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
30 Brett Lee
29 Sourav Ganguly
28 Michael Hussey
27 Allan Donald
26 Javed Miandad
Now for 25 to 21..
25 ANDREW SYMONDS
Andrew Symonds | Australia Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo
Total Points 144
Total Nominations 16/30
Highest Rating 6
Andrew Symonds brings gusto to whatever he does, whether firing down offbreaks or mediums, hurling his ungainly bulk round the field or vigorously ruffling the bowler's hair at the celebration of a wicket. He saves his loudest grunt for his batting, where he is that rarest of modern-day creatures - an unabashed six-hitter.
During almost five years in and out of the one-day side he frittered away golden opportunities galore. One day changed everything. Striding out with his team in turmoil against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, a game and tournament he never expected to play in, Symonds sculpted a masterly 143 not out in 125 balls. Until that day, he had mustered just 762 one-day runs at only 23; after that he averaged more than 43 and became a hero to those who adored his clumping style.
24 MS DHONI
MS Dhoni | India Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo
Total Points 160
Total Nominations 18/30
Highest Rating 6
There was a time when the very idea of an Indian cricketer rivalling Sachin Tendulkar in the popularity stakes bordered on the preposterous. But the advent of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his meteoric rise through the ranks did just that, with a new generation transfixed by a small-town boy whose personality and background couldn't have been more different from that of Tendulkar.
Becoming a safe keeper and a batsman capable of shifting through the gears as he pleased. Sometimes discomfited by the short ball, he compensated with astonishing power in his preferred hitting zones. The scythe over midwicket, even to yorker-length deliveries, drove bowlers to distraction, and his mastery of the 50-over game is revealed by a batting average that remains close to 50 after more than 150 games.
23 CURTLY AMBROSE
Curtly Ambrose | West Indies Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo
Total Points 163
Total Nominations 15/30
Highest Rating 5
Fee fi fo fum. A giant of the game in every sense, Curtly Ambrose was the most lethal pace bowler of his generation.
As a bowler, he was always miserly accurate but occasionally, when fired up, as unforgiving and as devastating as a hurricane, and virtually unplayable: But maybe of all these weapons, the most potent was his silence. Many fast bowlers have tried to put batsmen off their strokes by utilising various forms of verbal and physical intimidation. Curtly intimidated you with hush
Curtly stood 6ft 7ins and released the ball from almost 10ft high, but there was more to Ambrose's game than bounce. When his extreme pace deserted him, he fell back on subtle seam movement and an immaculately grooved action.
22 ZAHEER ABBAS
Zaheer Abbas | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo
Total Points 172
Total Nominations 15/30
Highest Rating 4
Zaheer Abbas was a stylish, elegant batsman. In full flow, he was a sight for sore eyes.
There was not a touch of arrogance about Zaheer's batting but of lyrical, fluent movement, his innings memorable for a refined, effortless beauty. His strength was precision and timing. He had the ability to go on back and front foot with equal facility, on occasions moving from backward to forward or vice versa during the course of one stroke and yet send the ball crashing to the fence. A high back-lift gave him a touch of elegance, and combined with powerful and supple wrists guiding the ball into the gaps on both sides of the wicket, he scored a very high proportion of his runs in boundaries. When the going was good, he seemed like a maestro at work, his artistry, his elegance leaving connoisseurs awestruck.
21 SAQLAIN MUSHTAQ
Saqlain Mushtaq | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo
Total Points 179
Total Nominations 18/30
Highest Rating 9
A trend-setter. Saqlain Mushtaq was perhaps the first offspinner to master the doosra, a delivery that spins away from the batsman even though it is delivered with an offspinner's action.
Saqlain's international career got off to a splendid start - he was the fastest bowler to 100 one-day wickets, and his phenomenal control meant that he regularly bowled at the death.
Saqlain took 288 wickets from 169 matches at a splended average of 21.78.
