Cricketweb's twenty greatest ODI players of all time

[smash84]

This is my attempt to take the term "cricketer" to heart, and fielding into account as much as possible:

1. Viv Richards
2. Jacques Kallis
3. Shaun Pollock
4. Sanath Jayasuriya
5. Ricky Ponting

6. AB de Villiers
7. Wasim Akram
8. Andrew Flintoff
9. Sachin Tendulkar
10. Brett Lee

11. Chaminda Vaas
12. Muttiah Muralitharan
13. Kumar Sangakkara
14. Michael Hussey
15. Kapil Dev
16. Imran Khan
17. Lance Klusener
18. Richard Hadlee
19. Adam Gilchrist
20. Glenn McGrath

Honorable mentions: Virender Sehwag, Michael Bevan, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori, Chris Cairns, Shakib Al Hasan, Waqar Younis, MS Dhoni

5 Australians, 4 South Africans, 4 Sri Lankans, 2 Indians, 2 Pakistanis, 1 West Indian, 1 New Zealander, 1 Englishman.

Ponting, AB and Hussey benefit significantly from taking fielding into account, while Dhoni, Afridi and Shakib suffer. Sanga and Gilly benefit from being solid keepers.

Actually there's lots of things i would disagree with. Like Tendulkar below the likes of jacques kallis Ponting and freddie flontoff

 

[viriya]

Actually there's lots of things i would disagree with. Like Tendulkar below the likes of jacques kallis Ponting and freddie flontoff

Tendulkar better than Ponting as a batsman, Ponting wayyyy better as a fielder.
Kallis was a solid 5th bowling option for most of his career.
Flintoff is harder to compare, but he was a very very good bowler, a good finisher and a very good fielder.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Tendulkar better than Ponting as a batsman, Ponting wayyyy better as a fielder.
Kallis was a solid 5th bowling option for most of his career.
Flintoff is harder to compare, but he was a very very good bowler, a good finisher and a very good fielder.

This is what people don't get when I sometimes pick specialists over All rounders as better cricketers. People use this ultra simplistic logic of "Oh he's only slightly worse with the bat but way better in his secondary/tertiary discipline.

The problem is, even a small increase in quality at that high level in the primary discipline becomes very very important. It's basically an exponential graph where Pollock is a slightly worse bowler than Wasim but a better batsman. For me, personally, that "small" difference in bowling takes precedence because Wasim was a ****ing genius and I'd pick him as a bowler over Pollock 10 times out of 10.

Also,Kallis #2 odi cricketer of all time is a complete joke. I'm sure even Pews would agree with me here.

Edit: Also realised, no Dhoni in the top 20.

 

[OverratedSanity]

OS with a vote for Marto! Riggins likes this post.

Should start campaigns for our players of choice IMO

I didn't get a Riggins like but you did. The world is unfair

 

[viriya]

This is what people don't get when I sometimes pick specialists over All rounders as better cricketers. People use this ultra simplistic logic of "Oh he's only slightly worse with the bat but way better in his secondary/tertiary discipline.

The problem is, even a small increase in quality at that high level in the primary discipline becomes very very important. It's basically an exponential graph where Pollock is a slightly worse bowler than Wasim but a better batsman. For me, personally, that "small" difference in bowling takes precedence because Wasim was a ****ing genius and I'd pick him as a bowler over Pollock 10 times out of 10.

Also,Kallis #2 odi cricketer of all time is a complete joke. I'm sure even Pews would agree with me here.

Edit: Also realised, no Dhoni in the top 20.

Doesn't matter that Wasim was a "****ing genius". Pollock was a top 10 ODI bowler as well, while being a much better batsman.

Dhoni loses out cos based on what I've found he's keeping isn't up to standard, so he's more of a liability there compared to players like Sanga and Gilchrist - tough call though. If this was a best batsmen list, he would've been in my top 10.

I don't need to defend Kallis.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Pollock was a top 10 odi bowler. Yeah. But Wasim is arguably no. 1. The extra value I get from having the cream of the crop in terms of overall bowling, especially death bowling is for me, more important and valuable than Pollock's overrated batting.

And you so need to defend Kallis. He's a treat player. But #2 is flat out wrong in my opinion.

 

[watson]

If you haven't made it on the World's biggest ODI stage, then you haven't made it. So.....

01. Viv Richards
02. Sachin Tendulkar
03. Glenn McGrath
04. Sanath Jayasuriya
05. Ricky Ponting
06. Adam Gilchrist
07. AB De Villiers
08. Joel Garner
09. Brian Lara
10. Wasim Akram

11. Jacques Kallis
12. Muttiah Muralitharan
13. Kumar Sangakkara
14. Shaun Pollock
15. Allan Donald
16. Kapil Dev
17. Shane Warne
18. Imran Khan
19. Brett Lee
20. Mark Waugh

Must admit that picking a top 20 seems a bit of a lottery.

