever had he not been dropped) prematurely, in favour of stodgy grinders, simply because they didn't understand him (Gooch & co). They are still doing it with KP to this day.

 

[Ab Fan]

Rahul Dravid- the wall was very hard to be broken.

 

[asma_cricfan]

current pak batsmen who have best defense and hard to out.
Azhar
Fawad Alam
Sami Aslam

 

[gazza619]

No Shiv Chanderpaul in your list? He now holds the records for most not outs, afterall.

yeah if the list was about the most selfish defensive batsman then Shiv will lead the rankings...

We are talking about all time greats here, Chanderpaul is no where that..sorry

 

[Last Monetarist]

Top 5 best defensive batsmen I've seen in the past 25 years:

1. Dravid
2. Kallis
3. Chanderpaul
4. S. Waugh
5. G. Kirsten

 

[PakLFC]

Javed Miandad. A true warrior who guarded his wicket like his life depended on it.

 

[todfod 11]

No one comes close Rahul 'the wall' Dravid. He is called the wall for a reason.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Top 5 best defensive batsmen I've seen in the past 25 years:

1. Dravid
2. Kallis
3. Chanderpaul
4. S. Waugh
5. G. Kirsten

good choice and order

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Javed Miandad. A true warrior who guarded his wicket like his life depended on it.

No doubt one of the greatest ever in a crisis but not essentially defensive in the Border,Gavaskar,Boycott or Dravid mould.Neverthless to revert a crisis Miandad could have been better than all names mentioned.Javed combined attack and defence with subtlety.

 

[PakLFC]

No doubt one of the greatest ever in a crisis but not essentially defensive in the Border,Gavaskar,Boycott or Dravid mould.Neverthless to revert a crisis Miandad could have been better than all names mentioned.Javed combined attack and defence with subtlety.

He was an anchorman that to me equals defensive. I don' think Border was defensive unlike the others you mentioned. JM technique was not orthodox like a Rahul or Sunny but it was mighty effective.