Top 30 batsmen of the modern era (1990s -Current)

[StephenZA]

Agree this has been a great effort and I do quite like the overall methodology used.

It would be interesting to get DoGs take as the man on CW who has spent the most time tweaking and producing a detailed ranking system.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I don't agree with the methodology or the rankings. Good thread though.

 

[Gob]

yeah good effort

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Well done. Interesting analysis and thread.

 

[ankitj]

@ankitj
How does this ranking compare with DoG's one ?

Why does my opinion count particularly? ?

This was a good list at the end. Don't see any major flaws. No one is more than 2-3 spots from where I think they belong. Top effort @venkyrenga ??

 

[ankitj]

even if you compare with the best 8 years of Sachin, he would still have him beat. Smith has the highest overall, overseas and peak points even if you consider only the best 8 years of all the batsmen.

Yup, no one has batted like Smith in my years of watching. It's just mental.

 

[sunilz]

Why does my opinion count particularly? ?

This was a good list at the end. Don't see any major flaws. No one is more than 2-3 spots from where I think they belong. Top effort @venkyrenga ??

Good with excel sheets and tables ?

 

[Slifer]

Pardon me and I'd be the first to admit I didn't even bother to look at the methodology but in the period 1993 to 2003 Lara would've had:

400+ away to Australia at 56 (I think)
798 at home to England at 99
765 away to England at 85
546 at home at 91 vs Australia
688 away to SL at 111
533 at home to Australia at 60 odd
531 away to RSA at 60 odd

I guess these performances are balanced out by his troughs???

I will give Smith his due though. He seems like a blend of Sachins consistency home and away and Lara's explosive massive scoring. And for the person who said Smith had it easier by facing weaker attacks ...hell to the no. The only real weak attack going around atm, are Zimbabwe.

RSA : Very good (atg when Smith faced them)
Pak: ???
Ind: very very good; atg at home
Eng: very good; very very good at home
Nz: very very good, near atg at home
Ban: very good at home
Wi: very good at home
SL: ???

 

[TheJediBrah]

seems you didn't take into account one of the most important factors ....bowling quality ... the likes of Sachin,Lara,Dravid Kallis,S.Waugh faced far more quality bowlers thru out their career. As I said, I don't mind Smith being the no:1 based on plain average, but this huge gap in points between him and the names I quoted don't make sense what so ever. For instance Lara has only 146 points where as Smith has 164...Simply makes no sense...

Lol

 

[Shady Slim]

if only the metric measured “aesthetic pleasingness to shady slim” factor so that i could penalise steve smith and only steve smith

nah on a real this was a supremely fun exercise to follow and i really rate the methodology of how you dealt with the not outs - always like these new methodologies to see like, new ways of approaching it

 

[Chrish]

AB de Villiers > Kohli, Inzi, Chandarapaul

As far as batsmanship is concerned, I have never seen a better player. In fact he is the only player whom I would be comfortable naming as a batsman without any weakness.

He is equivalent of Wasim Akram.. just so much ability. Underachieved despite playing 100 tests and averaging 50 !!!

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Plot twist: there's actually no spreadsheets, the numbers are all made up

 

[TheJediBrah]

I don't agree with the methodology or the rankings. Good thread though.

This. Enjoyable to follow. Not out adjustment especially bad.

AB de Villiers > Kohli, Inzi, Chandarapaul

As far as batsmanship is concerned, I have never seen a better player. In fact he is the only player whom I would be comfortable naming as a batsman without any weakness.

He is equivalent of Wasim Akram.. just so much ability. Underachieved despite playing 100 tests and averaging 50 !!!

Well he must have some weakness or else he'd be statistically better than everyone else

 

[Chrish]

I didn’t see him struggle against any particular type of bowling on any particular surface. There was a time period where Broad got him out dirt cheap few consecutive times but he also has scored plenty of runs against England in England too. Could play any type of bowling: express pace, moving ball or spin..

 

[Burgey]

Fair old effort putting this together, venky. Well done. mate.

 

[Daemon]

De Villiers definitely elite and imo second to only Smith in the second half of his career in terms of adaptability and playing in unplayable bowling/conditions.

 

[CricAddict]

De Villiers definitely elite and imo second to only Smith in the second half of his career in terms of adaptability and playing in unplayable bowling/conditions.

Yeah this. I see De Villiers a bit like Djokovic. A bit silent early in his career but then started smashing everyone.

 

[Chrish]

Off topic but I think Kohli’s captaincy is proving to be a burden for him. Although he would never ever give it up voluntarily, his batting would be much better without it. He has played some miracle knocks; 155 in South Africa, that 100 in Perth, that English series against Broad/ Anderson, 100 in Adelaide etc. comes to mind from top of my head.

He is a class player but weight of captaincy crown is proving too much for him. Question is who would captain the team if not him?

 

[TheJediBrah]

Off topic but I think Kohli’s captaincy is proving to be a burden for him. Although he would never ever give it up voluntarily, his batting would be much better without it. He has played some miracle knocks; 155 in South Africa, that 100 in Perth, that English series against Broad/ Anderson, 100 in Adelaide etc. comes to mind from top of my head.

He is a class player but weight of captaincy crown is proving too much for him. Question is who would captain the team if not him?

That's the question? Team always seems to do better when he's not captain anyway

 

[Kirkut]

No. 1

Steven Smith - 164.4

View attachment 28455

Points: 164.4
Span: 2013-21
Peak: 2016-19
Longevity penalty: -12.2

Overall points: 172.7
Overseas points: 185.9
Best bowling attack points: 160.1
Peak points: 196.4

Runs: 7540
Average: 61.80

Most valuable series performances:
vs India, 2014, Home, Runs- 769, Avg- 128.16
vs South Africa, 2014, Away, Runs- 269, Avg- 67.25
vs India, 2017, Away, Runs- 499, Avg- 71.28
vs England, 2017 Home, Runs- 687, Avg- 137.40
vs England, 2019 Away, Runs- 774, Avg- 110.57

#Most valuable series are the ones that had the most impact on the total points earned.

Not the most elegant to watch but Smith is the perfect example of a runs machine. His unorthodox style leaves the bowlers confounded and the analysts scratching their heads trying to decode his technique. Scoring 700 plus runs a series multiple times with an average of more than 100 could make one wonder if this is fantasy cricket. No batsman has scored these many runs with such consistency in the last 30 years. Some people might question his spot at no.1 because of longevity but I am fairly sure it is only a matter of 2-3 years before he solidifies his place as one of the best. After factoring in the longevity penalty there is only a 2 points gap between him and Sachin. But even if you compare with the best 8 years of Sachin, he would still have him beat. Smith has the highest overall, overseas and peak points even if you consider only the best 8 years of all the batsmen.

I knew it! I knew it!