Who are world cricket's current GREAT players?

SG wrote:Mark Waugh a better ODI bat than Ganguly?

You got to be kidding!!! Right?

And Gilly/Mark Waugh a better opening combo than Tendulkar/Ganguly!!!

Gimme a break.

Perhaps you are forgetting how good Mark Waugh was in One-Day International cricket.

There was a time when Australia couldn't win unless Mark Waugh made a decent score - he was the standout player in the team.

And if you want to compare Waugh and Ganguly as openers statistically then Mark Waugh comes out on top.

M. Waugh
141 matches
15 hundreds
32 fifties
Average of 44.06 @ strike rate of 76.74

Ganguly
242 matches
19 hundreds
58 fifties
Average of 41.57 @ strike rate of 73.59

A combination of Tendulkar and anyone has a head start because one of the players is Tendulkar. Mark Waugh and Gilchrist were both more valuable one-day players than Ganguly.

Gilchrist's average is down when compared to the other three players mentioned (his opening average is 36.5) but have a look at that strike rate - 98.02 .

Mark Waugh could be relied upon to consistently get a score. Gilchrist was a bit more hit and miss. It was a great combination and certainly deserves a spot at the table when talking about the greatest one-day opening combination of all-time.

If I was picking an "All-Time" World One-Day XI (from the 70's onwards obviously) then Tendulkar and Gilchrist would be my opening pair - no questions asked!

I think you may have just scared off the subi Ganguly-apologists, Hass. Hard to look at those figures and not rate MEW well above his Indian counterpart . . . .

subi Ganguly-apologists,

Oh, the irony.

tac wrote:I think you may have just scared off the subi Ganguly-apologists, Hass. Hard to look at those figures and not rate MEW well above his Indian counterpart . . . .

Although most of us who have seen either bat could make that call without the figures.

Of course, JGK, but you know what the Injuns are like with stats . . . . and personal records . . .

i would pick tendulkar and gilly in an all-time

but i would pick tendulkar-ganguly as an actual combo ahead of gilly-waugh

mew had a better record against eng, nz and sl

scg had a better record against pak, sa and wi

I was actually talking from a pure 'watchability' pov. MEW was a gorgeous bat of course, but his was a more classical style - Ganguly seemed (note) to have adapted better to the ODI format. And Ganguly's batting was no ugly duckling either, esp. his off-side play and footwork against spinners. A bit like how Jayasuriya seems to be an ATG batsman, though his stats say Avg 32, S/R 91 (yes, in Jaya's case, his role in revolutionizing the role of ODI openers places him well above other batsmen with similar stats).

In JAMODIs an average of 32 at 91 is better than 44 at 74.

JGK wrote:In JAMODIs an average of 32 at 91 is better than 44 at 74.

Yes, but I wasn't comparing Jaya to Ganguly. Mentioned Jaya to point out how people who are big hitters seem better JAMODI batsmen regardless of their stats.

If I was picking an "All-Time" World One-Day XI (from the 70's onwards obviously) then Tendulkar and Gilchrist would be my opening pair - no questions asked!

Jaya has very strong claims to be the other opener.

I'm too in a bit of quandary here. Both Gilly and Jaya have that exquisite ability to shred any bowling attack anywhere in the world.

SG wrote:

If I was picking an "All-Time" World One-Day XI (from the 70's onwards obviously) then Tendulkar and Gilchrist would be my opening pair - no questions asked!

Jaya has very strong claims to be the other opener.

I'm too in a bit of quandary here. Both Gilly and Jaya have that exquisite ability to shred any bowling attack anywhere in the world.

But Gilly undoubtedly has the better stats.

though jaya had two very distinct careers. post the 1996 world cup he has scored 11375 runs in 333 matches at 36.45 and at a s/r of 94.48 with 27 100s and 58 50s

forgot about jaya. maybe jaya to open with srt and gilly to drop down to 7. with 313 wickets there is no way the man can be out of an all-time odi xi

If anything you'd open with Jaya and Gilly with SRT and Viv to follow.

Brutal.

JGK wrote:

Gayle has scored 7259 avg 40.55 from 193 innings with 19 centuries and 38 half centuries

Hooper has scored 5761 runs avg 35.34 from 206 innings with 7 centuries and 29 half centuries

Gayle wins hands down no contest.

One is an opener, the other a middle order player. One is playing in the days of 20 over fielding restictions and in roped off field, the other debuted in an era when 225 was a winning score.

Without Strike rate details I don't think these stats necessarily favour Gayle at all.

Gayle has scored 1500 more runs in 13 less innings. Gayle has a strike rate of 82.43 which compares favourably to Hooper's 76.64.

The fact is the fielding restrictions compels the batsman to take the significant risk against the opposition's best bowlers. The rewards are great but so are the risks. The batsman has very little time to get his eye in before he is compelled to go for his shots against the new ball. To be able to do it regularly and effectively also requires a great deal of skill.

The middle order batsmen has it much easier because he is likely to come in during the middle overs where he has a lot more time to get his eye in before the final assault in the last 10-15 overs

Gayle scores a century every 10 innings. A rate which is comparable to Tendulkar and better than Ponting

Gayle scores 50+ runs every 3.39 innings which is is comparable to Ponting who scores at a rate of 3.27

Hooper scores a century every 29 innings and makes a score of 50+ every 5.72 innings.

The fact is Carl Hooper is not in Chris Gayle's league....

Opening is easily the easiest job in JAMODI cricket.

JGK wrote:Opening is easily the easiest job in JAMODI cricket.

That explains England's trouble in finding a decent opening pair in ODI's .You know the easiest jobs are always the hardest to fill.

Aberforth wrote:

JGK wrote:Opening is easily the easiest job in JAMODI cricket.

That explains England's trouble in finding a decent opening pair in ODI's .You know the easiest jobs are always the hardest to fill.

Not for Trev though.

in the list of batsmen with the top 20 averages in odi cricket (min : 2000 runs) only tendulkar and hayden are openers

The One wrote:in the list of batsmen with the top 20 averages in odi cricket (min : 2000 runs) only tendulkar and hayden are openers

Hasn't SRT played quite a few as a non-opener?

Yep, that conclusively proves that opening is the easiest job in world cricket.

in terms of averages by batting position for all odi cricket

4>3>opener>5>6>7

taipan wrote:

The One wrote:in the list of batsmen with the top 20 averages in odi cricket (min : 2000 runs) only tendulkar and hayden are openers

Hasn't SRT played quite a few as a non-opener?

and...

The One wrote:

taipan wrote:

The One wrote:in the list of batsmen with the top 20 averages in odi cricket (min : 2000 runs) only tendulkar and hayden are openers

Hasn't SRT played quite a few as a non-opener?

and...

So how does that affect his average. Is it higher or lower as an opener?

taipan wrote:

The One wrote:

taipan wrote:

The One wrote:in the list of batsmen with the top 20 averages in odi cricket (min : 2000 runs) only tendulkar and hayden are openers

Hasn't SRT played quite a few as a non-opener?

and...

So how does that affect his average. Is it higher or lower as an opener?

higher. list remains the same