Who are world cricket's current GREAT players?

I'd go with-

Certain all time greats-

Tendulkar (Ind)
Muralitharan (Sl)
Kallis (RSA)
Dravid (Ind)
Ponting (Aus)

Almost great if not already-

Steyn (RSA)
Sangakkara (SL)
Sehwag (Ind)
Pietersen (Eng)
M.Jayawardene (SL)
Ntini (RSA)
G.Smith (RSA)
Chanderpaul (WI)

Could be great in 5-10 years-

Duminy (RSA)
Johnson (AUS)
Broad (ENG)
DeVilliers (RSA)
Ishant (IND)
Mendis (SL)
Hughes (Aus)
Taylor (WI)


Is there anyone else who could be considered great who isn't on those lists? And who of the 'almost greats' and 'could be greats' are likely to be 'certain greats' by the end of their careers?

Steyn (RSA)
Sangakkara (SL)
Sehwag (Ind)
Pietersen (Eng)
M.Jayawardene (SL)
Ntini (RSA)
G.Smith (RSA)
Chanderpaul (WI)

I'd agree with only Sanga, Sehwag and Pietersen in this list. Chanderpaul is one step up and the rest either aren't good enough yet or ever likely to be or, as in the case of Steyn, it's too just too early. Can't decide on Smith tbh, really like him as a player and captain.

Could be great in 5-10 years-

Duminy (RSA)
Johnson (AUS)
Broad (ENG)
DeVilliers (RSA)
Ishant (IND)
Mendis (SL)
Hughes (Aus)
Taylor (WI)

Just too much speculation.

I'd say Laxman goes into the same category as Chanderpaul whatever that may be.

VVS just hasn't been good enough against teams other than Australia. He's clearly capable of making runs against all teams, but for whatever reasons he just seems to go into his shell a bit when the bowlers aren't Australian.

Are we talking All Time Great? If so, only SRT qualifies.

Henry wrote:Almost great if not already-

Steyn (RSA)
Sangakkara (SL)
Sehwag (Ind)
Pietersen (Eng)
M.Jayawardene (SL)
Ntini (RSA)
G.Smith (RSA)
Chanderpaul (WI)

Erm none of them are even close to 'great'. And I'd not class any in your so call 'cert' list as 'great' apart from Tendy.

Tendulkar and Muralitharan are certainties as all time greats. Kallis's all round record must make him a great of the game. He's likely to finish his career with around 13,000 runs and 350 wickets- Awesome and unparalled for an all rounder. Dravid is arguably India's second best ever batsman. Ponting is debatable because of his poor record on the Sub Continent, but if people are calling him Australia's second best batsman ever after Bradman then he must surely be a great.

MM gets disqualified for other reasons.

Kallis isn't a "greater" cricketer than Ponting who isn't an ATG therefore Kallis doesn't get in either.

JGK wrote:MM gets disqualified for other reasons.

Kallis isn't a "greater" cricketer than Ponting who isn't an ATG therefore Kallis doesn't get in either.

Kallis has over 250 test wickets to go with his runs.How many wickets does Ponting have? About 4?

JGK wrote:MM gets disqualified for other reasons.

Kallis isn't a "greater" cricketer than Ponting who isn't an ATG therefore Kallis doesn't get in either.

If Punter isn't an all-time great with his record, who is your list of all-time great batsmen JG?

There are many fans who will never be able to accept Muralitharan as a great.

Ponting, Kallis, and Dravid are all close.

The term is often applied too easily.

In recent years: Tendulkar, Lara, Warne, McGrath.

I don't see Jerome Taylor ever transcending to greatness. He needs certain pitches to bowl on and never really does much else in-between his amazing performances (which don't come nearly often enough). Stuart Broad seems a very optimistic shout - I see him becoming a reliable all-rounder for England, a stock bowler who keeps batsmen honest and a solid lower order bat.

As for Mendis, we'll see if his bowling style has any longevity.

Red wrote:

JGK wrote:MM gets disqualified for other reasons.

Kallis isn't a "greater" cricketer than Ponting who isn't an ATG therefore Kallis doesn't get in either.

If Punter isn't an all-time great with his record, who is your list of all-time great batsmen JG?

I'm perplexed too.

Punter wouldn't come close to an ATG Australian team IMO, but he is certainly a GREAT batsman.

