CW's 50 Best ODI Cricketers of all time - The Countdown

[Himannv]

Have had Bondage, Andy G and Junior on my list so far. Had Cairns there too, but took him out to make room for Symmo.

Erm who?

 

[morgieb]

Erm who?

Bondage = Shane Bond
Andy G = Nathan Bracken

 

[Himannv]

Bondage = Shane Bond
Andy G = Nathan Bracken

Ok I get the bondage thing. But Andy G?

 

[morgieb]

Ok I get the bondage thing. But Andy G?

You're not Australian, so you wouldn't understand. Andy G was an ex-Australian Idol host. He has a similar appearance to Nathan Bracken, hence the nickname.

 

[thierry henry]

Cairns and Harris overrated for mine. Cairns in theory was a good ODI player but saved his worst for ODI cricket- I suppose it depends whether you put that down to injury (he definitely bowled at below capacity in ODIs at times) or the fact that he wasn't actually that suited to ODIs.

Harris imo was a pretty poor ODI batsman who somehow got a reputation for being good by batting like a poor man's version of Michael Clarke at his worst. Was a handy defensive bowler who got worse as his career went on and certainly a top fielder, but is that enough to get him in the 50? Surely not for mine.

 

[slugger]

why is a defensive bowling in odi seen as a negative. the pressure c.harris and to an extent larsen put the batsmen under was a valid line of attack and warrants a place in the top 50 along with the wicket takers and boundry hitters.

 

[smash84]

Cairns and Harris overrated for mine. Cairns in theory was a good ODI player but saved his worst for ODI cricket- I suppose it depends whether you put that down to injury (he definitely bowled at below capacity in ODIs at times) or the fact that he wasn't actually that suited to ODIs.

Harris imo was a pretty poor ODI batsman who somehow got a reputation for being good by batting like a poor man's version of Michael Clarke at his worst. Was a handy defensive bowler who got worse as his career went on and certainly a top fielder, but is that enough to get him in the 50? Surely not for mine.

You are so harsh on NZ Henry

 

[thierry henry]

why is a defensive bowling in odi seen as a negative. the pressure c.harris and to an extent larsen put the batsmen under was a valid line of attack and warrants a place in the top 50 along with the wicket takers and boundry hitters.

I didn't say it was. I highlighted it as a positive.

Larsen was much better at it than Harris btw and probably more deserving of a place on this list

 

[thierry henry]

AFAIK (cbf checking) Harris averaged less than 30 with the bat with a strike rate of below 70. You can't dispute that that correlates with "worse than Clarke at his worst".

 

[vcs]

Yeah, I was surprised that Harris averaged <30. I had his innings in the WC QF against Australia in my mind and thought he would be averaging close to Styris.

 

[thierry henry]

Yeah, I was surprised that Harris averaged <30. I had his innings in the WC QF against Australia in my mind and thought he would be averaging close to Styris.

He had a number of not outs too which just makes it worse- low average with a lot of not-outs and yet a low strike rate as well. Very overrated ODI bat. I think even a lot of NZ fans who don't have rose-tinted glasses will recall the large number of very poor innings he played. Credit for his bowling economy overall, although it's worth noting (again I say this without checking) that he actually conceded a higher RPO than he scored with the bat.

edit- he conceded 4.28 per over and had a HORRIBLE strike rate equating to slightly less than 4rpo.

imo Styris>>>>>>>Harris. Styris was better than Harris overall, and also at his peak- Harris certainly had a strong peak in the late 90s with a lot of handy innings and economical bowling, but Styris from about 03-06 was awesome, averaged high 30s with the bat and high 20s with the ball, scored faster than he conceded and was more of a match winner than Harris because of his superior batting. Funny how Harris still gets a mention in all-time lists and Piggy at times had to struggle just to make the team. I think Harris was just a more endearing character.

 

[Mike5181]

He had a number of not outs too which just makes it worse- low average with a lot of not-outs and yet a low strike rate as well. Very overrated ODI bat. I think even a lot of NZ fans who don't have rose-tinted glasses will recall the large number of very poor innings he played. Credit for his bowling economy overall, although it's worth noting (again I say this without checking) that he actually conceded a higher RPO than he scored with the bat.

edit- he conceded 4.28 per over and had a HORRIBLE strike rate equating to slightly less than 4rpo.

imo Styris>>>>>>>Harris. Styris was better than Harris overall, and also at his peak- Harris certainly had a strong peak in the late 90s with a lot of handy innings and economical bowling, but Styris from about 03-06 was awesome, averaged high 30s with the bat and high 20s with the ball, scored faster than he conceded and was more of a match winner than Harris because of his superior batting. Funny how Harris still gets a mention in all-time lists and Piggy at times had to struggle just to make the team. I think Harris was just a more endearing character.

To be fair Harris was just the one who saved us from the many collapses NZ batting has become accustomed to. I don't disagree that Styris is the better player but Harris was a most useful player in the composition of the side as well as NZ as a whole. Probably our best ODI batsmen of the 2000's would likely be Nathan Astle who could also usefully chip in with the ball.

