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

[stephen]

Some people might question Kallis's spot at no.4 and for all the criticism he gets over scoring slow, Kallis had a stretch of 12000 at an average of 61.33 from 1999-12 with an overseas average of 57.37. This alone, at least according to this methodology, makes him the no.1 batsman of 2000s.

Kallis is almost certainly underrated by many on here.

 

[The Sean]

Some people might question Kallis's spot at no.4 and for all the criticism he gets over scoring slow, Kallis had a stretch of 12000 at an average of 61.33 from 1999-12 with an overseas average of 57.37. This alone, at least according to this methodology, makes him the no.1 batsman of 2000s.

During which period he also took 251 wickets and held 173 catches. Because, why not?

 

[venkyrenga]

Kallis is almost certainly underrated by many on here.

Certainly. Chanderpaul too, IMO.

 

[venkyrenga]

During which period he also took 251 wickets and held 173 catches. Because, why not?

That is crazy if you think of it. Easily, the most valuable player of the last 30 years.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Kallis is underrated because he was around at the same time as Lara, Tendulkar and to a lesser extent Ponting. In earlier eras they would have written songs about him.

 

[venkyrenga]

No. 3

Brian Lara - 147



Points: 147
Peak: 1992-95
Longevity bonus: 3.6

Overall points: 146.4
Overseas points: 135.3
Best bowling attack points: 155.5
Peak points: 163.1

Runs: 11953
Average: 52.88

Period wise points earned:

1992-95	1996-99	2000-03	2004-05
163.1	117.7	141.1	144.7

Most valuable series performances:
vs England, 1994, Home, Runs- 798, Avg- 99.75
vs England, 1995, Away, Runs- 765, Avg- 85.00
vs Australia, 1999, Home, Runs- 546, Avg- 91.00
vs Sri Lanka, 2001, Away, Runs- 688, Avg- 114.66
vs England, 2004, Home, Runs- 500, Avg- 83.33

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

 

[TheJediBrah]

Kallis is underrated because he was around at the same time as Lara, Tendulkar and to a lesser extent Ponting. In earlier eras they would have written songs about him.

If he was from Aus/Eng/Ind, or if he had a strike-rate ~10 runs higher, not many would question his superiority over Ponting, Lara and Sachin IMO

 

[_00_deathscar]

If he was from Aus/Eng/Ind, or if he had a strike-rate ~10 runs higher, not many would question his superiority over Ponting, Lara and Sachin IMO

But then would he maintain his average? That’s assuming he’d maintain that average (or close to it) at a higher strike rate

 

[_00_deathscar]

Kallis is a perfect example of why contemporaries sometimes rate Wasim (and other similar) higher.
Has a higher average than all his contemporaries, scored runs everywhere, has as many/more runs than most of his contemporaries.

And yet almost no one (his contemporaries or otherwise actually including fans) rates him higher than Ponting nevermind Lara/Sachin.

 

[venkyrenga]

Kallis is a perfect example of why contemporaries sometimes rate Wasim (and other similar) higher.
Has a higher average than all his contemporaries, scored runs everywhere, has as many/more runs than most of his contemporaries.

And yet almost no one (his contemporaries or otherwise actually including fans) rates him higher than Ponting nevermind Lara/Sachin.

Most people rate Dravid and Sanga above him. I really can't understand that. If his scoring rate is the issue why rate Dravid above him?

 

[Gob]

I always felt Kallis could dominate like Lara or Ponting but decided not to until last few years of his career. Of course playing in SA may have something to do with that but anyhow he was not limited like many other grafters who batted at the same pace

 

[stephen]

I always basically grouped the batsmen into separate tiers.

S tier (players who were untouchable for very long periods)
Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar, Smith

A tier (all time greats)
Kallis, Kohli, Dravid, Hayden, Sangakkara, Chanderpaul, Waugh etc...

B tier (very good players who just weren't top tier)
Clarke, Amla, Langer, Martyn, de Silva, Pieterson, Strauss etc...

C tier (players who were ordinary but had the ability to occasionally do something extraordinary)
Stokes, Watson, Flintoff, Bell, North etc...

Marsh tier (players who are consistently mediocre and/ or only ever perform in low pressure situations)
Marsh, Marsh, Wade, Bancroft etc...

I place Kallis at the top of A tier.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

I always felt Kallis could dominate like Lara or Ponting but decided not to until last few years of his career. Of course playing in SA may have something to do with that but anyhow he was not limited like many other grafters who batted at the same pace

Watching Kallis batting in ODIs gives a different impression, even Dravid seems to be a match winner in comparison.

 

[ma1978]

Kallis didn’t have nearly as many iconic knocks especially overseas relative to Dravid and Sanga leave alone Ponting

 

[miscer]

Cricket is a team sport with a myriad of difficult conditions complicating comparisons. Individual statistics, while the most important metric isn't the only metric to measure a player. People on this website forget that. If this were an individual sport like tennis, sure statistics>all.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Most people rate Dravid and Sanga above him. I really can't understand that. If his scoring rate is the issue why rate Dravid above him?

That's a fair point and I don't have an answer to that one - with Dravid you could argue India comes into it - no idea with Sanga though.

But it's pretty clear why despite better statistics etc he isn't really compared to (certainly) Lara and Sachin. Cos he wasn't that good.

 

[Flem274*]

Contemporary critique is a dangerous tool stephen. Shane warne thinks kohli is the best in the world ffs.

Ive never heard a saffer question kallis' value to his team, only overseas judges. People forget how well the kallis/pollock duo papered over the cracks of having 2-3 water treaders in the team every game (dippenaar, rudolph etc)

 

[Jayro]

Kallis never seemed like taking the control of the game while batting,seemed just like an innocuous survivor not posing any major threat but just wanting to hang around as long as he can whilst the runs coming as part and parcel of it, this method became more highlighted in his Odi's exploits as he never came across as a matchwinner there, he could lend a helping hand of huge support to his team but never came across as a dominating factor who is dictating terms like Tendular, Lara or even Ponting to the point that when these played the bowlers started making more mistakes in their presence making life easier for other batsmen of their team as well, that's why when they shone the team naturally shone consequentially had more impact on the game.Now the vital and remaining point is -if it was a question of method or a question of ability - I believe based on what I saw it was about ability.

 

[ma1978]

No one who was around when Kallis was playing thought he was in the league as a batsman to Ricky Ponting.

 

[OverratedSanity]

No one who was around when Kallis was playing thought he was in the league as a batsman to Ricky Ponting.

True but they were probably incorrect