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Your five greatest ODI batsmen of all time?

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Ted123

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Mine would be:

Viv
Tendulkar
Ponting
ABD
Kohli

Close miss- Bevan, Dhoni, Greendige
 
Sachin Tendulkar
Sir VIV
Ponting
ABD
Kohli

Kohli will overtake Abd, ponting and viv over the next 5 years
 
In terms of pure batsmenship,
Viv
SRT
Ponting
AB
Kohli

However, there are the likes of Bevan, Dhoni, Gilly and others who impacted the game strongly.
 
1) Viv
2) ABD
3) Sachin
4) Ponting
5) Amla

Viv is the GOAT, ABD is the modern-day Viv. Sachin is Sachin and Ponting's impactful innings at #3 are legendary. Amla is a controversial choice but 25 centuries, average of 50 and SR of 90 all as an opener from South Africa is pretty amazing.

Dhoni is a lock for the keeping position in my all-time XI and the best #6 in ODI cricket but he bats too low to be compared directly with top order bats like Amla and Ponting.

All-time ODI top six batting lineup:

1) Amla
2) Sachin
3) Ponting
4) Viv
5) ABD
6) Dhoni

This batting lineup is perfect. It has everything one would need.
 
Sachin, Anwar, Ponting, Viv, AB ( at his peak was just a freak of nature )
 
Viv, Sachin, Kohli, Dhoni/Bevan and AB. I think AB has gone ahead of Ponting now.
 
Ponting
Pietersen
Gibbs (loved watching him bat)
Yuvraj Singh
Inzimam ul Haq
 
My most fav by order

1) Lara
2) Kallis
3) Inzi
4) Ponting
5) Tendulkar
6) Sanga
 
Bilal7 said:
1) Viv
2) ABD
3) Sachin
4) Ponting
5) Amla

Viv is the GOAT, ABD is the modern-day Viv. Sachin is Sachin and Ponting's impactful innings at #3 are legendary. Amla is a controversial choice but 25 centuries, average of 50 and SR of 90 all as an opener from South Africa is pretty amazing.

Dhoni is a lock for the keeping position in my all-time XI and the best #6 in ODI cricket but he bats too low to be compared directly with top order bats like Amla and Ponting.

All-time ODI top six batting lineup:

1) Amla
2) Sachin
3) Ponting
4) Viv
5) ABD
6) Dhoni

This batting lineup is perfect. It has everything one would need.
Click to expand...

Amla doesn't belong. Even Rohit Sharma has better numbers as ODI opener than him.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Viv
Kohli
Bevan
Tendulkar
AB
Click to expand...

Calling a player who hasn't done anything of note in WCs as the best ever since Viv in Odis is an overstatement.

Let's not overhype a player unnecessarily. The guy will get his due itself when he reaches that level.
 
Bilal7 said:
In what world? Rohit is a FTB and nowhere near Amla.
Click to expand...

Rohit's ODI average is 52 at 90+ SR in Australia. Amla is at 47.5 at 84 SR. If you restrict Rohit's numbers to only games played as openers, his numbers in Australia are an astronomical 82.9 at 98 SR. Doesn't seem like a a "FTB" to me.

Both Rohit and Amla have a tendency to disappear when the going gets tough. But Rohit's way more effective as an ODI opener. Amla has the better beard though.


http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting
 
Richards and SRT are a given.

Dhoni, Ponting, ABDV for me. Bevan misses out by a whisker. Kohli has been superb but he hasnt dominated a WC tournament or even been half as good in tournament finals. I hope he rectifies that by the end of his career,

I believe Lara had the best peak for an ODI batsmen as he dominated the greatest ODI bowlers in history at their peak. I would've added him in my top 5 had he not regressed so badly in the second half of his ODI career.
 
Dead Ball said:
Richards and SRT are a given.

Dhoni, Ponting, ABDV for me. Bevan misses out by a whisker. Kohli has been superb but he hasnt dominated a WC tournament or even been half as good in tournament finals. I hope he rectifies that by the end of his career,

I believe Lara had the best peak for an ODI batsmen as he dominated the greatest ODI bowlers in history at their peak. I would've added him in my top 5 had he not regressed so badly in the second half of his ODI career.
Click to expand...