 

[thierry henry]

To be fair Harris was just the one who saved us from the many collapses NZ batting has become accustomed to. I don't disagree that Styris is the better player but Harris was a most useful player in the composition of the side as well as NZ as a whole. Probably our best ODI batsmen of the 2000's would likely be Nathan Astle who could also usefully chip in with the ball.

I don't disagree, I just think it's one of those cases where the perception is an exaggerated version of the reality. There's no way Harris' batting numbers would be so ordinary if he really saved us as often as people think- reality is he also often failed, or worse still, stayed in for ages scoring slowly and then got out when we WEREN'T struggling.

 

[thierry henry]

Astle was a very good ODI bat although I'm surprised people never mention his surprisingly low strike rate for a player noted for his aggression. It was probably just barely good enough for the era he played in. No arguments he was a fine ODI bat for us though.

 

[NUFAN]

The 50 best ODI Cricketers so far
50 Chris Harris
49 Chris Gayle
48 Jonty Rhodes
47 Neil Fairbrother
46 AB de Villiers
45 Michael Holding
44 Shane Watson
43 Allan Border
42 Chris Cairns
41 Martin Crowe
40 Malcolm Marshall
39 Nathan Bracken
38 Gordon Greenidge
37 Greg Chappell
36 Mark Waugh
35 Saeed Anwar
34 Desmond Haynes
33 Shane Bond
32 Inzamam-Ul-Haq
31 Aravinda de Silva

Now for 30 to 26..


30 BRETT LEE

Brett Lee | Australia Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Total Points 101
Nominated by 10/30
Highest Rating 10

Brett Lee excelled as an exponent of extreme speed for over a decade. Fast and with a flashy smile that added to his star quality, Lee has taken over 300 ODI wickets in his career at an average of 23 and strike rate under 30, which is up there with the very best bowlers in ODI history.

In One-day Internationals, Lee peaked at the 2003 World Cup where he claimed 22 wickets including a hat trick while bowling at speeds up to 160 km/h.


29 SOURAV GANGULY

Sourav Ganguly | India Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Total Points 106
Nominated by 11/30
Highest Rating 7

Nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time. A batsman who combined grace with surgical precision in his strokeplay, Ganguly was promoted to the top of the order in 1996 and, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed one of the most destructive opening pairs in history.

In the 1999 World Cup Ganguly scored 183 from 158 balls, and hit 17 fours and seven sixes. It became the second highest score in World Cup history. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest overall score in a World Cup match.

Ganguly ended his career having scored 11000 runs, with 22 centuries.


28 MICHAEL HUSSEY

Michael Hussey | Australia Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Total Points 112
Nominated by 14/30
Highest Rating 2

A busy Cricketer who combines precision placement with big shots when the need arises, Hussey is arguably one of the most consistent ODI batsman of all time. With a batting average of 50 and strike rate of 88 Hussey has been at the forefront of the Australian team success in the limited overs format.

His team ethic is on display in the field, where he is a reliable catcher at gully and a regular encourager, and he is scrupulous at practice. The overall attitude earned him the Mr Cricket nickname, a moniker of fun and extreme respect.


27 ALLAN DONALD

Allan Donald | South Africa Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Total Points 126
Nominated by 11/30
Highest Rating 4

If the credit for South Africa's success in the modern era could be given to one player, that cricketer would be Allan Donald. A classical action and top-drawer pace would have won him a place in any side in his prime, spearing the ball in, shaping it away and always making things happen. His strike rate was close to 30 in one-day internationals.

Donald will always be remembered for being run out in the 1999 World Cup Semi Final against Australia, in a match many described as the greatest one day match ever.


26 JAVED MIANDAD

Javed Miandad | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Total Points 129
Nominated by 10/30
Highest Rating 7

Miandad was not of the classical school of batting, though he possessed a beautiful square cut and most shots in and outside the book: he was a fine early reverse-sweeper. But he worked the angles and spaces equally well; he knew above all how to score runs in almost any situation.

Miandad had a marvellous ODI career. Here his supreme running - it is said that he was one of the early pioneers of aggressive ODI running - shot placement and mental strength produced outstanding results.

In 1992, battling age and back problems, Miandad played a lead role in Pakistan's only World Cup triumph, with six half-centuries.

 

[GIMH]

Hussey 28th. Bloody hell, thought he'd be higher. Makes me wonder if we'll see any more England players at all

 

[centurymaker]

So far only 4 from my list haven't made the Top 25.

Holding
Chappell
Anwar
Hussey

 

[morgieb]

FUUUU @ Hussey and Lee being so low.

 

[NUFAN]

Hussey 28th. Bloody hell, thought he'd be higher. Makes me wonder if we'll see any more England players at all

Hussey so far (from 50 to 26) has been voted by the most number of people.

There are a couple of players who end up finishing in the top 20 who only have 1 extra vote, so even though someone voted Huss at number 2, many people voted for him in the 20s.

 

[Teja.]

Again, top effort NUFAN.

I'm now petrified imagining a scenario where Waqar won't make it.