Top ten greatest bowlers and batsmen of all time

[Eclipse]

I always think of Sobers onwards as the modern era, don't know why, just always have. Not too keen on cross era comparisons.

In no particular order

Top 10 Batsmen

Tendulkar
Lara
Sobers
Viv Richards
Graeme Pollock
Barry Richards

I think those 6 really are a cut above the rest, the other 4.

Gavaskar
Sangakkarra (hell it may be premature but I think he's super awesome!)
Dravid
Greg Chappell (why does he never get more recognition?)

As you might gather from my list I'm a big believer in technique. I also like lefties! Ponting didn't quite make it because I've always felt that many of the genuine quicks of the 80's and 90's would have been all over him, his mate Mcgrath would have too. Other Honourable mentions include S Waugh, Miandad, Hayden, Sehwag, Jayawardene, and Smith. They've all been left out due to either technical flaws or a lacking in all round performance. I think batting has significantly improved over the last 20 years, yeah sure the bats are a million times better and the pitches are more docile but I think that video technology has had a huge impact on ironing out players' techniques.

Top 10 quicks

1. Marshall, IMO the perfect quick, did it everywhere against everyone, adapted perfectly, had all the tricks. Shaun Pollock says that he learnt everything he knows about bowling from Marshall in just a 6 week (If memory serves) period.

The rest are in no particular order.

Ambrose (>Mcgrath IMO)
Akram
Younis (Probably my favourite ever bowler)
Holding
Donald
Mcgrath
Imran Khan
Hadlee
Steyn (Really! He's already done it nearly everywhere and against the very best)

Honourable Mentions: Lillee, I know most people will be scandalised by his exclusion but the fact that he played almost all his tests in Australia and England is something I hold against him a bit. I always think that performing as a quick in India is the hardest feat in test match cricket, so few have done it and many greats have failed.
Shane Bond, who knows what could have and probably would have been?
Shaun Pollock, didn't quite have the same pace as the rest but his record is still outstanding pretty much everywhere.

Probably missed loads of players but there you are.

That's funny because Ponting OWNED McGrath in Australian Domestic cricket and during the early period of his career his record against Akram, Donald etc was and still is better than Tendulkar and Lara's

 

[wfdu_ben91]

From what I've seen...

Batsman

Sachin Tendulkar
Ricky Ponting
Matthew Hayden
Kevin Pietersen
Brian Lara
Jacques Kallis
Rahul Dravid

Bowlers

Shane Warne
Curtly Ambrose
Wasim Akram
Shoaib Akhtar
Shane Bond
Glenn McGrath
Muttiah Muralitharan
Mohammad Asif

 

[niel]

Who do you think are the top ten greatest bowlers and batsmen of all time?

This is my list:

Batsmen:

1. Don Bradman
2. Barry Richards
3. Garry Sobers
4. Viv Richards
5. Sachin Tendulker
6. Jack Hobbs
7. Brian Lara
8. Graeme Pollock
9. Greg Chappell
10. Sunil Gavasakar

Bowlers:

1. Sydney Barnes
2. Dennis Lillie
3. Malcom Marshall
4. Shane Warne
5. Imran Kahn
6. Richard Haddle
7. Muttiah Muralitharan
8. Ray Lindwall
9. Wasim Akram
10. Waqar Younis

and what about shoaib akhtar?????

 

[niel]

Bowlers

Barnes
Marshall
Mcgrath
Hadlee
Warne
Ambrose
Wasim
Garner
Lillee

Batsmen:

Bradman
Sobers
Richards
Gavaskar
Lara
G Chappell
Hammond
Hobbs
Weekes
Pollock

where the hell is tendulkar??????????

 

[vcs]

where the hell is tendulkar??????????

Getting his ass handed to him (along with the rest of his team) in Pretoria.

 

[joels344]

Top 10 Batsman

1. Donald Bradman
2. Garry Sobers
3. Jack Hobbes
4. Viv Richards
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Graeme Pollock
7. Brian Lara
8. Allan Border
9. Walter Hammond
10. Everton Weekes

Top 10 Bowlers

1. Jim Laker
2. Richard Hadlee
3. Sydney Barnes
4. Joel Garner
5. Shane Warne
6. Freddie Trueman
7. Dennis Lillee
8. Muttiah Muralitharan
9. Michael Holding
10. Bart King

All Rounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Ian Botham
3. Jaques Kallis
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Keith Miller

 

[Mike5181]

From what I've seen...