 

[SuperMurali]

odd that AB and Saqlain are in your beast team in your sig, but can't make your top 10

 

[Eclipse]

1 . IV Richards
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Adam Gilchrist
4. Glenn McGrath
5. Ricky Ponting
6. Wasim Akram
7. Jacques Kallis
8. Sanath Jayasuriya
9. Muttiah Muralitharan
10. AB de Villiers

 

[kiwiviktor81]

1. Wasim Akram
2. Viv Richards
3. Sachin Tendulkar
4. AB de Villiers
5. Shaun Pollock
6. Imran Khan
7. MS Dhoni
8. Muralitharan
9. Virat Kohli
10. Waqar Younis
11. Hashim Amla
12. Glenn McGrath
13. Jacques Kallis
14. Richard Hadlee
15. Shane Bond
16. Brett Lee
17. Chris Harris
18. Ricky Ponting
19. Kumar Sangakkara
20. Allan Donald

Bit bowler and allrounder heavy, perhaps, but I think they don't get enough love in general so meh.

 

[viriya]

Pollock was a top 10 odi bowler. Yeah. But Wasim is arguably no. 1. The extra value I get from having the cream of the crop in terms of overall bowling, especially death bowling is for me, more important and valuable than Pollock's overrated batting.

I don't think Wasim was #1. McGrath was better imo. There's a good argument that Brett Lee and Shaun Pollock were in the same class too imo.

I don't need to defend Kallis because the arguments have been made countless times that he is underrated, and I agree that he still is.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Great to see all these votes for Chris Harris

 

[bagapath]

My rankings

1. Viv Richards
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Wasim Akram
4. Adam Gilchrist
5. AB de Villiers

6. Sanath Jayasuriya
7. Shaun Pollock
8. Joel garner
9. MS Dhoni
10. Ricky Ponting

11. Michael Bevan
12. Waqar Younis
13. Kapil Dev
14. Allan Donald
15. Dean Jones
16. Aravinda De Silva
17. Michael Hussey
18. Glen McGrath
19. Desmond Haynes
20. Saurav Ganguly

 

[morgieb]

1. Viv Richards
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Wasim Akram
4. MS Dhoni
5. Michael Bevan

6. Joel Garner
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Sanath Jayasuriya
9. AB de Villiers
10. Muttiah Muralitharan

11. Glenn McGrath
12. Ricky Ponting
13. Shaun Pollock
14. Virat Kohli
15. Dean Jones
16. Lance Klusener
17. Zaheer Abbas
18. Allan Donald
19. Waqar Younis
20. Saqlain Mushtaq

HM's: Lee, Kapil, Imran, Lara, Warne, Flintoff, Bond, Amla, Sangakkara. Starc I suspect will make the list in due course.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

Great to see all these votes for Chris Harris

Averaged 29 with the bat, won us heaps of games batting at 6, horrendously tricksy bowler and was the most gun fielder of his day (alongside Jonty Rhodes). Definite legend.

 

[longranger]

1. Viv Richards
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Adam Gilchrist
4. MS Dhoni
5. Wasim Akram

6. Ricky Ponting
7. Sanath Jayasuriya
8. AB de Villiers
9. Kumar Sangakarra
10. Jacques Kallis

11. Joel Garner
12. Glenn McGrath
13. Virat Kohli
14. Allan Donald
15. Muralitharan
16. Michael Bevan
17. Saqlain Mushtaq
18. Kapil Dev
19. Dean Jones
20. Yuvraj Singh

 

[Dan]

Chris Harris was a poor man's Ian Harvey, who in turn was a poor man's Scott Kremerskothen.

 

[marc71178]

odd that AB and Saqlain are in your beast team in your sig, but can't make your top 10

Not to mention including De Villiers (who hasn't made it on the biggest stage) over Dhoni (who has)

 

[weldone]

1. Viv Richards
2. MS Dhoni
3. Muttiah Muralitharan
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Wasim Akram
6. Glenn McGrath
7. Joel Garner
8. Lance Klusener
9. Ricky Ponting
10. Michael Bevan
11. Brian Lara
12. Adam Gilchrist
13. Zaheer Abbas
14. Kapil Dev
15. Shaun Pollock
16. Saqlain Mushtaq
17. Richard Hadlee
18. Michael Hussey
19. Javed Miandad
20. Desmond Haynes

 

[OverratedSanity]

I don't think Wasim was #1. McGrath was better imo. There's a good argument that Brett Lee and Shaun Pollock were in the same class too imo.

I don't need to defend Kallis because the arguments have been made countless times that he is underrated, and I agree that he still is.

Yeah but you're overrating him because you think everyone is underrating him. He's a great test player, no doubt... if someone wants to put him #2 all time in tests, I won't argue because I can see a solid case for him.

But in ODis? Just no.