Top five cricketers of all time
Cody Olsen |
There is no doubt that the world has lost two legendary cricketers recently. The passing of Rod Marsh was a blow, but it was soon followed by the sudden death of Shane Warne.
Shane Warne
Of the two cricketers, Shane Warne undoubtedly deserves to be considered one of the greatest. His unrivalled spin bowling ability and the miraculous delivery to Mike Gatting in Manchester will live through time. What is more inspiring is his story. He was told as a young man he had little talent for the game. Boy, did he prove them wrong. He sits second on the list of all-time wickets taken, with a total of 708. For cricket & other sports betting odds, check out powerplay.com.
If Warney takes up one spot in the top five cricketers, who would be the other four. It is a challenging task to sort through the many legends of the game, and the choices will be contentious, but let’s see what you think of these.
Sir Don Bradman
Another Aussie but a goodie, Don Bradman, or The Don, was the most iconic sportsman to Australia. His batting average remains unparalleled, standing at just under 100 runs average per innings. It is mind-blowing to believe that he expected to get a century each time he walked out. In little international cricket, playing from 1927 to 1949, Bradman totalled almost 7000 runs. Surely, he would have been well beyond 15000 runs if he played today.
Sachin Tendulkar
Tendulkar is revered as the God of Cricket in India, and rightly so. He is one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era. He was also a pretty handy bowler, making him the much-coveted all-rounder that all captains seek out to balance a team – though his bowling average of 54.17 likely put him in the role of the fifth bowler. Still, he was a handy person to turn to when you needed to circulate your bowlers. He has 15921 runs on his record and 46 test wickets. His batting average was a healthy 53.78.
Imran Khan
This former cricketer is now President of Pakistan, so he is an intelligent guy who will take responsibility. This character profile is what was demonstrated on the cricket oval. He was probably one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. An outstanding fast bowler, a batsman who could move up and down the order and a clever captain. He led Pakistan to victory in 1992, after coming back from retirement, by request of the President at the time.
Brian Lara
This list comes in no particular order, as who can judge if the best spinner, the faster bowler, or the top-scoring batsman should come top of the list. However, what is clear is that legends loom large in the game, and Brian Lara is one of these legends. He holds many records, but the one that stands out is the highest first-class cricket score of 501, not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994. His 375 runs against England should also be a standout moment at Test level.
Nominating Lara in the top five cricketers of all time is similar to nominating Shane Warne. They are legends of the sport who transcend the game because of their approach and joy of playing. We loved watching them because they loved playing.
Who else should have been mentioned?
Then there are the names that are popping into your mind right now. What about Kholi, Ponting, Richards, Botham? Then, Sir Garfield Sobers of the West Indies is there with his fast bowling, spin bowling, and batting. What about Kallis, Dhoni, Anderson, Akram? There are so many game legends that could easily have made this list, and it could be debated long into the night.
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