Batsman

Sachin Tendulkar
Ricky Ponting
Matthew Hayden
Kevin Pietersen
Brian Lara
Jacques Kallis
Rahul Dravid

Bowlers

Shane Warne
Curtly Ambrose
Wasim Akram
Shoaib Akhtar
Shane Bond
Glenn McGrath
Muttiah Muralitharan
Mohammad Asif

I like that you actually listed players you have watched. It is a much better way of doing it rather than just listing cricketers from the early 1900s that nobody today really has a clue whether they were any good at all.

No particular order

Batsmen
Sangakarra
Hayden
Tendulkar
Ponting
Lara
Kallis
Flower
Dravid
Martyn
Gilchrist

Bowlers
McGrath
Steyn
Bond
Ahktar
Lee
Warne
Murali
Marshall
Akram
Ambrose

Best All-rounders
Kallis
Cairns
Vettori
Flintoff
Pollock

 

[morgieb]

Bradman
Hobbs
Sobers
Lara
Tendulkar
Sutcliffe
Viv Richards
Greg Chappell
Graeme Pollock
Barry Richards

Marshall
Hadlee
Barnes
Warne
Murali
Ambrose
McGrath
Lillee
Imran
Davidson

Sobers
Imran
Kallis
Miller
Botham

 

[ankitj]

Batsmen

Bradman
Sobers
Viv Richards
Tendulkar
Hobbs
G Pollock
Hammond
Lara
G chappell
G Headley

Bowlers

Muralitharan
Marshall
Barnes
Hadlee
Warne
Ambrose
McGrath
Trueman
Imran
O'Reilly

All-rounders

Sobers
Imran
Hadlee
Miller
Botham
Kapil
Kallis
Pollock
Faulkner
Mankad

 

[honestbharani]

That's funny because Ponting OWNED McGrath in Australian Domestic cricket and during the early period of his career his record against Akram, Donald etc was and still is better than Tendulkar and Lara's

yeah a 80 and 3 single digit scores really show that Ponting owned Akram...

 

[smash84]

Getting his ass handed to him (along with the rest of his team) in Pretoria.

All Rounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Ian Botham
3. Jaques Kallis
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Keith Miller

No Imran in that All Rounders list???

 

[smash84]

yeah a 80 and 3 single digit scores really show that Ponting owned Akram...

meaning???

 

[joels344]

No Imran in that All Rounders list???

He was one of the finest. I knew I left someone off.

 

[Blaze 18]

Batsmen

1) Sir Donald Bradman
2) Brian Lara
3) Sir Vivian Richards
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Sir Gary Sobers
6) Sunil Gavaskar
7) Jack Hobbs
8) Allan Border
9) Greg Chappell
10)Steve Waugh

Bowlers

1) Glenn McGrath
2) Malcom Marshall
3) Curtly Ambrose
4) Imran Khan
5) Richard Hadlee
6) Shane Warne
7) Wasim Akram
8) Muttiah Muralitharan
9) Dennis Lillee
10)Waqar Younis

 

[weldone]

Batsmen:
1. Donald Bradman
2. Jack Hobbs
3. Garry Sobers
4. Leonard Hutton
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Wally Hammond
7. George Headley
8. Sunil Gavaskar
9. Barry Richards
10. Graeme Pollock

Bowlers:
1. Richard Hadlee
2. Malcolm Marshall
3. Sydney Barnes
4. Muttiah Muralitharan
5. Glenn McGrath
6. Fred Trueman
7. George Lohmann
8. Bill O'Reilly
9. Imran Khan
10. Joel Garner

 

[Teja.]

Too hard for me to do.

 

[Migara]

Batsmen - Bradman, Tendulkar, Sobers, Lara, Ponting, Kallis, Barrington, Headly, Pollock, V. Richards. Unlucky for Dravid.Hope Sanga makes that list!
Bowlers - Murali, Marshall, Barnes, McGrath, Hadlee, Ambrose, Trueman, Waqar, Wasim, Imran. Unlucky for Warne, Lillee, Big Bird, Grimmet and O'Riely

 

[Himannv]

Batsmen
Don Bradman
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Garfield Sobers
Jack Hobbs
Viv Richards
Wally Hammond
WG Grace
Greame Pollock
George Headley


Bowlers
Murali
Marshall
McGrath
Barnes
Trueman
Akram
Warne
Ambrose
Hadlee
Lillee

 

[Prince EWS]

Too hard for me to do.

Yeah I don't profess to know enough about certain players' careers to do this properly.

 

[ankitj]

Yeah I don't profess to know enough about certain players' careers to do this properly.

Do it anyways. We do it for fun

@Weldone - interesting that you don't have Viv in batsmen's list