Who is the best ODI batsman?
Sir Vivian Richards , I will consider him as the best ODI batsman . Many may not accept it but he is the best . Many will say names like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli , and 360 degree player Abraham Benjamin Devillers . But in my view they will come after him .( Image source : Google images )Here are his ODI stats ,( Image source : HowSTAT! The Cricket Statisticians )See he played 187 Matches and scored 6721 Runs at an Average 47 . And most catching thing is his strike rate 90.20 which says it all how he played at that time . Remember at that time the they used to have 60 overs per side in ODI'S unlike now we have 50 overs per side . So, they used to play very slowly .Fun fact : Sunil Gavaskar has played with a strike rate 62.57 in ODI'S ;-)I am not talking down on Sunil Gavaskar I am just talking about verocity of Vivian Richards .He played most of the matches with Red ball being used in ODI'S as well . It's a know fact Red ball swings more than the white ball . He played Red ball pretty well . In those days the pitches used to offer good support for bowlers as well . Now most of the pitches have become batsmen friendly wickets . We have seen how easily teams have 300 plus in the last 2015 World Cup .( Image source : HowSTAT! The Cricket Statisticians )His away record is good than at home . Even this is rare nowadays . He played Helmet less in most of the Matches . Playing helmet less and batting with such ferocity really need lot of guts .Let me show you one of the reasons run scoring had become easy now( Image source : Google images )That is the difference between the bats ones played with and nowadays batsmen are playing with . Even bat edges are carrying away to six . Grounds size is also decreased . Having such High Average and Strike rate at that time is certainly not normal like now .He has a strike rate 86.07 in Test matches and average 50.02 , such a strike rate is very rare nowadays as well .He is surely the best ODI batsman .
Gary Sobers says Sunny Is the greatest batsman...better than Sachin!!?
In Test Matches, i'd say that Gavaskar was the better batsman. Sachin's statistics might be slightly better, but people here forget that Gavaskar played during the seventies and eighties. Back in those days, batting was a lot tougher than it is today. Firstly, the bats used weren't as thick as modern bats, meaning players couldn't hit the ball as well as they can today. Nowadays, you'll regularly see boundaries scored from poorly executed shots, whereas during the 70s and 80s, it was nearly impossible to score boundaries unless the ball came off the middle of the bat. Secondly, players had to play on pitches which were usually terrible for batting. Nowadays, the cricket grounds that were used back then aren't nearly as bad as they were during the 70s and 80s. You also see batsman regularly playing on flat, lifeless wickets, where it's nearly impossible for bowlers to take wickets. Thirdly, they didn't have boundary ropes back then, meaning players had to hit the ball further if they wanted to score boundaries. Add the fact that the bats weren't as thick as modern bats and you'll realize how difficult it was to actually score boundaries. Nearly all the runs back then were scored off one's or two's. You'd regularly see batsmen running three's or four's since the ball rarely made it to the boundary. Even though Sachin's test statistics are slightly higher, i'd have to say that Gavaskar was the better test batsman, simply because batting was a lot tougher back in his day. The statistics also back this up. http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stat... During the 70s ans 80s, only 6 batsmen (with more than 3000 runs) had averages over 50. Nowadays, most teams have a couple of players averaging in the fifties which gives you an idea how much easier it is for batting teams today. In ODI's, I'd have to say that Sachin is, by far, the better batsman. Gavaskar was too defensive and wasn't really suited to one-day cricket. Sachin however, is considered by most to be the best ODI batsman currently playing and is probably the second best ODI batsman of all time, after Viv Richards.