Yeah, surprised more people don't have Dhoni listed here. The guy has stellar numbers and was just a winner. Sure, he's no longer as good as he used to be. But his body of work in ODIs is ridiculously good. Arguably, enough to displace Gilchrist in an all-time XI.
 
IndYeah1 said:
Check their ODI numbers away from home before you stick to your confirmation biases. How are Amla's and Rohit's ODI numbers in Australia?
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting that Australia does not curate the flattest pitches these next, alongside India? You need to watch more cricket.
 
IndYeah1 said:
Rohit's ODI average is 52 at 90+ SR in Australia. Amla is at 47.5 at 84 SR. If you restrict Rohit's numbers to only games played as openers, his numbers in Australia are an astronomical 82.9 at 98 SR. Doesn't seem like a a "FTB" to me.

Both Rohit and Amla have a tendency to disappear when the going gets tough. But Rohit's way more effective as an ODI opener. Amla has the better beard though.


http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...orderby=default;template=results;type=batting
Click to expand...

And Rohit has a combined average of 26 against England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan away/neutral conditions. Make a more intelligent analysis next time. :))
 
Bilal7 said:
And Rohit has a combined average of 26 against England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan away/neutral conditions. Make a more intelligent analysis next time. :))
Click to expand...

SR of 68, zero centuries and let me tell you this, the numbers don't do justice to the crapfest Rohit puts on when he's batting against anyone not wearing yellow on anything not resembling a highway.
 
Bilal7 said:
Are you suggesting that Australia does not curate the flattest pitches these next, alongside India? You need to watch more cricket.
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting that England and South Africa don't have some of the flattest pitches in the world?
 
Bilal7 said:
SR of 68, zero centuries and let me tell you this, the numbers don't do justice to the crapfest Rohit puts on when he's batting against anyone not wearing yellow on anything not resembling a highway.
Click to expand...

I'm not claiming Rohit as a GOAT, but your numbers are wrong. He averages 53 in England as opener with an SR of 80.

And Amla's numbers have steadily gotten worse over the last couple of years. If you look at last 3 years of data, Sharma averages 64 at 100 SR while Amla averages 45 at 89 SR. Any unbiased cricket observer will pick Rohit ahead of Amla for ODIs as of right now. The only exception would be if if the games are played in South Africa. Which would make Amla the home bully.

Amla had a couple of really good years in ODIs but that was a couple of years ago already. He is nowhere near the top 5 ODI bats of all time.
 
Sachin136 said:
Are you suggesting that England and South Africa don't have some of the flattest pitches in the world?
Click to expand...

Cricket was played before 2015-2016 as well. Besides, by flat pitches I mean that the pitch is a road and the overhead conditions do nothing to help the bowlers either which is the case in Australia.

Even these days, England and South Africa are the best places for pacers. Regardless, Rohit is a horrendously bad opener outside his comfort-zone which consists of two countries. I don't respect his batting one bit.
 
IndYeah1 said:
I'm not claiming Rohit as a GOAT, but your numbers are wrong. He averages 53 in England as opener with an SR of 80.

And Amla's numbers have steadily gotten worse over the last couple of years. If you look at last 3 years of data, Sharma averages 64 at 100 SR while Amla averages 45 at 89 SR. Any unbiased cricket observer will pick Rohit ahead of Amla for ODIs as of right now. The only exception would be if if the games are played in South Africa. Which would make Amla the home bully.

Amla had a couple of really good years in ODIs but that was a couple of years ago already. He is nowhere near the top 5 ODI bats of all time.
Click to expand...

My numbers are not wrong. He averages 26.xx at a SR of 68 with zero centuries against England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan combined, away from home or at neutral venues, as an opener. This is pathetically poor.