Ponting is on a par with Greg Chappell, imo. He's a better batsman than Steve Waugh and Allan Border were.

Better than Senior Waugh, no doubt.

More talented than Border, but I wouldn't say he is better.

Border faced greater bowlers, and played many more great innings than Ponting.

Henry wrote:Kallis's all round record must make him a great of the game. He's likely to finish his career with around 13,000 runs and 350 wickets-

We've already had a long thread about how those figures flatter to deceive - a disproportionately large set of them came against minnows, or in lower-pressure situations such as dead rubbers and the second innings of 'live' matches after the likes of Smith and Donald opened the way.

Sean Pollock was IMO a more significant all-rounder for SA, because he changed the direction of more tests.

lardbucket wrote:

The term is often applied too easily.

In recent years: Tendulkar, Lara, Warne, McGrath.

Yes. I think KP will be regarded as a true great in about five years' time.

lardbucket wrote:The term is often applied too easily.

In recent years: Tendulkar, Lara, Warne, McGrath.

i would add murali and gilchrist. murali i know would not be considered by you, but gilchrist is certainly the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman the game has seen

SRT yes.

Dravid - Yes. [Best no. 3, career average on the higher side of 50 all his career and good amount of runs everywhere and against all opposition].

In terms of all round stats, Kallis could be considered when his bowling is also factored in.

MuMu, yes though personally I don't think chuck should be there and also given his minnow bashing form. But stats are so warped either way. Too hard to call this one.

Punter - Hell no. The sub-continent especially India is his achilles heel both at home and away. He has been p!ss poor in India despite 4 full visits now and this decade his home form against India too has not been upto his usual home standards.

Peiterson is a possibility. But the next 5 years will decide that.

I think Sehwag is already a great now. No batsman today inspires as much fear in rival team bowlers as much as Sehwag does these days. After Richards, only Sachin in his prime and then Gilchrist commanded that fear. He scores big all the time. He is also the only guy with two triple hundreds. [lets not forget a double as well].

Laxman could have been great [only in statistics POV] in World cricket if he had not mistreated the first 5 years of his international career and had been given enough chances early on. Also he has spent a majority of the last 5 years batting at numbers 5 & 6. Considering that he is a great undoubtedly as far as Indian Cricket is concerned.

G. Smith could be on the road to Greatness I suppose. Stats certainly favour him.

The One wrote:

lardbucket wrote:The term is often applied too easily.

In recent years: Tendulkar, Lara, Warne, McGrath.

i would add murali and gilchrist. murali i know would not be considered by you, but gilchrist is certainly the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman the game has seen

If 'recent' list is to be factored, Lara, McGrath, Warne, S. Pollock, Gilchrist, all become automatic choices. But then was their greatness ever in dispute?

Ponting is an absolute batting God. He averages 61 at number 3 at a s/r exceeding 60. WGAF that he has only scored one ton in India? He's a million miles better than Dravid and his longevity and continued brilliance prove as much. I would take Ponting at his peak over every other batsman who has played the game over the last 20 years, for sheer weight of runs. Even Brian Charles God Lara (sorry Brian).

Tino Best.

Great on anybody's nerves.

I know that much has been made about AB De Villiers wanting to be the greatest batsman ever, well watching him lately, it looks like he could be well on the way.

He doesn't seem to have any obvious technical weaknesses, in fact he seems to have a similar technique to JK, which can only be a good thing and not as prone to an LBW shout as he was. He can smash off spinners and fast bowlers with equal effect. He doesn't look especially vulnerable early on, and he can bat for long, long periods. He's quick between the wickets, an excellent fielder and a quality player in both formats.

He may not be the greatest yet, certainly not the most elegant batsman, but at 25 years old he's pretty close to perfect. Isn't he?

ABDV is a bit soft though. Again, like Kallis. Smith is the key player in that line up.

lardbucket wrote:There are many fans who will never be able to accept Muralitharan as a great.

Ponting, Kallis, and Dravid are all close.

The term is often applied too easily.

In recent years: Tendulkar, Lara, Warne, McGrath.

Ponting is obviously superior to the other two given that he scores about 40% faster. However (and this is probably my Dubber bias showing) I am not convinced that Ponting is clearly superior to S Waugh let alone the mighty AB.