There is a new religion all over the world which is cricket. People worship cricketers and may be that is the reason why legends are born and when they are bidding adieu, they leave an everlasting mark on the game of cricket and for the people who worship them. They make and break records and ultimately find their names in the cricket’s hall of fame. Here are top 10 greatest cricketers of all time.
10. Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd was a West Indies cricketer who debuted in 1966. He was the most successful captain for West Indies until date. Lloyd captained West Indies from 1974-1985 and they won two consecutive world cups in the year 1975 and 1979. They were runners-up in the 1983 world cup which India won ultimately. It was a dream run for the West Indies team while Lloyd was captaining their side. His side won 27 matches without a defeat and he is considered as one of the most successful Test captains of all time.
9. Dennis Lillee
Former Australian cricketer, Dennis Lille, was a fiery fast bowler of his time. He was even rated as the ‘outstanding fast bowler of his generation’ and was even known as the best fast bowler of the 70’s. Lillee established his name in the ICC Hall of Fame on December 2009. For his 355 wickets, he was the world record holder for most Test wickets by the time he retired in the year 1984. Lillee despite being a successful bowler, was into many controversies like when he used an aluminum bat instead of a wooden bat. Another incident involved with Miandad when he poked his leg while taking a run.
8. Rahul Dravid
The best Indian defensive batsman of all time is Rahul Dravid, famously known as ‘The Wall’. Whenever team India needed a pile of runs, Dravid was always there to help. He is one of the greatest cricketers in the history of cricket. A mammoth 13,000 odd runs in test cricket, highest of 270 against Pakistan and 10,000 odd runs in ODI cricket with the highest of 153. He scored a record 22-ball 50 which was not broken for a long time. Dravid even kept wickets for India when the team needed it the most. He was named the ICC player of the year and Test player of the year at inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004.
7. Muttiah Muralitharan
Highest Test wicket taker of all time is Muttiah Muralitharan with massive 800 wickets. Former Sri Lankan cricketer was rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers. He holds the world record for most number of Test wickets and ODI wickets as well. With 534 wickets in the ODI platform, he surpassed Wasim Akram’s 502. Murali held number one spot in the ICC’s players rankings for Test bowlers for a total of 214 matches and for 1711 days, which is an achievement in itself.
6. Jacques Kallis
The former South African cricketer and the best all-rounder for South Africa is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. The first player to score 10,000 runs and grab 250 wickets in both ODI and Test cricket. He is the second highest Test century scorer with 40, only behind Sachin Tendulkar with 51. Kallis was ICC player of the year and Test player of the year in 2005. First South African to score more than 13,000 runs with 292 wickets, third behind a total of 15,000 runs.
5. Brian Lara
Another West Indies legendary batsman, Brian Lara who holds the record of highest individual first class score of 501 not out and highest International individual Test score of 400 not out, which is still not broken by any individual. His 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown has been rated as the second best batting performance in the history of Test cricket next to 270 by Sir Don Bradman. Lara was conferred with BBC Overseas Sports personality of the year which is given to only three cricketers including him. Indeed one of the best West Indian batsmen.
4. Shane Warne
The leg spin bowling legend of Australia is Shane Warne. He is the second highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket with 708 scalps and 293 in ODIs. He has amassed 3000 test runs without scoring a century and he holds the record for it. In the year 2000, he was selected as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century and the only player to be in quintet while still playing at his time. His cricketing life was filled with scandals like accepting money from unofficial sources, testing positive for a substance. But in all of this, Warne was one of the best spin bowlers of his time.
3. Sir Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield Sobers is considered as cricket’s greatest all-rounder. He debuted for West Indies at the age of 16 and went on to play for a long time. His first century came against Pakistan where he scored a triple hundred with a score of 365. This record of highest individual score was held by him until 1994 when Brian Lara scored 375. He has scored 8000 odd runs and taken 235 wickets in his 93 tests. He holds the fourth highest batting average in Test cricket with more than 5000 runs. It was a complete dominance on cricket by the West Indies players for quite a time.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is history’s best ever batsman and fondly known as the “little master”. India worships him as the God of Cricket. Debuted in International cricket at the age of 16 and was welcomed by a fiery bouncer from Wasim Akram. A world record of highest Test runs, ODI runs totaling 30,000 in all. He is the first batsman to score one hundred international hundreds, first to score double century in ODIs. A total of 51 hundreds in Test cricket remains a world record for the most number of hundreds in test cricket. Indeed a great and legendary player in the world.
1. Sir Donald Bradman
The Don of Australia and the cricketing world- Sir Donald Bradman is acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time with a career best average of 99.94 which is the greatest achievement by any individual in any sport. He is the second player to score two consecutive double centuries after Wally Hammond. Bradman scored a century before in the first session before lunch and finished the day on 309, which no cricketer can score in modern-day cricket. He scored a staggering 974 runs in the 1930 England series at an average of 139 which remains the best series performance for Bradman. This shows Bradman as a greatest batsman of all time.