You can make a case for picking Rohit over Amla currently but I can make a case for picking Shehzad over Sachin currently and it would make as much sense. Amla is 34 years old, of course he's declining because of the age factor. At his best, he was invincible and miles ahead of Rohit "come to India" Sharma and would partner Sachin in my all-time ODI XI because he is an ATG ODI opener.
 
Bilal7 said:
And Rohit has a combined average of 26 against England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan away/neutral conditions. Make a more intelligent analysis next time. :))
Click to expand...

As an opener, here are Rohit's statistics away from home. The only countries he has failed in are Bangladesh, New Zealand and South Africa.

9f4198dd16932926ba033cead75d375a.jpg
 
Bilal7 said:
Are you suggesting that Australia does not curate the flattest pitches these next, alongside India? You need to watch more cricket.
Click to expand...

So why can't Amla score on these flat pitches? The 5th best ODI batter in your opinion shouldn't have a problem scoring on such flat pitches then.
 
Rohit averages 30 in England so I'm not sure where that 50 average was pulled out from.
 
Hasan123 said:
So why can't Amla score on these flat pitches? The 5th best ODI batter in your opinion shouldn't have a problem scoring on such flat pitches then.
Click to expand...

Who says he doesn't? Just not as good as the FTBs because he isn't a FTB

Sachin136 said:
As an opener, here are Rohit's statistics away from home. The only countries he has failed in are Bangladesh, New Zealand and South Africa.

View attachment 76659
Click to expand...

Oh, so that's how you guys are making him look respectable. Bullying weaker teams in England is not an achievement. Against the good bowling attacks I mentioned, he's failed.
 
Anyways, discussing Rohit in this thread is a disrespect for the true greats of the game. He's a joke of a cricketer and he himself knows he's rubbish outside his comfort zone (come to India).

I rate Amla as the second best opener of all time and if anyone disagrees, that is fine. You are welcome to make your list and put Rohit and Sehwag as the openers for all I care.
 
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Bilal7 said:
Anyways, discussing Rohit in this thread is a disrespect for the true greats of the game. He's a joke of a cricketer and he himself knows he's rubbish outside his comfort zone (come to India).

I rate Amla as the second best opener of all time and if anyone disagrees, that is fine. You are welcome to make your list and put Rohit and Sehwag as the openers for all I care.
Click to expand...

So in your opinion, Amla is ahead of Greenidge, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ganguly, Warner? Amla is about a Ganguly level player, if that. His numbers benefit massively from the runflation in ODI cricket post 2012.
 
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IndYeah1 said:
So in your opinion, Amla is ahead of Greenidge, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ganguly, Warner? Amla is about a Ganguly level player, if that. His numbers benefit massively from the runflation in ODI cricket post 2012.
Click to expand...

Since his debut in 2008 until the end of 2015, Amla averages 53 with bat at a SR of 90 with 21 centuries. The run-inflation has really taken place after the last World Cup where every cricketing board saw the runs flowing and have tried to replicate it in their own countries.

Amla, Kohli, ABD, etc can only bat in their own era. The fact that they stand out ahead of their peers in any unbiased analysis that takes into account longevity, success around the world, ICC rankings and sheer numbers is enough to place all three among the legends. Kohli, despite his inability to play swing and seam, would have probably made my side if not for Ponting.
 
Bilal7 said:
I rate Amla as the second best opener of all time and if anyone disagrees, that is fine.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree and I'll list the reasons why.

Amla is brilliant at piling up runs but he doesn't really have any impact innings, a knock where someone would look back and say 'Wow'. He doesn't have a great track record in World Cups, nor does he excel at chasing totals - these are all high-pressure situations.

In an all-time ODI XI, I would probably choose someone like Jayasuriya for his revolutionary style of play. He played some brilliant knocks in World Cups over the years and impacted matches regularly. Plus, he provides a bowling option as well so is arguably one of the greatest overall ODI cricketers ever.

I don't give that much importance to overseas stats in different countries unlike Test cricket. ODIs are a different games and these numbers are only an indicator. Overseas performance in ODIs isn't the ultimate test, that would be World Cups.

Don't want to get in the Amla vs Rohit comparison but I don't really see much that makes them stand out from the competition during the past few years. The likes of Dilshan, Guptill, Dhawan, Warner, Watson, de Kock and others have all put up similar performances since ODI scores rocketed upwards.
 
Abdullah719 said:
I respectfully disagree and I'll list the reasons why.

Amla is brilliant at piling up runs but he doesn't really have any impact innings, a knock where someone would look back and say 'Wow'. He doesn't have a great track record in World Cups, nor does he excel at chasing totals - these are all high-pressure situations.

In an all-time ODI XI, I would probably choose someone like Jayasuriya for his revolutionary style of play. He played some brilliant knocks in World Cups over the years and impacted matches regularly. Plus, he provides a bowling option as well so is arguably one of the greatest overall ODI cricketers ever.

I don't give that much importance to overseas stats in different countries unlike Test cricket. ODIs are a different games and these numbers are only an indicator. Overseas performance in ODIs isn't the ultimate test, that would be World Cups.

Don't want to get in the Amla vs Rohit comparison but I don't really see much that makes them stand out from the competition during the past few years. The likes of Dilshan, Guptill, Dhawan, Warner, Watson, de Kock and others have all put up similar performances since ODI scores rocketed upwards.
Click to expand...

Succinctly said. I totally missed Jayasuriya in the list of openers who are ahead of Amla. The only reason I brought up Rohit is to demonstrate that Amla is in that bracket of successful, but not really ATG level, openers.

As I wrote earlier, both Rohit and Amla have a tendency to go missing in the big games.
 
Bilal7 said:
Anyways, discussing Rohit in this thread is a disrespect for the true greats of the game. He's a joke of a cricketer and he himself knows he's rubbish outside his comfort zone (come to India).

I rate Amla as the second best opener of all time and if anyone disagrees, that is fine. You are welcome to make your list and put Rohit and Sehwag as the openers for all I care.
Click to expand...

Exactly, even though amla isn't fit enough to polish the shoes off sehwag or Gilchrist, it doesn't mean you can't subjectively rate him as the second best opener of all time.

Objectively amla will always be rated behind sanath, Gilchrist, sehwag, Ganguly, Gibbs etc, but you can still rate him as second best, subjectively :srini
 
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You got to be an absolute teletubby to have The Motorway King aka Virat Chokeli anywhere near a top 5 in any format :)) can't do anything the moment ball deviates and crumbles when his back is against the world, has flopped spectacularly in two ODI finals already so much for the self proclaimed ATG. He is a legend amongst gullible Indians that's about it.
 
Ab Fan said:
Calling a player who hasn't done anything of note in WCs as the best ever since Viv in Odis is an overstatement.

Let's not overhype a player unnecessarily. The guy will get his due itself when he reaches that level.
Click to expand...

That's just one aspect of the game. Kohli is the only batsman in history who is a top order batsman and a finisher. He has played half the number of games as Ponting yet he has the same number of hundreds.

Kohli is only 28, he still has another 6 years and 2 world cups left. I'm sure he will improve his WC knockouts record.
 
Sachin Tendulkar
Sanath Jayasuria
Brian Lara
AB De Villiers
Ricky Ponting


From current lot

Virat Kohli
David Warner
Tamim Iqbal
Steve Smith
Joe Root



Babar Azam, QDK, KL RAHUL are some of next batches of great batsmen in the making.
 
shaz619 said:
You got to be an absolute teletubby to have The Motorway King aka Virat Chokeli anywhere near a top 5 in any format :)) can't do anything the moment ball deviates and crumbles when his back is against the world, has flopped spectacularly in two ODI finals already so much for the self proclaimed ATG. He is a legend amongst gullible Indians that's about it.
Click to expand...

(1) So in your opinion who is a good batsman because as per your criteria there is no great, ATG, Legends?

(2) Why don't you point a single Pakistani batsman who is a quarter of a caliber of Kohli?

Thanks for you expert opinion in advance.

And can you please throw some light why one should believe you and not believe the real cricket experts who actually played numerous amount of international cricket and praising Kohli.

And as per your criteria only two maches decided Kohli's career, please tell us the names of cricketers who has not failed a single important match. He is not even 29 and has more than 8000 ODI runs, did all the teams give him all the runs in charity and he did not score them?

Thanks again.
 
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Sachin( greatest opener ever in odis)
Viv( just behind sachin or equivalent to him in idis)
Ponting(great in pressure situations and excellent odi player)
Abd(most destructive and consistent for players of his kind. Needs one great wc to remain in top 5 though).
Dhoni(best finisher better than bevan and master in handling pressure)
For kohli to be in top 5 he needs one great wc and to be the goat a match winning innings in sf or final.
 
Bilal7 said:
Who says he doesn't? Just not as good as the FTBs because he isn't a FTB



Oh, so that's how you guys are making him look respectable. Bullying weaker teams in England is not an achievement. Against the good bowling attacks I mentioned, he's failed.
Click to expand...


Rohit averages much higher in Australia then Amla. If it's so easy to score on these flat pitches why can't Amla match Rohit stats?
 
Bilal7 said:
Anyways, discussing Rohit in this thread is a disrespect for the true greats of the game. He's a joke of a cricketer and he himself knows he's crap outside his comfort zone (come to India).

I rate Amla as the second best opener of all time and if anyone disagrees, that is fine. You are welcome to make your list and put Rohit and Sehwag as the openers for all I care.
Click to expand...


A player with 6000 ODI runs isn't a joke of a cricketer. Yes he struggles in seaming and swinging conditions but calling someone who has scored 6000 runs in ODIs a joke of cricketer is a poor comment.
 
The_Odd_One said:
That's just one aspect of the game. Kohli is the only batsman in history who is a top order batsman and a finisher. He has played half the number of games as Ponting yet he has the same number of hundreds.

Kohli is only 28, he still has another 6 years and 2 world cups left. I'm sure he will improve his WC knockouts record.
Click to expand...

All this makes him an ATG but to be regarded as the best ever since Viv, he needs to win his team a World Cup by being a top scorer or being a player of the series. If he does then only he can be considered as the 2nd greatest of all time.

He is great under pressure situation but against quality bowling attack, he still has a lot to prove. This is why he got out at really cheap scores Vs Starc or Amir(at peak) in WC and CT recently.
 
1.Viv Richards
2.Sachin Tendulkar
3.Virat Kohli
4.Javed Miandad
5.Zaheer Abbas


Zaheer Abbas has been forgotten by everyone.In my view almost on par with Viv in 1970's and 80's who scored prolifically against great pace in O.D.I.cricket.Remember his 93 in 1979 world cup semi-final v West Indies and 91 v West Indies in WSC cricket supertests in 1978-79 in Australia.Average of 47.62 simply phenomenal .In a crisis Miandad was cometh the hour cometh the man being the architect of many an O.D.I.win .,often single-handedly carrying a game on his shoulders.Viv was the undisputed the king being the greatest match-winner.Sachin was an epitome of consistency Virat a master in a run chase.

In terms of natural talent Zaheer closest to Viv,neing master of improvisation.If he played in the modern ear I would have backed him to be the best O.D.I.batsmen.
 
Viv Richards - the original.
Tendulkar -the benchmark.
Jayasuriya - new kind of opener.The batsman i feared most along with gilchrist and saeed anwar because they always made mincemeat of indian bowling.
Gilchrist- True destroyer,the new wicket keeper.
Kohli - the chase cyborg

Honourable mention -A.B.de villiers -Reinventing batting,but big match choke.
M.S.Dhoni - Greatest finisher ever.
 
As of 2018:

1) Viv Richards
2) AB de Villiers
3) Sachin Tendulker
4) Ricky Ponting
5) Virat Kohli
 
1) Viv Richards
2) Virat Kohli
3) Sachin Tendulkar
4) AB De Villiers
5) Ricky Ponting

These are the top five. People can play around with the order as they deem fit.
 
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